Korean Job Discussion Forums

[RebeccaLeona]

I worked with a few recruiters earlier this year while searching for a school in Gwangju Met. City, Jeonju, or Busan. The contracts I was sent were all previously posted on Dave's with mostly negative reviews, and I'd also look them up on ESL Blacklist to double check the bad news, so I got disheartened and slowed my search down.

But, I was thinking today.. I haven't tried to ask anyone yet, so do you guys have any suggestions? I've relied in this board a lot, but haven't interacted with it at all. Silly.

I have a few friends who've taught in Seoul, but I can't see myself living there comfortably. I love everything I've read about Gwangju and Jeonju, and even Jeju, but I can imagine they would be difficult cities in which to start an ESL career.

Respond or PM if you have suggestions. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.



The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.
- Jacques-Yves Cousteau

[PatrickGHBusan]

The first thing to consider is that this site, while it can be helpful, is not something you should base an employment decision on.

The contracts you received mirrored those you saw here because contracts are built on templates. No one reinvents the wheel when they write contracts right?

Now, bad reviews and comments here and on other online boards need to be taken with a huge grain of salt. Some of the comments are preferences by certain users, others are based in fact while others yet are just opinions.

The contract you receive is a start point. You read it, consider what it means and what it entails and then if you have reservations about it, you contact the recruiter or better yet, the potential employer and ask for clarification.

Also to note is that contracts will never be 100% to your liking. They include clauses for your benefit and protection but also include clauses that protect the employer. While some of these clauses can seem harsh and get destroyed in comments on this site, many are pretty reasonable things for an employer to put into a work agreement with someone they hire sight unseen from halfway across the world.

Now we get to the crux of it....what do you want and what are you worth?

Answer these questions honestly and you will be better prepared to judge an offer in a realistic way.

What do you want

1- Location

City, countryside, smaller town?

You already answered this as you want Gwangju or a similar city.

2- Type of school

Adults?
Kids?
Hakwon?
Public School?

This will determine not only the contract but also the conditions in the contract, the places you can work and what you can expect...

Adult hakwons have a very specific schedule for example....

3- When are you available?

This will rule out places you could work. Say you want work now. Then Public Schools will be harder to get as recruitment is already well underway for september.

What are you worth?

This will determine what you can expect as far as a job offer (pay, conditions....). How do you know your worth?

1- Qualifications (your degree and certificates)
2- Experience (Teaching experience)

If you are a total newbee with a degree in liberal arts and no experience...you can expect entry-level offers at the base salary.

Also factor in that the market is flooded with applicants these days. That means employers can pick and choose whom they wish to hire and that demanding applicants can expect to be turned down or that their job search will take longer. That does not mean that you should accept anything and everything, but it does mean you need to figure out what you are worth and what the market can offer so you then know what a good offer is for you.

Figure the above out and you have a starting point.

Then consider your application strategy.

You seem to be working with recruiters. This is a good way to get a job if you are inexperienced with the Korean ESL market and do not wish to put in the effort of finding schools and contacting them directly.

However, recruiters are also flooded with applicants, they place numerous teachers so an applicant that constantly turns down contracts will be moved to the side of the road by busy recruiters. Hence, know what you want, what you are worth and consequently what you can expect.

You could also fly to Korea on your coin, go to Gwangju and find work locally. That requires a bit more organisation and preparation and some money but it can pay off big time as you can physically visit places and meet people that work there.

Now, on to offers...

When you get a contract....before reading Daves and getting flooded with negative reviews that may not be pertinent to your particular offer....contact teachers on staff at the school that sent you the contract and ask them how things are there. This can reveal that the conract, while flawed, is not bad and working at the school is great. It an also reveal that the school is a bad place to work.

You also need to consider that any job you accept overseas comes with a certain level of uncertainty.

You can also apply directly to programs like EPIK ( a bit late now) that place teachers in Public Schools. They have a standard EPIK contract.

This is a start point for a well organised job search.....

Good luck.

[sulperman]

Excellent response Patrick! Everybody should be forced to read that before they start their job search.

I've always wondered what happens when people respond to their school with a hundred nit-picky change requests on their contract that they picked up from Dave's. The contract isn't the most important thing. My last school was fantastic, but from looking at the contract and listening to the chain's reputation on this site anybody would have turned it down in a second.

Luckily I didn't listen.

[RebeccaLeona]

Thank you!

That was such a positive and encouraging response. All of those things I knew, but it was nice to have that confirmation.

I just got an e-mail about an awesome-looking position in Jeonju and am excited. Crossing my fingers this will work out.

[ttompatz]

One thing I would like to add is that it behooves you to know your LEGAL rights under Korean labor law so you know what is and what is NOT allowed in your contract.

You cannot make a contract that violates the law.

http://www.molab.go.kr/english/topic/laborlaw_view.jsp?idx=254&tab=Standards

.

[TheUrbanMyth]

What ttompatz said.

The majority of negative comments I make (on the contract sticky thread) are based on the KLSA. Any contract that violates said Act is almost always not worth signing. Sure there are exceptions...but consider this.

If the employer is willing to break certain laws before hiring you...what makes you think he won't break others concerning you when it's to his advantage to do so?

[PatrickGHBusan]

My comments about the responses you get on contracts here did not include Tom or Urban as they provided facutal responses.

Tom, thanks for your input as always.

Urban, same to you.

I was just trying to provide a general canvas for an applicant anyway.

OP: good luck and if you have questions feel free to pm me or email me at [email protected]