Korean Job Discussion Forums

The Hierophant · Joined: 13 Sep 2005

Hi.

I'm finishing my first Korean TESOL contract in May and heading home, but my director is at a loss as to how to find a replacement for me. He wants me to help find a replacement (which is no problem), but also seems to expect me to find one for him.

He literally has no idea how to find a foreign teacher. I've done a few English web searches for recruitment firms for him, but he hasn't been too keen on them because he can't read English to any functional internet-level. So, I've advised that he does a few searches in Korean, but he says

"I have done, there are no Korean sites."

Shocked

I'm a bit taken aback by this. My hagwon hired me through an old highschool friend of mine who worked there the year before me. To get him they used some New Zealand recruitment agency (but my boss says that he lost the homesite of this firm, dear oh dear Confused

).

I want to help them, they're a TINY operation (60 students total), and if they don't find a new teacher they are guaranteed to go under. Also, I'd like to have such matters settled before I leave so as to reduce the chances of being stiffed on severance. Still, it rather baffles me that they have no idea how to go about this and expect me to do it for them (for free no less!)

Anyone got similar stories? Is this a common scenario?

lowpo · Joined: 01 Mar 2007

The Hierophant · Joined: 13 Sep 2005

Aussiekimchi · Joined: 21 Apr 2006 Location: SYDNEY

I am sure there are many sites out there.

jazblanc77 · Joined: 22 Feb 2004

Go on the job boards, find the positions that are being offered up by recruiters and then give him their phone numbers from the ads so that he can contact them and let a bilingual Korean recruiter do the work for him.

andrew · Joined: 30 Jan 2003

.....

lowpo · Joined: 01 Mar 2007

Cynical Optimist · Joined: 26 Feb 2006 Location: S.E. Korea

spliff · Joined: 19 Jan 2004 Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand

I don't see how you can recommend this school if you, yourself are being afraid of being "stiffed" on your severance pay... Shocked

hubba bubba · Joined: 24 Oct 2006

A school that can't possibly figure out how to hire a teacher? Rolling Eyes

I want to open a restaurant. Thing is, I can't cook, and I have no idea how I could possible find someone who knows how to cook.

The Hierophant · Joined: 13 Sep 2005

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

Tjames426 · Joined: 06 Aug 2006

Tell him to offer a 3 million won salary a month. He will have no problem finding applicants.

The Hierophant · Joined: 13 Sep 2005

jmbran11 · Joined: 19 Jan 2006 Location: U.S.

I know you feel bad, and are worried about getting paid, but this really isn't your job. There should be someone there who can speak English well enough to do recruitment interviews. How can you run an English school if none of the administration speak English?!

Prepare a list of recruitment agencies (do a search, there are many listed on this site). Write the name and phone number and give your boss the list. They should all speak Korean, so he can negotiate with them. Explain to him that you would be happy to speak to potential candidates if they have questions, and that you will put an add on a couple of bulletin boards, but he should contact a professional recruiter. If you want to be really helpful, you can ask him to pay to access the resumes on worknplay or on Dave's, and you will be willing to go through them and make some calls.

If you can't fix it, don't feel guilty. It's not your responsibility. That's part of the job of running a hogwan. As far as I can tell, the ability to find teachers to work for you is basically the only requirement for running a hogwan.