Korean Job Discussion Forums

[omarr380]

Hello. I am looking for a job (maybe) in Korea next March/April and I want to make a decent cover letter. I will be posting the letter on Dave's ESL later on. Should I just state my experience in the letter? I have studied Japanese for several years and it is half-decent. should I state that? I was told by a woman that I should include something about the fact that I am African-American and how it would "diversify" a potential employer's school, should I include a paragraph about that? Any help would be apreciated. Thank you.

[kprrok]

To be honest, I don't think many prospective Korean employers that are Hakwon owners will give a rat's butt that you can speak Japanese "half-decent" and would therefore not be necessary in your cover letter. You'll also get a lot of people telling you that if you're not white, blond hair, blue eyes and from the US or Canada, you shouldn't bother. I don't believe that, but there is something to be said for the "good looks = good job" and that some hakwon owners only want the Aryan look. I won't advise you either way about your picture, but I have read many posts from non-white skinned people having difficulty finding work. You'll have to decide that yourself.

Good luck in your hunt.

KPRROK

[oneiros]

I can't give you generalizations for all of Korea, but I can tell you what happens at my school.

I do all the interviewing for foreign teachers. When I see a resume, I look for:
1. considerable experience working with kids after high school graduation (I'm not really impressed by baby-sitting experience, although I see a lot of it turn up on resumes)
2. time spent living over-seas or considerable independent travel overseas
3. outside interests (having some is a good thing)
4. spelling/grammar mistakes - those will get your resume thrown out automatically

If you put your Japanese language abilities on your resume, it would probably catch my eye, because it means that you have some outside interests, and because people who speak foreign languages have more of a tendency to put some effort towards learning Korean.

When my school sees a resume, here's what they look for:
1. experience working with kids
2. country of origin
3. availability

I don't think they even read the cover letters.

[chronicpride]

Omarr, please don't take offense over what I'm about to tell you, but I want to express the reality of teaching here.

Unless you are applying to a university which has a department head who is a foreigner, don't sweat over a cover letter. Nobody reads them. They look at your photo, first, then your available start date, then your nationality, in that order. This is how recruiters and hiring reps at schools operate. I was a recruiter for 1.5 yrs and saw all this, first-hand.

You can do a generic cv and resume, but I can't stress enough how much that photo of yourself has to be golden.

And, second of all, Korean directors are notoriously discriminating, when it comes to looks and hiring anybody non-white. Of all the African-American resumes that I had, I could never get one person a job. In fact, I have only met 2 African-American teachers that were able to score E2 contract jobs over here. All the others were working privately or GIs teaching on the side. I'd like to say that there are exceptions to the rule, but there's not. You can give it a shot, but I worry that you will waste a lot of your time to come to the same conclusion. And if you are one of the lucky few that can secure a contract job, you will still have to deal with the discriminatory behavior that the culture will have on you.

My advice? Take a pass on Korea and aim for Japan, if you want the bucks and exposure to Asian culture. Easier for African-Americans to get jobs. Local women dating African-Americans is fashionable over there, which is the polar opposite here. Teaching privates is legal, unlike here. And because hip-hop fashion is all the rage, I've even heard of guys getting part-time promotional gigs at hip-hop fashion outlets, just walking around and giving the store some cred.

Totally different world. Same ESL profit potential, after expenses.

[osangrl]

i know... I've never even sent a resume..... just shown up, they look at me and say "when can you start?"

don't waste the time on a nice resume and stupid cover letter, just make sure you have a nice pic!

[diablo3]

you usually don't have to worry about this in Korea. Just be friends with employees in various companies and hope there is a breakthrough via your connections/contacts/friends who will pass on the word that you are interested and able to do the job. A resume after is enough.

[Toby]

Yes, it does depend where you are applying and yes, sadly, Koreans are particularly racist when it comes to colour.

Rather than post your resume here, I would try just applying for jobs that take your interest and a certain percentage that only half take your ineterest and take it from there.

[thorin]