Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Kzano31]

Here�s my situation: I recently graduated (Bachelors/Teaching Cert) and will be leaving to teach English on a remote island in the Marshall Islands this July until next June. Other than for about a week in December I will have no access to a phone or internet until I return in June 2011.

I want to teach in Korea for the 2011-2012 year with EPIK or GEPIK. I would ideally like to leave in September, but am wondering if June 2011 will be too late to apply. Anyone have any experience or ideas on how to complete an application in a situation similar to this?

I�m thinking that if I had everything prepared before I left, I could just leave it with someone to mail off later, but I think I would still need to figure out how to arrange an interview for when I return (might be too late to interview anyway).

Would it be easier/better to go through a recruiter? Would you recommend I waited until April anyway so that I could do more research on the schools (if you even have an option on schools)?

Anyway, as I�m trying to figure this out any insight you guys could provide me with would be greatly appreciated!

[onlyinkorea87]

The first semester in public school starts in March, the second semester starts in September. EPIK periodically highers new teachers for those starts and in April.

The earlier the better. Good luck.


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[fl4mers]

I think you might have a problem with your paperwork. Even if you get everything done before you leave, your criminal records check would be outdated by the time your relatives sent it off. June is leaving it a bit late to be applying for September unless you're interested in a position in Seoul, which usually accepts applications after all the other deadlines have closed. This year EPIK closed applications June 15th and SMOE is closing it's applications on June 30th, just to give you an idea. If you don't have internet it's going to be difficult to get an interview. It's not so important to have a phone, as they sometimes do skype interviews as well, but if you don't have either that might be a problem.

I would say your best bet would be to apply to SMOE if you have the qualifications to do so and can get your CRC ready to go for June next year. Alternatively you might just want to apply for independent public school jobs through a recruiter when you are back. They usually become available around May/June/July time anyways for September, so that might be a better option. You really would need to be reachable to get any job though, so that is going to be your biggest obstacle I think....

[toph]

Although the idea of getting prepared before is a good idea, as mentioned before, you might have problems with your documentation/application by doing this exact thing...

EPIK/GEPIK/SMOE/the Korean public school system, is very particular in how they accept applications. They constantly change and update their application, maybe even twice per year (e.g., the spring application may differ from the fall application). So if you were to fill out an application now, and reserve it for later, they might not accept it. In this case, the easiest thing to do would be to copy-paste your previous answers, but that would essentially consist of re-doing the entire application--especially considering that the current application is 10 pages long~! Also, they may require new documentation for the E2 visa, as visa laws constantly change; so by having everything ready beforehand you might screw yourself over because you probably would have to go through the entire visa process again (IF the visa laws were to change). AND there's not to mention criminal background checks, which would probably expire by the point you were trying to apply. So basically...it would be a giant waste of money to do everything before you leave. In my opinion: Try to apply in April as you mentioned. You will have more time to prepare, and better time to gather the necessary materials.

As for the recruiter question: Yes, DEFINITELY get a recruiter. Work with as many recruiters as possible or as much as you need. This will definitely help you in your specific situation, as yours is so unique. However (and this is very important), when you actually decide to APPLY, and send in your EPIK application, only use ONE recruiter. This is because public schools will reject the same application from multiple recruiters (e.g., multiples of the same application). But, when you're just beginning, and you only need to get your questions answered--I say use the recruiters as a source of endless answers. They may not be able to help all the time, but at least there are plenty of 'em out there. Oh, and just to put it out there...even if you decide to use a recruiter(s), you don't have to apply through them in the end. You can ask as many questions as you want, and in the end, you can apply directly to EPIK offices. So that's just an option (and a good one in my opinion). (Also, I'm not sure if this applies to GEPIK, as I think they REQUIRE their applicants to apply through recruiters--but I'm not sure about this~).

Lastly, and this might change, but as for now there is no way to actually do research on a public school through EPIK (and the like). Currently, government programs such as EPIK/GEPIK/SMOE will RANDOMLY place their English teachers into schools that are in the teachers desired cities/provinces. Therefore, the English teacher will not know which school they are located in, nor what they school looks like, until they ARRIVE in Korea. So basically, it's kind of like luck-of-the-draw, but you don't get to "draw." They do. But...you can do tons of research on the actual programs online and in this forum. There is a lot of negative-slant here so I would recommend google.

So basically.....If the rules stand as they are now, I wouldn't recommend getting anything ready before you left. You should do as much research as possible while you can before you leave to teach on the island. This will give you an idea of what to expect, what to ask, and what you'll need. And definitely get a recruiter(s).