Korean Job Discussion Forums

davehere22 · Joined: 06 Jun 2007 Location: seoul

would like to hear about what people were asked in their interview

missmarsters · Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Location: Guri, S. Korea

Mine [I had two, with two different companies] were very informal. I think it was to see if I actually spoke English or not...

I was asked if I got the previous email with the offer, if I had any questions and if I wanted to speak with the other foreign teacher. My director speaks very little English, so I think she wanted to keep the conversation short. This is pretty much what I discussed with the other hagwon also. The point of the interview, in my opinion, is to get you to want to go to that school...

davehere22 · Joined: 06 Jun 2007 Location: seoul

is it really as easy as everyone is saying to get a job there?

I have a few emails recently asking for a suitable time to phone me.

Just seems really mad that they want teachers so bad, and are willing to pay flights, good salary, and free accommodation.

I'd half think its too good to be true. But hoping its not because I really want to do it.

icicle · Joined: 09 Feb 2007 Location: Gyeonggi do Korea

Hater Depot · Joined: 29 Mar 2005

The phone interview is really just to check that you really are a native speaker of English and that you are not a crazy person or have bad morals. My previous school would just grab whichever foreign teacher happened to be on break and put him on the phone for a few minutes. My advice is to get that teacher's e-mail and use it to get unvarnished advice.

koon_taung_daeng · Joined: 28 Jan 2007 Location: south korea

2 questions

1. are you white?

2 when can you start?

joyjoy12 · Joined: 15 Mar 2007

I must have missed these types of phone interviews. I think I've only had one where they called me up, explained the details of the job and asked if I had any questions for them.

Most other interviews actually asked typical interview questions. How do you plan on motivating kids to learn English? What are your strengths? How do you think your degree will apply to teaching English? What are your long term goals? When can you start? How do you plan on disciplining students? How are you with children? Do you have any tattoos/piercings (okay, that was only one school)? No extremely difficult questions but a few typical ones (at least they asked). Most took about 20-30 minutes.

I read threads like these and expected my first interview to go as such and was kind of thrown off when they actually asked questions. But, no big deal really.

I had one interview where I wasn't offered a contract (my first interview) and that was because I was naive enough to divulge information that normally wouldn't disqualify you for a job in North America but does in Korea. I knew the moment the words left my mouth just by her reaction that I made a mistake. I learned to keep that to myself from then on.

PRagic · Joined: 24 Feb 2006

Granted, mine was in 1992, but here goes:

1) Do you have your diploma? Passport?
2) What color is your hair?
3) What color are your eyes?
4) How tall are you?
5) Do you have a drinking or drug problem?
6) Do you like drinking (chuckle, chuckle)?
7) When can you get on a plane?

dogshed · Joined: 28 Apr 2006

davehere22 · Joined: 06 Jun 2007 Location: seoul

had a phone interview this morning. with a recruitment agency from South Korea.

It was 8.30 am my time. Lasted about 10/15 minutes

Why i want to move to Korea?
She asked about why i want to teach?
why i wan to teach in a city?
experience with children?
Do i have all the necessary papers and stuff ready?
what kind of hours i would work
what classes i would teach

not in that order...but thats roughly what she was asking me.

It was just building a profile of me Id say.

Had another call last night from a diff agency in krea , but the reception was bad so she just emailed me..

prob better off anyway since i was just about asleep

hubba bubba · Joined: 24 Oct 2006

Sometimes they ask if you have any health problems. This CAN be a red flag, becuase they might have had people "suddenly leave" due to "a health problem". Thye also just might want to know if you will be missing a lot of work, if your classes might suffer, etc.

sojourner1 · Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2007 2:31 am Post subject:

I did not interview with the director, but did a short phone interview with the recruiter and head FT. Be sure to get emails of other foreigners teaching at the schools and get pictures of the school too. You want a stand alone school building that is not just a small office suit in a high rise building as the stand alone school is probably better established and financially stable.

They asked me if I was open minded and interested in staying for a whole year. I said, "yes of course."

Most of the conversation was about location, hours, age group, and selecting from a number of jobs offered. It was very easy, except understanding what the Korean recruiter was saying at times with my lack of experience in hearing the accent or dialect. Now I understand how to listen and reply to Koreans speaking English, but it was tough at first. It's still presents a problem at times with how they often say the exact opposite thing of what they mean which sometimes catches me off guard so be sure to speak slowly and verify important things by repeating what is said to you.

wanderingsalsero · Joined: 23 Dec 2006 Location: Houston, TX.

I'm coming over next week for a publish high school job and I got my job through a recruiter. The person who interviewed my was a female, she sounded young, and I'm assuming she worked at the district for the school.

Being 62 and having a sales background, I'm accustomed to handling questions, spoken and unspoken, and selling myself. This young lady started out asking some of those same stupid bullshit questions that I always hated about tradional jobs here in the US (I guess that's why I've always been self employed Smile

but I hit her with my usual creativity and enthusiasm and by the end of the interview (which was about 10 minutes or so) I had her telling me how much she liked salsa dancing (I worked it into the conversation that I liked to salsa dance....she apparently had been in the US somewhere and knew how to salsa a little) and thought I'd be great for the job.

I really wouldn't worry about it. Just remember that the interviewer is probably just as intimidated by having to do the interview as some of the people being interviewed are. If they 'like' you after the interview.....you've accomplished your mission.

Tokki1 · Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 3:42 am Post subject:

My favourite question (which was the first I was asked): "HOW TALL ARE YOU?"

I mean....meh...no comment...

beachbumNC · Joined: 30 May 2007 Location: Gumi

I thought the phone interviews were sort of nuts.

The recruiting company (out of Canada) interviewed me first. This lady asked me all sorts of questions like

"Can you name a specific time where you had to solve a problem, and then tell me how you solved the problem, and in retrospect was the solution a satisfactory one?"

My answers for questions like this were all "uh, um, well, " and very vague but they liked me I suppose, because later I got a phone interview with a prospective employer in Korea. That lady asked me if I liked to drink and smoke. I was totally unprepared for that one so I (probably shouldn't have but anyway) lied and said "Oh no, those things are bad for you, blah blah blah..." Then the lady acted like she was disappointed because "A teacher needs to be outgoing, like a comedian." She also asked me if I like to eat raw fish.

So in each case I felt like I bombed the phone interview and it turns out I didn't. I agree with the other posters; it's probably just to make sure you ain't a psycho.