Tefl in South Korea

col89 wrote: »

Just one general question: What websites have people found to be useful when it comes to receiving replies on applying for jobs? The only one I found to be of any use was TEFL.com but it advertises the same advertisements over and over, so I don't know whether I'm missing out on any better websites that could offer more jobs.

I found Dave's cafe an excellent resource on the job hunt. I just write up a general email and bang it off to the recruiters on the job board and put some info on what you want when you want to go.

They may not get back to you straight away but you will find a good few replies.

col89 wrote: »

Thanks, I just looked it up there and it looks miles better than TEFL.com!

I appreciate the reply.

We all have to start from somewhere!

You've picked a good thread for advice. Dave's cafe also has a forum where you can talk over some bits and pieces that you're confused about too. I rely on here and Dave's for answers!

I had a conversation over the phone with the recruiter today. The main thing for the conversation was to calm me down and iron out any worries that I may have. The recruiter said that the school has high resign rates which is great. (they resign about 75% of their teachers?)

The recruiter said that there was also a change in the principals of the school. One of the links tells of a racist mister kim, (who was supposed to have left in 2009/2010) and was replaced by mister kim a Korean/American who is trying to change the school around (I did my interview with this guy.... pleasant to speak to and all that) I asked for confirmation of this and my recruiter said he wouldn't be able to get that for me.

I have emailed a girl that I was in email contact with about getting some skype adds for recent / current foreign teachers at the school....no reply yet.

I dunno what to think, the recruiter hammered home the perks of the job, and what I would be missing out on. Its pretty good pay 2.3 mil won, free accommodation by the beach and two weeks paid holidays.

I told him I needed time....He asked me to sign the contract and send it onto him to buy some extra time (he wouldn't tell the school) , I don't want to do this as I would be legally bound....has anyone been asked to do this at all before?

Sorry if all this is muddled....my head is fried now thinking about all this stuff again and again.

Photocopies of your degrees need to be notarised and apostilled, keep the originals. Your garda clearance letter just needs to be apostilled, as the garda clearance is signed by the superintendent so you don't need to get it notarised. Hope this helps!

Crowcifer wrote: »

Thank you so much for replying!

That helps me immensely. I should have just posted here on Monday instead of going potty.

If you can, I have one more quick question:

Can I get my own (colour) photocopies done in, say, Reads on Nassau St, or do they have to be special photocopies done by the notary public?

I know that sounds a mite silly, but again - t'internet is awash with lies and half truths and it's making me ditzy :-)

Thanks again,
Anthony.

What I did was get double-sided black and white copies on a normal photocopier at work, then brought those along with the originals to the notary public. I got three documents notarised for €30 (but I only really needed to get my degree and teaching cert done). I then sent those to the Department of Foreign Affairs to be apostilled.

@ squeakyduck

Is the recruiter asking for a scanned signed copy of the contract by email or are they asking for your documents by DHL ? I wouldn't worry if it's just the e-mail, that gives you a bit more time to consider. When you send your documents to Korea it takes about a week before your recruiter will send you a visa confirmation number, then you go to the Embassy which will take another week to put the visa on your passport. I don't know when your contract would begin but that's the timeline. But do not be pressurised by recruiters and as G86 said regarding Teaching Contracts, well that may be true.

squeakyduck wrote: »

I had a conversation over the phone with the recruiter today. The main thing for the conversation was to calm me down and iron out any worries that I may have. The recruiter said that the school has high resign rates which is great. (they resign about 75% of their teachers?)

The recruiter said that there was also a change in the principals of the school. One of the links tells of a racist mister kim, (who was supposed to have left in 2009/2010) and was replaced by mister kim a Korean/American who is trying to change the school around (I did my interview with this guy.... pleasant to speak to and all that) I asked for confirmation of this and my recruiter said he wouldn't be able to get that for me.

I have emailed a girl that I was in email contact with about getting some skype adds for recent / current foreign teachers at the school....no reply yet.

I dunno what to think, the recruiter hammered home the perks of the job, and what I would be missing out on. Its pretty good pay 2.3 mil won, free accommodation by the beach and two weeks paid holidays.

I told him I needed time....He asked me to sign the contract and send it onto him to buy some extra time (he wouldn't tell the school) , I don't want to do this as I would be legally bound....has anyone been asked to do this at all before?

Sorry if all this is muddled....my head is fried now thinking about all this stuff again and again.

It sounds like the recruiter is looking after what's important to him....his commission. I doubt that the principal has changed, obviously theres' no way of knowing for sure, but if he's not willing to even try get confirmation of it........

Signing the contract, as stated above by another poster, does not legally bind you to the position. you would have to send him all your other documents and he'd send them to immigration to get you your visa number. Even after the visa number is given, you still aren't legally bound by the contract, although you would have to wait 90 days to apply for another visa number.

Signing a contract does not buy you extra time, if he's not telling the school you signed it, then how could it possibly buy extra time? You'll find that he'll drop you for this position and fill it with someone else if he can, then tell you that the school changed their minds / someone re-signed or some other excuse to try keep you for another job that he'll also get commission for.

If you aren't happy with the job, just politely decline it. Wait for one you feel 100% about. lso, haeundae beach is nice, but you aren't going to want to go on the beach throughout August. Just google 'haeundae in beach season' to find out why. Though in saying that, it is a nice area and is close to lots of bars and restaurants.

dapto1 wrote: »

Anyone here going with EPIK in August? Have ye got your notice of appointment yet? I'm still waiting to hear back, but according to people on the EPIK facebook page it might take a little longer if you went through a recruiter rather than applyig directly.

Hey there,
I'm going to Korea with EPIK in August as well. I asked the agency a while back and he said it will be early to mid July before i would find out what location/school i will be in. So maybe next week?

Cheers hyperbaby, was thinking that alright.

G86 wrote: »

My friend picked up my visa this afternoon for me, so I'm all set now Although now I've given myself something else to worry about as my passport is a bit damaged (cover is worn off ), but the actual passport page is grand so I figure it'll be fine!!! It better be!!! I think I'm just inventing things to stress out about....:o

Yes but it's perfectly normal. Congrats and good luck!

Hey John Joe, That sounds about right. I was charged €22 for two copies of my academic transcripts that were sealed and stamped.(UCD) This was because I'm not a student at the college any more. I think I read that the academic transcripts are free if you are still a student at the college.

I would get two copies of the transcripts. You can scan your transcripts to recruiters if needs be and you have the sealed copies that can be sent straight over to Korea for when they need them.

JohnJoe1987 wrote: »

oh right, i thought i would have to pay 10 euro for every year of results, so if i wanted 2 copies of each year (yr 1-yr4) it would have cost me 80 euro altogether. Thanks for clearing it up

I don't think that's the case it sounds a bit ridic! It should only be cheap!