Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Cigar_Guy]

I'm going to keep this as vague as I can, because I know Dave's charges for hiring ads and I need to be clear that this isn't it.

I'm trying to help my school with some hiring decisions for a foreigner teacher. We've had some real mishaps in the past before I got here, and I'm trying to help as best I can with the new people--the last thing I want is some surly type who's going to do only the barest minimum and collect his money greeting me at work every day with an indifferent shrug.

The problem, of course, is in the questions. Obviously I can't ask "Are you a slacker who's only interested in free airfare to Korea so you can drink yourself stupid every night and not care about your students?" and get a straight answer. I'm also looking for some tips on getting an idea of people's personalities.

[crazylemongirl]

Ask

What their hobbies are.
Good way to get an idea of their 'personality type.'

Have they learned much of the language have they learned and how.
If they answer 'from my girl/boyfriend' without talking about self-study or attending classes then it might be a red light.

How have they improved their teaching here.
If they are having trouble answering, chances are they haven't.

What do they find most challenging about teaching in Korea. What strategies do you use to overcome them.
Classroom management might be a red flag if they haven't looked at how to improve their teaching.

What do they find most interesting.
Some people might be stupid enough to answer 'money.' and if they don't have a good rehearsed answer then they haven't done their prep for the interview which is a good sign.

What do they like/dislike about living in Korea.
I get into trouble with the locals a lot is a sign that they are probably out and about frequently after hours.

Why are they leaving their current position.
Always a good one.

[Cigar_Guy]

Actually, we're mostly looking at people fresh from school without much experience (is this something we should change?).

[elynnor]

...

[alabamaman]

Staffing team could sit in on the interview. Ask situational type questions as well as those tough questions during the interview between the interviewee and staffing team.

Here are two situational type questions.....

How would you handle a situation where a student says he needs help with an assignment, while others are causing distractions?

How would you handle a situation where a student refuses to do work, and the rest of the class is behaving well?

What are your beliefs on student discipline? (Provided the director supports the foreign teachers in using appropriate discipline)
If your director supports foreign teachers using discipline this question will make it or break it for the interviewee if the previous two haven't.

[plattwaz]

[kiwiliz]

I'm puzzled here. If you have had bad luck with teachers and want some that know what they are doing? or have some idea what they need to do...why would you hire young grads who have not had any experience???
How would they know what type of teacher they would be as they have not tried??

[rothkowitz]

If they're fresh teachers and this is in all liklihood their first job and first time out of the country you will experience the same problems.

Why are you only looking for fresh grads?to save money?

Spend a little more and save yrself-or rather your school-some problems.

[Cigar_Guy]

We're looking (at least initially) at fresh grads because we end up getting very different kind of people. It's not just that it would be their first job (though some we've looked at have had co-ops and internships), but we're also looking at people who didn't plan to make teaching a career (particularly not overseas).

Though this certainly carries some downsides (and may sound like sacrelige to some here), it does give us a wider pool of candidates and skill sets, which is particularly useful if personality typing is of great importance (which necessarily narrows the field).

[the_beaver]