Korean Job Discussion Forums

[thebektionary]

Some recruiters are giving me a hard time because when they call to check my reference, the new director at my good hagwon tells them that I didn't work there for a whole year. She doesn't know my story or me, really... we only worked together for a week and at that time she was a secretary. The director who was there when I was there was fond of me and I was fond of her. She knew my situation. When recruiters called her she just gave me a good reference and didn't say anything about the time I spent working there.

I have a few recruiters I'm using who reference-checked me while my director was still there, but I'm worried about the SCHOOLS calling my school and that new director telling them that I only worked there for 2 months. I wrote on my resume that I worked there for a full year because I really don't want to explain my totally horrific first hagwon situation to them or have them call that school. I was physically assaulted by that director who stalked my boyfriend in order to get inside my house and she forged my diploma for an illegal worker who didn't have one. And those were the least of the problems.

Do the schools reference check or just the recruiters? Should I just make up some bull about how my hagwon went out of business so I switched at the end?

[Gorf]

Schools usually do reference checks, but recruiters? Who cares. It's not their job to do it and ones worth working with will understand your situation. If anything I wouldn't even bother putting it on a resume or using it as a reference, since you worked there such a short time.

[theevilgenius]

I don't see why you just don't tell the truth. Honesty is the best policy.

[thebektionary]

[ironclad80]

I know where you're coming from, I worked at a hell hagwon.

I later found out the reason I was getting rejected from jobs was the director was giving me a bad ref! I've heard this actually isn't so rare...

I too don't want to lose a year of experience on my resume.
In the future I've told employers the place went belly up and I don't have contact with them anymore. Of course that doesn't provide a reference, it just helps you avoid one.

Did you make any other Korean contacts there that can speak kind words on your behalf?

[thebektionary]

Yes, I had a good relationship with everyone at the second hagwon I worked at.

This thread is sort of irrelevant now because I've been offered 3 very good positions since I made this thread and had a very difficult time trying to decide between them.

The unfortunate story is that my one year experience won't count for GEPIK since I changed schools