Korean Job Discussion Forums

[LikeFrostOnRoads]

I currently teach at a kindie in Daegu and my contract is up in November. I hope to go home for the holidays and then move to Seoul in Jan or Feb. I'm wondering how I should tackle this. Search and apply while still here in Korea, or wait until I'm back home and it's closer to time. I would love to leave here with my next job already lined up.

One concern I have is that I, most assuredly like most 2nd year people, have the problem of specificity. I am too specific about my desires and will therefore shut off some possible good offers. I've seen enough from my limited time here to know a few things that I'd like to change. But I'm worried that one year over here isn't enough to buy me the things I want entirely. I know that a year here for many of you still means FOB.

Also what kind of salary can I expect second year? I'm sure not much difference, right?

So what should I do? Look for schools that fit what I want? Should I contact some recruiters and explain? Or just post it out on the job boards?

Generally what I'm looking for:
Hakwon
Age: Elem+
Salary: 2.4ish
Location: To be within a 7k cab ride to most the good places in interior Seoul (night, I mean), and within reasonable walking distance to a subway, as well as my school.
Hours: Early evening, as few as possible!
Foreign Teachers: More than a handful.

I know, I know. A guy comes over and teaches for a year, so he thinks he's entitled to the perfect job. Yeah, well, I guess troll away.

[balzor]

not asking for much, I think you'll get plenty of offers just like that or better.

[northway]

I'm by no means trolling here, but "a 7k cab ride to most the good places in interior Seoul (night, I mean)" is pretty much impossible considering it's about 10,000 just to get from Itae to Hongdae. Korean Taxis are cheap, but not that cheap.

[David Gerrington]

I'm looking for pretty much exactly the same (I'm on to you, stealing my jobs ). Not having much joy at the moment - recruiters keep trying to shove me into the small towns. 'You can improve your chances by adding more than Seoul to your preferences'. Well, obviously. I've said I'll consider Ilsan/Bundang etc, but they take that to mean 'Small mountain town'.

My theory is since EPIK is oversubscribed, the spill-over make the job market for September makes it easy pickings for the hagwons, too. Just gotta wait it out and throw my CV around like a madman, I guess.

[northway]

If you're willing to consider Bundang, you may want to consider Anyang as well, as the location is much more convenient to get to Hongdae/Itaewon/Myeongdong, unless Kangnam/Apgu is what draws you.

[furtakk]

I was in the exact same situation a month or two ago. Moving from Daegu to Seoul for my second year. The only difference is my time between contracts was much shorter. One month rather than two or three in your case. As such it was much easier to have a job lined up.

Anyhow, I really wanted to avoid using recruiters, but very few schools advertise directly and the one's that do are usually the big chains. I also don't know anyone in Seoul and as such I don't have any connections. I ended up using a ton of recruiters. I probably applied to well over 30 and was actively job hunting with 5 or so of them.

I was also very specific, but not upfront as that seems to scare recruiters away. My main requirement was in Seoul and a minimum of 2.3. If there were jobs in areas I didn't want to live in, I still took the interviews just to see if it was something I could deal with and also just for practice.

If I was you I would just mention that you are looking for an elementary position in Seoul. Make sure you specify that you don't want to work in the sattelite cities and only in Seoul. Then if they pass along offers that don't meet your other requests, either politely decline or take the interview and try to negotiate salary.

[LikeFrostOnRoads]

[David Gerrington]

I'd wait, unless you were applying for EPIK or something, they are the only adverts I've seen.

The two districts you mentioned are definetly the main hubs of the nightlife - Hongdae and Itaewon. Personally, I wouldn't like to live in them though. I lived a 15 minute cab ride away from Hongdae last year was ideal. Close enough to the fire without getting burnt.

And like you say, I couldn't imagine much worse than living in the thick of Itaewon. But that's just me.

[cert43]

If your waitng untill Feb anyways, why not just apply for a SMOE

job?

Seoul is great..but do you have lots and lots of money to invest in housing,furniture a car, etc?

Are there even jobs ligit jobs in Hondae and Iteawon? Never seen any.

Iwould suggest trying to get at a convient transfer point.

If not, why don't you invest in CDI equity bonds? Once you invest in the
divends, they will put up your housing money.

[WadRUG'naDoo]

Start networking!

[PatrickGHBusan]

OP:

I would start looking in Korea as you can drop off documents in person and visit schools. That can be a big advantage.

Your requirements and in no way unreasonable. Some of them are or should be optional and possibly removed (the 7K cab ride is a bit odd as a request-expectation).

The pay may end up being closer to 2.2 - 2.3.

The rest of your requirements are normal.

Options:

Look for Hakwons that are in areas you like, visit a few of them or try to contact some teachers there. Better yet, contact the person who does the hiring and enquire about contracts that might end around the time you will be available. Then tell them you will contact them closer to those dates to find out if they have spots to fill. In doing that you just avoided the recruiter traffic jam. The school knows you and could be quite happy to avoid a recruitment drive.

Another option is EPIK-GEPIK-SMOE.

There you have less control (read almost no control) over where you get placed. Pay will be lower than 2.4 but it will be a PS position. If you choose that route, read up on their respective sites and follow the application procedures. Avoid multiple applications to the same program as that can disqualify you. Apply as early as they allow it to maximise your chances.

You have been here for a year. Do you know any former co-workers who moved to other schools? If so, contact them if you can, there might be an opening where they work and it might suit you.

Finally, try and secure a reference letter from your current employer as that is a good way to make your experience work for you.
Good luck.

[meaghan]

OP, I had your level of location-related pickiness for my first job and trust me, it is not worth it. Yes, I am quite close to Hongdae, but my job is absolutely awful (no health insurance, horrible apartment, unpaid overtime, late pay every month, etc). I took a job at a mom and pop kindie hagwon because of the location. Oh well, lesson learned and I won't make that mistake next year.

The other thing is, now that I've gotten familiar with Seoul, I've realized there is no way to avoid long commutes in your life. Seoul is a HUGE city, and it takes time, physically, to get from one side to the other. Even if you do end up living in or near Hongdae (and yes, there are many schools in the area, some of which are decent), you're going to want to shop in other areas, climb a mountain, go sightseeing, or go see your friends that live elsewhere... I would say on average it takes 45 minutes to an hour to get anywhere on public transit (that's an average, some places are of course closer but some are farther away). If you can't deal with that then you need to live somewhere that is geographically smaller.

I would say to stay away from the suburbs and satellite cities though, as then you are looking at an hour+ to get to central Seoul, and very pricey cab rides. I would say that anywhere within the circle of the green line (subway line 2) is putting you within reasonable commute time to most of the places you'd want to be.

[tukmax]

[LikeFrostOnRoads]

[furtakk]

3 months before at the absolute earliest, but even then there will be slim pickings. 2 - 1.5 months before is your best shot. Unless your looking to get hired directly, then hit up the schools 4 or so months before and see if they're hiring around your time period.