Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jwhofer]

Just hand an interview with Lawrenceville English in Mapo.

Interview went well. Apartment is in Hongdae, which is a major bonus. Pay is good. I'm assuming I'll get an offer.

Here's the weird part. In the interview, I was told that the school has not opened, but will be opening in June. So I'll be the first foreign teacher.

Is this something to worry about? Anybody had experiences with this school? Not sure if it's a chain. Will be doing research.

Any thoughts, comments, advice MUCH appreciated.

[oldtrafford]

Nobody knows fella. Personally you have to decide, it's a gamble. Businesses open and close all the time here fella!!!

[jwhofer]

Thanks for the tip, fella. Kinda the feeling I have. 3-9pm, good money, great location. Tempting...
Can't find any info on the school itself yet, other than one posting on Dave's job list from late April.

[ren546]

Be careful about the apartment thing. Ask to see pictures, if possible. They could just be saying that your apartment is there in order to get you to sign.

[PastorYoon]

Go for it. I'd take that. Great hours. Huge morning block; you could bank during that time.

[PastorYoon]

First day when you move in, find a hardware store (철물점) and buy tubes of silicon sealant and a caulking gun. There will most likely be an insect problem at the apartment that you'll want to take care of immediately. Bugs crawling around are just fine for Koreans; they will even think you're weird for talking to the school about it. Just handle it ASAP.

[jwhofer]

Are you speaking generally of Korean apartments, or are you referring to this school apartments specifcally?

[PastorYoon]

Not specific, but speaking from my experiences fom 3 years in Korea.

[RMNC]

Agreed with that.

As for being the first teacher, I'd say you're wagering 50/50 odds, which is better than the 7 & 11 odds most hagwons give you to win. Sounds good to me, if I was a first timer, I'd go for it.

[Hotpants]

The only thing that I'd be worried about is when a Korean says something will happen at X time.

In my experience, Koreans are often rather over ambitious and amiss with dates and times.

It could well be that the school opening gets delayed somewhat, so if securing a job in June is absolutely essential, then there could be a risk with that.

I guess the employer is reckoning on having students enrolled by then, and having all formalities with opening a business as well as classrooms being fitted out. Have you checked whether he/she already has students lined up and actually booked in? No students might mean that you don't get paid.

Has the employer already started organizing a visa for you? That would be something I'd want to find out, too.

Finally, I'd also want to find out if this is the first time the employer has tried to open a school, or whether he/she is just re-branding and re-locating a previously failed school. I guess you can't ask this question directly, but you could probe into what motivations and experience the guy has with running a school. You can also probe about the guy's future projections for the school - does he/she seem realistic about what programs and what class sizes he/she is expecting?

[nate1983]

[jwhofer]

All suggestions taken to heart.
I should know early this week about getting the job offer.
Will update this thread as any new or weird info emerges.

[jwhofer]

Well, after a week, my recruiter got back to me on the school. She wrote "the school is considering other candidates for the job."
Makes me wonder...
Maybe the guy decided not to open the school? Shaky situation getting students?
Or more likely, thinking back to the interview, could it have something to do with a comment I made? I mentioned I'd taught in Japan (JET) for a year, so I didn't forsee culture shock as something to worry about in Korea. I do remember a raise in his voice and a harshening of his tone. "Korea is MUCH different that Japan," he said. I explained, yes of course that was true. I was just trying to point out that I've done my fair share of travelling to weird places I was unaccustomed to, and this may be an advantage I'd have coming to Korea over some college graduate who'd never left his home state.
I'm accepting another offer, since this one didn't pan out. In fact, I've gotten an offer on every other interview I've done.
Could this one mis-step, incidentally equating Japan and Korea, have been the reason for my first "no."
Maybe a good thing...

[checkraisingkorea]

Funny. I'm leaning towards "shaky situation" with opening the school, but neither would surprise me.

[fullcollapseCA]

I'd go for it! Job in Seoul and apt in Hongdae sounds like a win!