Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Geekgurl]

Our recruiter told us this yesterday. Is this true? Is it better to find a job seperate then going over together? I have heard from some individuals that it would be easier as a couple and its more cost effective for an employer.

[LikeFrostOnRoads]

I came over as part of a couple. It is certainly cheaper for the school, so if that is their only concern then you will find a match maybe.

But the majority of schools fear what just happened to me, the break up. After a couple breaks up, the chance of one or both of them leaving dramatically increases, new housing arrangements become a major pain, and the workplace environment becomes hostile. Not what most schools want.

That being said you can definitely find jobs, if you are patient. When I was searching for jobs, I blanketed all job postings that had a mention of the word "couple" along with all the generic recruiters. If someone takes you, they should have reasonable hope to find you a job. I would say the competition is fiercer, though.

[megandadam]

depends what you mean by "couple." if you mean married, you should have lots of opportunities. my wife and i got jobs easily and at the same school. it's better for the school as they get two teachers and increased chance of us not pulling a runner or otherwise quitting.

if you mean girlfriend/boyfriend i'm not so sure it would be that easy. you have no hard real ties to the other person and one could easily leave in the case of a break up. working at the same school as the person you came over here with and then broke up because he loves the korean ladies, or because the girl likes soldiers or something, is awkward to say the least.

good luck.

[Gnawbert]

I came over with my girlfriend in 2008. It was harder for us to find jobs and at first and a lot of schools asked questions like "How long have you been together?" and "Have you ever lived together before?" One of the recruiters we initially contact told us they would only look for single jobs unless we wanted rural jobs. We had a couple pull a midnight runner at our first job (understandable, because it was far from a good job) and the chaos it caused took months to repair.

After we finished our first contract, it became significantly easier to find a second job since we had proven we weren't one of those fly by night couples. In fact, one place we were offered jobs (but didn't take) actually created a second spot for us.

For our third job, it was cake. We met the owner in person and pretty much had an offer within 10 minutes.

It really helps to show enthusiasm for working together. We constantly talk up each others strong points in our interviews and how it helps. My girlfriend's very patient and incredibly creative and brings that out in her students. I have tons of energy and a very loud voice. We have a good synergy and we know each others strengths and weaknesses.

[air76]

We had no trouble finding work as a couple...even at universities we interview as a couple.

[caro188]

Hi,
I think recruiters say it is hard to find couple jobs so they can con you into accepting a crappy job.
When my boyfriend and I started looking so many recruiters were saying how hard it would be to find us a job in the same school together BUT a couple weeks later they would contact us with jobs.
It shouldn't be too hard there are tons of couple jobs posted on the korean job board here everyday. Just scan them put your names out everywhere and you'll definitely find something.
We found a great job and we had only been looking for a week.
Don't feel you need to settle for the first job you get keep looking!

[s.tickbeat]

Yeah, my partner and I have been looking since February for positions beginning in July or August. The recruiter was great! He told us that we were WAY too enthusiastic, and he won't have anything for us until April/May/June. . . he also told us that smaller recruiting agencies are having a rough time of it, given the recession as well as a growing trend of hiring direct/using larger agencies, so they'll pressure you into doing something unnecessary, like applying separately for different positions. He DID however say that we might have to compromise on location - i.e yong-in instead of Busan, based on how desireable a given city is.

Just scan the Korean job postings here, and you'll see couple positions abound!

[Korangar]

Just a quick question to the last two posters...I'm assuming your jobs are at hagwons and not public schools, is that right? Did you try getting into the public schools at all and how did you think the prospects looked from there?