The Process- Episode 1

The process to get a teaching job in Korea has been a long one for me. *However,* I'm sure it'll be worthwhile! I'm not sure how many "episodes" it will take me to explain the process so we'll see...

The process for me started quite a while ago. However, I'll cut to the process that most people- I assume- would go through to get a teaching job in Korea.

1. Get a TEFL certificate, preferably of at least 100 hours. TEFL = Teaching English as a Foreign Language. TESOL seems to be used interchangeably with TEFL; TESOL = Teaching English as a Second/Other Language.

I got my certificate through Oxford Seminars. It meant spending 3 weekends (Sat and Sun), 9am-6pm, with three other adults seeking a TEFL certificate. We had a superb instructor who had taught English overseas for a number of years, and who was supportive and knowledgeable. Our classes were held partly in the interesting "zero waste" hotel called, "Boulder Outlook Hotel & Suites," (in Boulder, Colorado), and partly in a large, clean, modern, basement classroom in one of the buildings on the campus of the University of Colorado (at Boulder).

Another way to get one's TEFL certificate is through online companies. I looked into Bridge Linguatec, Inc. online, but decided I needed part of my class to be in person.

2. Update your resume. 

The company I got my TEFL through, Oxford Seminars, has very handy information on how the resume should look. It's different in a few ways from your regular resume in that your picture is required and also your current health condition, marital status, and country of citizenship, to name a few.

3. Send recruiters/potential employers your resume and cover letter.

Here I didn't have to do much at all. I simply went to "My Oxford Seminars," logged in, and clicked on "Graduate Placement Services." I think there was a questionnaire asking things like in which countries I wanted to get a job, how soon I wanted a job, and what ages I wanted to teach. Once I sent this back to them, OS quickly responded asking if I'd like them to send my resume and cover letter on to their Korean contacts. I said, "Yes," without thinking much about it and less than 5 calendar days later, I had 4 emails from Korean job recruiters *and* one phone call.

4. Create a film clip of yourself, the contents of which depends on which recruiter you're working with. 

One recruiter asked me to film myself giving a 5-7 minute teaching demo. (I didn't do this.) Another recruiter asked me to film myself giving just an introduction with my name, my teaching background and experience, and to answer the question, "Why do you want to teach in Korea?" (Link to my film to be supplied in the near future...)

5. Prepare for over-the-phone or skype interview.

I had two over-the-phone interviews. Although I had read that the interviewer would do most of the talking, my first interview seemed odd to me because I hardly talked about myself at all. Perhaps this was partly due to the interviewer having called me at the end of what sounded like a very LONG day for him, and long list of interviews. He must've been used to hearing certain responses over and over because, after he asked me a question, he gave the answer he thought he'd hear, ending with, "right?" For those answers that did not fit me, I told him so, but otherwise I hardly said anything.

The second interview I had was with a woman from Samyook Elementary School. Again I did less than 1/3 of the talking, but this time I made sure to give my mentally-prepared 30-second speech, and to convey a few very important points. This was different than interviews I'd experienced so far in the U.S. because they didn't ask me what my strongest or weakest points are, nor why I believe I would be an asset.

6. Get interviewed.

I made sure to take notes while I was being interviewed because I'm not good at remembering what they said or I said. Afterwards, I made sure to email the interviewer a "thank you" email.

7. Look at contract closely!

Again, Oxford Seminars has very helpful information in their booklet entitled, "Job Search Manual," which a TEFL course graduate receives. I'm glad I heeded their advice! It turned out that, under the salary section, some of the percentages of deductions from salary were *incorrect* in that they were too high on the contract I was originally emailed. The corrected contract has lower percentage numbers on it.

8. Sign the contract once you approve of it.

For me, after I signed it, I then scanned and emailed it back to the recruiters who then passed it on to the school. I received confirmation that my position was secured at the school from the recruiters.