Korean Job Discussion Forums

[RGF]

Starting my journey to work in Korea and trying to find a reputable Recruiter to land a uni job. Anyone know of any offhand? (Or those to avoid?)It's the proverbial 'needle in a haystack'. Thanks~

[YTMND]

Recruiters don't specialize in uni jobs. Look at offers and then apply.

[Feloria]

Overall, there aren't really "recruiters" for Uni jobs.
You either answer ads (I found my Uni job through Dave's), or you hear about openings through word of mouth/networking, etc.
Also it is a major bonus to be in Korea in order to interview for Uni positions face to face.
tthompatz or PatrickGH can probably give more info--but that's the overall bottom line.
Good Luck!!

[hogwonguy1979]

a long time ago recruiters had univ gigs (we got our first job at a univ language center through a recruiter but that was 1996), now you need to:

1) check here or university websites for job postings
2) get to korea for an interview, i'd say 95% of the jobs out there wont do an over the phone interview
3) have an MA and a TESOL/CELTA, seems like many univs. wont look at you without one. Funny thing is in reality those credentials don't mean squat when it comes to a korean univ. classroom

[ttompatz]

[PatrickGHBusan]

As Ttom said you need to apply DIRECTLY with each University. That also means you have to read what each University requires in their application packages and tailor yours as a result.

I would advise you apply from in-country regardless of your situation (related vs unrelated MA, Bigger vs smaller University). Applying from outside of Korea is a huge disadvantage and will send your application to the rejection pile on many cases.

Unless your qualifications and experience are clearly extraordinary (as in well above the norm) then applying from abroad is a sure way to end up without a University job.

With just a BA, unless you have extensive experience, you will have a very rough time finding even a less than stellar University position. In such a case what you would need to do is get referenced experience in-country, network like a madman/woman and apply later.


If you do get interviews, be sure to have solid references and to be ready to demonstrate your skills. This can take the form of a mock lesson, submitting your teaching portfolio, explaining your pedagogical/andragogical philosophy (ie your teaching methods).....

Be professional and dress professional.

For a bit of inside information, I worked on the hiring committee of a University in Busan for a few years. That particular school only hired MA holders and we worked with a points system to weed out the applications from the initial avalanche we received when posting work.

Points were allocated for related MA and experience.

For example, hakwon experience was typically calculated at 50% meaning one year = 6 months unless it was backed up by a solid reference.

An applicant with no experience typically was rejected or became a long shot.

An applicant who submitted shoddy documents = rejected.

You have to realize that these jobs are highly competitive (except perhaps for some of the more out of the way smaller rural colleges) and that typically a University gets tons of applications. The committee has to sift through them so good presentation is a MUST.

Also note, and this cannot be overstated, that most of the better positions are staffed through internal referals. Typically the University wil ask some of the better teachers on staff if they know anyone. Usually the answer is yes and that person gets an interview based on this referal. This brings us right back to networking! If you want a good University job, networking is your friend!

Best of luck to you and by the way, now is pretty much the Sahara as far as University jobs, the hiring season is in November.

[HANGRY]

Hey, my contract with the high school I'm teaching at is over in September. I understand that I have to be in Korea to get a good chance at a Uni gig, but if hiring season isn't until the end of the year, I'm curious what I can possibly do.

How can I line up things so that I am in Korea for interviews, but at the same time, stay employed until hiring season? Nobody does half-year contracts of course.

[lawyertood]

There are some positions that open for the Fall term beginning in September. Look for advertisements starting around June.

[Carbon]

As Patrick said, network.

There is no substitute for knowing current faculty of top universities, assuming of course that you have the right qualifications and some experience. It is difficult to get a university position (a top tier one) without experience teaching young adults or adults, regardless of who you know. Seems a bit catch-22-ish, but that's the way it goes.

Hires from abroad are very, very rare in my experience. There are just too many people here with qualifications and talent to bother taking such a risk or go to the trouble that hiring from abroad would entail.

Here + knowing people on staff + min. 2 years relevant experience + relevant graduate school qualification = likely top tier university position (unless you really blow the interview).

I have no idea about universities outside of this; perhaps the lower-tired universities hire with different levels of qualification. This is a good starting point for many.

As for being mid-contract when things start happening...that is a tough one. Many years ago I was in that situation. I was straight up with my school and I got time off for the interview and released from my contract after securing the position. Hagwons would probably be less understanding than public schools, but I always advocate honesty. Be straight and there will be no surprises for anyone.