Korean Job Discussion Forums

[hellofaniceguy]

I know of 9 teachers who have applied at 9 Universities in Korea and have Master's degrees but no offers! Anyone else experiencing this?

[kimcheeking]

universities prefer to hire in country. It's cheaper and they are more likely to find teachers who won't run and are over culture shock.

[jsmac]

I (that is to say, my MA and I) had 3 uni offers and signed one, to start in March, from Canada. But I applied to 20 or 30 postings and I have teaching experience. There is a clear preference for those already in Koera. I'm glad it was a phone interview though, because I wouldn't have wanted them to see the look on my face when they asked me if I "have religion." Now THERE'S something you don't find too often at NA interviews, unless you're applying to Oral Roberts University or something.

[autumneve]

There are several reasons why you can't get a job from overseas. First, the competition for University jobs is pretty stiff. For my school, one add here at Dave's generated over 400 responses. Second if you do can interview face to face then the school knows what it's getting, and that's what the hiring process is all about. People that look good on paper may turn out to be duds when you get them in an interview. Second, schools want somebody that has worked in the trenches of a hagwon, so they won't complain so much when the university doesn't meet the standards that one experienced at home. Last, just like the other post said, someone with experience isn't likely to run and he or she has gotten over most of the culture shock. You might want to consider taking a six month contract with a hagwon just to get into Korea and get your feet wet.

[knelly]

I too had this problem. I sent out 20+ aps...I'm pretty well qualified (MA) and have experience in Korea (3years), still the only responses were luke warm...one offering shared housing, one offering less than 2mil, two colleges actually calling once and then not bothering to return emails or not responding to returned voicemail messages. There seems to be a lack of professionalism in the hiring process (I know..big surprise) that isn't present in other countries I've applied to. So...you interviewers out there..send an email telling us we didn't get the gig, and if you get the answering machine when you call at 7am...try calling back at a reasonable hour!

[belzoond]

hmm.

[420bro]

[dogshed]

At one time in the US letters were sent more often but since then three
things have happened.

1. There are more people getting college degrees and other post-secondary education.
2. There has been more education about resumes and the application process.
3. Companies advertise positions more to avoid using the good old boy system or to appear they are not using the good old boy system.

I don't have any statistics nor have I done a study but I would say that each person sends out many more resumes then a similar applicant would have 10 or 20 years ago.

At the resume class I took the instructor human resource managers were
telling him that they get hundreds of applicants for each job. I'm sure it's that way for university teaching positions also.

[The_Conservative]

[sojourner1]

Sure, the job market in the US and around the world for coveted positions presents much fiercer competition today since fewer coveted jobs exist today for college graduates and there are more graduates as well. This is why today�s college graduates are spending thousands of hours studying career advancement resources and sending out many more resumes than they did before the year 2001, the year everything changed globally. During 2005 and 2006, I sent out approximately 10,000 resumes and online applications with only a few low paying offers and I graduated from a high ranking university, had a few years of pre-9/11 IT experience, and several years of U.S. Army experience abroad. This proved to me the kind of unprecedented competition in job markets taking place in the new century.

When I applied several times late last year for hagwon teaching in Korea, I received job offers right and left, because this is a high demand area of the global job market for my skills and qualifications as is the case for most of you here. I can say I did very well in finding a job, but professional development and time off are lacking which is a major reason why university positions are highly coveted. I can easily believe that each university listing on Daves receives at least 1000 applicants. At home, many professional job listings receive 10's of thousands of applicants for which are probably never looked at by one single human being in those companies. All those thousands of hours graduates put into those online applications and resumes is a big waste of human talent, energy and time, but it's all we can do in the job search process, especially if money is not on your side.

I know of one FT who taught one year in my hagwon whom I replaced and who landed a university job, but the job pays only 1.7 M won with a 300K housing allowance. He took less remuneration to get those 3 months off while teaching university level subjects. Time off and interesting work compensates him for the financial loss, because it is intellectually stimulating to work with advanced subject matter and have plenty of personal time to do an online masters and pursue hobbies.

My advice: If you fail the 1st time in achieving what your sights are set on, then keep trying while doing everything to not let yourself go broke in the process.

[dogshed]