Korean Job Discussion Forums

[cathywantstoteachabroad]

Hi everyone, I have my EPIK interview tomorrow and was hoping some of you could give me any info on what to expect. Having made it to the interview am I likely to get a job? My recruiter seemed to think so.

I also have a question about my criminal record check. I had one done in February for my previous job, and was told by the recruiter to take it to a notary and get it stamped. When I got there, the notary said she could not stamp it becuase it was a copy stamped by the VPD (Vancouver) as "A Certified true copy" The recruiter had thought I had the original, and said the Korean Embassy may not stamp it without a notary stamp. I never received the original and I dont know if the VPD have it or my previous employer has it. Has anyone from BC gone through this, and will the Korean embassy accept it with a VPD stamp?
Im hoping to avoid getting a new one done as it took 2 months to get back to me. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Catherine

[thinkblue]

I hope your interview went well if you have already done it knowing its late Sunday now. If not, don't sweat on it much. They ask very basic questions mainly just to test your English. Questions such as explain yourself, why you want to teach, how would you handle ignorant students and so on... just very basic questions. I heard it's a toss up if you're getting the job now even still getting an interview because it's late in the process and they're getting a lot of applications at the moment with spaces filling up fast. With your CRC, I'm not sure becaus I'm from America and it's different here. Hope this helps and good luck!

[toadhjo]

I had my interview last Friday...I didn't feel it went all that well. I had to ask the interviewer to repeat herself a few times because the phone connection was less than perfect, and I feel like I came off sounding more like I just wanted to go to Korea rather than teach English in Korea...although I did talk about kids and stuff too.

So, hopefully it went well enough for me to get in. Despite the influx of applicants, it sounds like there will still be more openings than new hires, and if nothing else, I know that my English is clear and easy to understand...

[t1m1ty]

I had my interview last night and I hope it went well. Like the previous person that posted, I think I sounded more like I wanted to go to Korea than teach there. But other than that, I believe it went ok.

To the OP, the interview doesn't last more than 20 minutes. They ask you simple basic questions, but be sure to state that teaching is the most important aspect of your trip. My interviewer asked if why I wanted to go to Korea and my answer was to get to know my culture and heritage a lot more (obviously worded differently). She replied with "thats good but you do understand teaching is the most important thing right".

Good luck on your interview if you haven't done it already!

[cathywantstoteachabroad]

I think my interview went really well actually!! Thanks for the responses everyone! When it came to location I was told that all the metros are full, and Jeollonam is full as well so I had to re-choose. I wanted to be in a city, but I'm up for adventure, so why not? Plus Jeju is my top and that would be perfect for me.

[t1m1ty]

[cathywantstoteachabroad]

I passed, but now am dealing with a huge headache of a catch 22 regarding the original of my criminal record check, plus the fact that my recruiter doesnlt seem to know anything. Pretty frustrated, and worried that my docs wont get in in time... ahh well.. from the sounds of it, this is likely my intro to Korean culture

[cathywantstoteachabroad]

I passed, but now am dealing with a huge headache of a catch 22 regarding the original of my criminal record check, plus the fact that my recruiter doesnlt seem to know anything. Pretty frustrated, and worried that my docs wont get in in time... ahh well.. from the sounds of it, this is likely my intro to Korean culture

[t1m1ty]

[toadhjo]

I shipped my docs off via Fedex today...we'll see what happens regarding my placement. My first choice was Daejeon, but I have a feeling it'll be full...

[kokujin]

[t1m1ty]

I just sent all my documents to my recruiter and hopefully he sent them to EPIK. I'm also feeling a little worried about Daejeon, but my second choice was Inchon and wouldn't feel terrible about going there. Good luck to everyone!

[kokujin]

[lofidelity]

i'm currently in the process of getting my letters of recommendations but i got most of my paperwork before the interview process. i'm curious what kinds of questions are asked, as you can probably tell i'm a bit nervous and unsure of how to handle these types of interviews.