Korean Job Discussion Forums

[stephent89]

Okay, here's my situation at the moment.

I'm currently living in the U.S. and finishing up my last semester of college, I'm set to graduate Dec. 17th, 2011.

This is my first time attempting to teach in Korea, so I'm going through a recruiter (Korvia) and so far, they've been very helpful for me.

I applied for the EPIK Spring 2012 program and was accepted into the program after being interviewed over the phone a few weeks ago.


Now, here's the problem.


I sent my Criminal Background Check off for the apostille stamp in late October and I still haven't heard anything from Washington. My recruiter has been putting some serious pressure on me to get my apostilled CBC back (obviously it's out of my hands).
I also just found out from my universities registrar's office that I cannot pick up my final transcript until 1/14/2012. All documents for EPIK are due by 1/20/2012.

So here's my concern:

Basically, I want to figure the job thing out ASAP and I DO NOT want to leave any later than mid-feburary.
I also would prefer to work at a public school instead of a private school and I'm not SUPER picky on my location. Seoul, Busan, and Incheon seem nice, as long as it is a metropolition area, I'll be happy.


So my question is: Should I start spamming out my resume to different recruiters for jobs that aren't under the EPIK program? I know that EPIK will disqualify your application if they see you apply twice, I just don't want to put all my eggs in one basket.


I guess an easier way to put this would be: If you were in this situation, I want to know what YOU would do.



Thanks for your help guys.

[ttompatz]

http://epik.go.kr/

You may be too late.

We will no longer be accepting applications for Spring 2012 semester from:

December 1st, 2011 at 6:00PM Korean Standard Time (KST).

Any applications and letters of recommendation submitted for Spring 2012 semester after this date will not be accepted and will not receive a response.

Important Note: All submissions must include a Spring 2012 EPIK Application, and two letters of recommendation for the National EPIK, for the SMOE application, EPIK-Seoul Attachment (including a 2-page lesson plan) and a lesson plan for Busan application should be added. Email submissions missing any of these documents will not be considered.


.

[bentobento]

He said he's already been accepted...

OP, I think you'll be fine if you get it in within the next week or two. Do you know about when you'll be getting it back? Many people in the states are in the same boat. I'm still waiting for my CRC back.

[Rutherford]

OP, make sure you passed an interview with EPIK, not an interview with your recruiter.

You should be okay. Just send the documents by fast courier when you get them. If you expect trouble, start getting duplicates of all your documents just in case.

[cheezsteakwit]

OP ,

As a frame of reference on wait time for the FBI CBC - they rec'd my prints on Sept 29th - I called on Tuesday & they said I'd have them 'w/in 7 days" , so we shall see.

That'd be 9 weeks , 9 1/2 weeks turnaround time - If you sent them in late October , you're looking at a late December, early January return.

I believe the EPIK disqualification thing applys if you use two recruiters to apply to EPIK - I do not think it matters if you're applying to spots outside of EPIK through multiple recruiters.... BUT I'm a newbie too , & am only going off what I've read... so you may wanna double check that.

If I were you, I'd plan for a back up spot outside of EPIK , or get used to the idea of a provincial spot or smaller city spot , & not a Seoul or Busan spot... It can't hurt to hope for the best and plan for the worst.

From what people on facebook are saying (some currently working in EPIK schools) , The 80 Seoul recommendations are nearly filled, Busan will be filled soon. as that's probably a popular choice as well.

I chose Ulsan, Daegu & Gwangju, so I'm not panicked yet , but I would NOT be comfortable in your situation. Orientation is supposed to start in mid February, I believe.

I'm gonna get back up documents for myself here, pretty soon, just for the worst case scenario. Better safe than sorry.

Best of luck to you.

[ajuma]

Another time-frame reference. When I was in the States in early July, I sent my fingerprints to the FBI office, also asking (and paying for) the apostile. 1 week ago, I finally received the apostiled record.

Good luck!

[stephent89]

Sorry about the delayed response,

I've passed the interviews with both my recruiter and EPIK. They've given me the list of all the documents they need and all I'm lacking is my apostilled CRC.
I sent my CRC off to Washington (regular usps) around the beginning of November.