Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Thermo]

Firstly, I apologise for the long post, I'm just getting a bit despondent about my situation and would greatly appreciate some advice from a vet. Could someone please tell me just how saturated the market in Seoul is these days? And how long should one wait to expect a reply from a recruiter?

I've been sending out my resume and replying to ads left, right and centre for the past 10 days, and so far I haven't had as many replies back as I had expected. I know it's the weekend now, but still... My only stipulation is that the location be in or close to Seoul. To give some context for my frustration, I'm a 29 year old male caucasian Aussie/Kiwi in Sydney with all the necessary apostilled docs on hand and ready to start asap. I'm easy enough on the eye (if I say so myself), have a degree in linguistics and Chinese, a grad.dip in TESOL and also two years' experience in teaching all age levels to boot.

Given that I can speak Chinese, it seems like a no-brainer that I should be aiming for China instead. Unfortunately, my new girlfriend happens to be Korean and she had to move back to Seoul a few weeks ago. So I have no option but to keep trying. I've considered applying for a D10, but I didn't graduate from a top 200 university. I've also thought about rocking up as a tourist to secure a job in person, but all advice for newbies points to getting an E2 in the home country first.

Is there anything I can do other than stop whinging and keep persevering? Once again, sorry for the long post and cheers in advance for any advice.

[Julius]

[War Eagle]

Sorry to cut and paste how I replied to another thread a few below yours but it's basically the same:

<<<Yea, you're not hearing back now because school has started. Most positions are filled. There are jobs to be had at the moment, but most of the good jobs are gone. It all depends on how good looking/young you are, how much crap you're willing to put up with, and what qualifications you have, in that order.>>>

Now, with that said, just keep trying. Some schools hire at off-times, some will be firing their new teacher cause he'll screw something up somehow, or someone will quit because a school is bad (not that you'd want that position, but not that they will tell you that's what happened either).

[Stan Rogers]

[Thermo]

War Eagle, I did see that post, but thank you for the info anyway. I guess I just have to face the reality.

Julius, I've known my g/f a while, she was actually a student of mine here in Sydney last year, but she had to go back to Seoul 3 weeks ago as her visa was about to expire.

I'll keep plugging away at it. Cheers nonetheless.

[EZE]

Will she let you stay with her while you wait? If you're here, I think you can get a job quickly. I flew in from China with docs in hand and landed a job in less than 24 hours, and I'm an older guy with no qualifications to brag about.

[creeper1]

You absolutely should NOT be discouraged.

It may be a little more difficult with you being a newbie with no experience however the fact is, as you say yourself, you are getting replies from recruiters. Try harder.

The standard for getting a job in Korea has been, and continues to be, simply being foreign and having a pulse.

[Times30]

The fact you speak Chinese should make you a rare find. I had a recruiter once try to pawn me off as a Chinese teacher despite the fact I spoke 0 Chinese. But I am ethnically Chinese.

I know there a lot of schools that are teaching bilingual English/Chinese. You could try applying for ChungDahm which also have a Chinese department (but it is CHUNGDAHM and.... well enjoy that... sarcasm)

Good luck, I'm also in a similar position to you OP being 29 and struggling to find jobs in Korea despite 3 year experience, TESOL, and recommendations.

[Thermo]

Times30, It's interesting that you should say the Chinese ability could be useful. I'd assumed that card would have little influence in Korea but it might be worth a try. Thanks, and all the best for your own search.

EZE, Though my g/f lived in Australia for the past three years and is pretty Westernised, now she's back in Seoul living at her father's place, and he's definitely all Korean. So unfortunately the notion of me staying with her there is out of the question.
I've seriously thought about just flying in to get an interview in person but from what I've read, getting your first E2 from a 3rd country like Japan sounds like a mission, and the future employer isn't likely to reimburse the cost of the first flight to Korea. I'd probably try it if I became desperate enough though.

I've put in a ton of applications for different positions and recruiters this weekend, so I'll see what the next few days bring.

[mandrews1985]

My suggestion would be to look elsewhere. If she's going to be living with her father who as you put it is very Korean then you'll probably only see her during the weekends anyway.

Your age, nationality and gender puts you at a disadvantage for sure if youre looking purely in the Seoul area. Why not look at cities on the KTX line. Daegu is about 2 hours on the KTX away, not bad. Daejeon is even closer. Or the smaller satalite cities around Seoul might be an option... though maybe considered rural can be quite easy to get into Seoul.

[Thermo]

Hmm, thanks for the advice, but I believe I can find something in Seoul. She's 32 and very independent, so that's not a problem. We just wouldn't be able to live together as we did in Sydney.

Actually as of this morning I've received a lot of calls from recruiters and a few offers that I need to look at now.

[creeper1]

Good to hear you got the job offers.

That just goes to prove that jobs are still readily available in Korea even in popular areas such as Seoul.

Anyone foreign with a pulse will get a job in Korea.

[markness]

Glad to hear you are getting offers OP. Good luck Would you be in China otherwise if it wasn't for the GF?

[Julius]

[Thermo]

Hi, Yeah. I would definitely be in China if it weren't for my gf, but that's ok.

I landed a job in Mokdong, which is close to where my gf lives. I accepted a newbie's salary because the location was more important to me, but I can roll with that. I sent all my docs and the signed contract to the recruiter earlier in the week. However, she's now saying that the school sent me an outdated contract and she just emailed me the new contract to sign, scan and email back ASAP. The only thing is that the new contract has a 2000 Won reduction in overtime, and the housing section has the names of a couple on it, weird. I'm not too happy about it but what can I do? She has all my docs and I don't want to waste time looking for another job when I've already quit work and have given notice at my apartment. I guess 2000 isn't too much either, but still.