Korean Job Discussion Forums

[JLE]

New teaching-creature here! British, male, debt-ridden, searching in Korea...

I've read the numerous warnings about recruiters but decided to risk it for a biscuit as i'm not 100% confident about the alternative of just turning up and burning much-needed cash searching.

Anyway, several contacts, a few interviews and so-far a painless experience and some friendly people. But, before i dive in with the sharks, can i get some advice please.

I've read a little here about People Recruit who have thrown lots of alternatives at me, remained unpeturbed by my irritating fussiness, and (if one ignores several 7:30am phonecalls) have been great (if a little manic: one of the girls always sounds as if she's permanently had too much sherbert...). (Site here: http://peoplerecruit.com/e_home/home.php).

The other i'm dealing with is EFL2Korea
http://www.efl2korea.com/index.html

...who are dangling a tempting job in front of me.

I was wondering if anyone here could give either recruiter the thumbs-up, or recall any horror stories.

Along the same lines: Does the Sullivan/Compukid school of English in Jeon-ju bring back happy memories or set alarm bells ringing with anyone?

Thanks in advnce, Feel free to PM if it's all too gory!

[Hater Depot]

Don't worry about the recruiter, worry about the school they offer. Check out the schools, ask the right questions, talk the current foreign teacher. Then review the contract for red flags.

[JLE]

Ok, noted. Cheers. I suppose my worst-case-scenario detector is imagining recruiters and schools in cahoots to entrap me...

Google and searches aren't turning up anything at all on this particular school though but i did get contact details for current staff so...
...time to use 'em.

[StAxX SOuL]

Hi..

I can't really assist with any advice but as I am in a similar predicament to yourself I am interested in the turnaround that these agencies have provided and also the job offers that you've received, namely city & salary


Cheers!

[ilovebdt]

[bellum99]

Remember that your first school will probably be temporary. You will do a year and then find something better. When you come for the first year, just learn a lot and tough it out. Even if you get the best school in Korea..it can still be difficult. Expect that things will not work to your happiness everytime.
The real truth is that even if you check the school and teachers and everything..it can still be bad. Schools can go from good to bad in a heartbeat..sometimes they go from bad to good (not many). Just tough it out and get your money and experience.
Just do your best to research the school and come on over to try it. No one can give real information about a head hunter company because everyone has different situations. People really don't know, except that David from Omega is bad.

[eamo]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[Roch]

Stay away from this company! They assured me that the B.C.M. in Nampo-dong, Busan, was a great place. The manager, Mrs. Kim, was a total witch and the contract was a useless piece of paper.

The woman who recruited me was named Sally. She bragged to me about going to Toronto, Canada, on a tourist visa to look for work but she admitted to me that she knew that I knew she was off to Toronto to set up an illegal office for EFL2Korea.

[excitinghead]

There's a thread about People Recruit already...

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=40095&highlight=

...opinions there seem pretty positive overall...

But pay attention to bellum99's advice that "schools can go from good to bad in a heartbeat", that's soooo true. I've been here 6 years and had a number of jobs that would have gone from hell to bearable, or bearable to not bad at all, but for one single Korean coworker or headteacher. I know that the jobs would have been very different without them, but there's nothing even the nicest recruiter can do about things like that.

To give a for-instance...at my last job, at a YBM, I had a lot of Uni students in my classes, back home for the summer vacations, but when they had to go back to school many were worried because there wasn't any YBM in the city they were going back to. Considering how different the quality of us way-gook-in teachers there were, it didn't take me long to persuade them that YBM's reputation was undeserved and their classes' quality entirely depended on the teachers. They could find good teachers at bad hogwans and vice-versa.

[peppermint]

[JLE]

Well, i'm looking at a contract for the Sullivan-Compukid Language Institute in Jeon-ju (organised by efl2korea).

The only things i'm not 100% happy with are:

- a 900,000 won deposit (deucted from 1st pay check) on my accomodation and utilities refundable after contract ends.
- round air and trainfare is refunded to me (not paid up front) 25% on arrival, 25% after 3months and 50% (so, the return bit) after 12months (end of contract)

Is this really bad? I don't have much to compare it to.

I am in the proces of mailling current teachers.

Oh, one other thing: they requested i send my original degree certificate to the school who want it to begin a visa application t their local immigration office (in order to get a reference for my application at the embassy in London). Obviously i'm noit keen on sending valuable documents 1000s of miles, does anybody know if a copy notarised by official at the Korean embassy in London will be acceptable. Of course i've emailled the recruiter to ask this...

[jacl]

Do research on the schools. If there's anything negative, drop them. Don't agree to a deposit. Some do, but you don't have to. 900,000 is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out there in left field. More so when they want to deduct the whole thing off your first check. That's BS. Some teachers pay between 300 and 600,000, but it's deducted off their paychecks 100,000 or whatever a month for the first few months. I think they're BS though. There's no good reason for a deposit.

Look for something where they pay for your flight to Korea and get them to e-mail you the contract and work out the details.

[Roch]

Hi,

Please go to the closest R.O.K. Consulate and get a Notarized Copy. If they refuse to do it up for you, then save some moola over however along a period of time it might take, Mate, until you are ready to feel safe and secure about taking such a big plunge. Really, why should you test your nerves by trusting a complete stranger who lives so far away with a document that you worked your ass for, etc.?

Just my two cents worth, etc.

However, if you are determined to get here a.s.a.p., then go with a different recruiting company. That 900k b.s. is, again, b.s. you do not need in your life, Mate. Kiwis in Korea, Canadians in Korea, and Ftunion.com are other well-known orgs to go with.

Whatever you do, do not mail your stuff to anybody and do not let ESL2KOREA, Steven Grommesh ([email protected] and [email protected], amongst other current covers), or any other, imho, crook talk you into doing so. Just my dollar's worth.

[JLE]