Before I left to Starlight, PA for the summer in mid May, I started to look into jobs, the process and the rest. Like anything unfamiliar, it felt like I was diving into a black hole.... where to begin and what to look for. First, I contacted a Canadian friend whom I worked with in Peru. She was in S. Korea prior and that was my start. Just talking to someone that has experience was a safe start. Much more adventuresome than I, when she got her job, it was on a posting at her school. She applied for it and went. I knew I couldn't be so brave. I wanted some more security in resource as it was too big of a change for me not to. The info I wanted, for starting the search, wasn't wasn't from that source, but she gave me plenty on other areas on it as I needed the knowledge. Also being a sounding board, keeps the objective real.
The next step was the internet, of course. Finding my school to get certified and the job that I landed in Peru few years back, I had to Google. Now that I understand the world wide web more I could hone in on one location rather than Google telling me the 1.5 million things it found. I went to www.eslcafe.com - Dave's ESL Cafe. A site that posts jobs, a forum to chat with other teachers, travelers, job postings etc. It has it all and a good reputation. Looking at all the job opts., was overwhelming, I had no idea what I was looking at and looking for to be honest, my eye was always on the money. That is not the way to go with this. I needed to understand and needed to inquire. I decided to put my questions on the Korean forum (Dave's) and see what I got back. I didn't get much there either unfortunately. The person that replied to my thread about finding a good school to work for said that once you get to Korea you find the better schools. So, meaning, it's in the second year you work for a better school. Considering I was looking for a safe and quality experience the 1st year, I wrote back stating the reason to my post is to gain knowledge from an experienced teacher to provide leads, hence the posting... Maybe I was missing something but, I felt I still at square one. Was I asking the wrong questions... possibly..
While I was on my search to find someone or somewhere to get direction and insight, I felt bold and post my resume under the job forum with Dave. Curious and feeling aggressive..what is the worst that could possibly happen? I didn't have to take the job but at least I would get some answers. Immediately, I got several emails and a couple of people even called my number that was on my resume... that scared me. Strange, I wanted work and people were calling but it didn't feel right to me. My instincts kicked in. Soon after I was reading a post on a forum that it was a bad idea. The scammer types and jobs unfavorable are the responders. The see that I don't know what I want and have little experience and can take advantage of that. However, I did learn more. For what I believe for a couple of weeks, I would look at jobs I found, sent them to my friend to see if it was legit with good location, etc.. she helped me and learned. But I needed to find a recruiter. How and where is that going to happen.
In the emails, they ask if I had my paperwork ready to go over there. That is the immediate response. That is the most important to recruiters. Because without it, they cannot proceed to help you get placed in a position... I was beginning to understand more of what I was finding. Well, before summer I did hear about having to notarize and apostille (certify the notary- make the official more official) a criminal background check and if use a copy of diploma instead of sending the original, have to do the same thing. Main list: (from recruiter I used)
- Your original diploma (or notary public/apostille copy)
- Sealed university transcripts (unopened) - you need three but it wouldn't hurt to order a few extra to bring along with you. Do NOT open them.
- Valid Passport
- 5 color passport-size photos (you might want a few extra of these as well since you'll need them for different things in Korea)
- Criminal Record Check (American), from the State Courthouse - Please ensure that it has been both notarized (by a Notary Public) and apostilled (through the Secretary of State Office). Here is the link where you can find their contact info: http://www.apostilleinfo.com/
usa.htm - Medical Statement Form
- Just look over this Medical Statement form for now to be sure that you don't have any problems with it. This form is followed up on in Korea with a medical exam that includes drug testing. Please let me know if this going to be an issue for you.
- Two Letters of Reference (for public school jobs)
My Canadian friend I talked about earlier did give me a friend's contact who could possibly help with finding a recruiter. She is now in UAE and that was also a consideration also. So, I contacted Danielle and she happily wrote back. She told me about UAE and that it wasn't for everyone. It is very conservative place and for single women more challenging. She said, "To get a decent English language teaching job in a college or uni in the UAE, you need a Masters in applied linguistics or TESOL. But there are teachers here with Masters in education and education technology as well. If you don't mind teaching in the public school system, all you need is a bachelors. But teachers prefer the colleges and unis because the students are a little less wild!
And the pay is better!"I did hear the pay there is awesome as Abu Dubai is a tremendous growing city and seems majestic with their unique 7 star accommodations. I also told her I have an art degree.
She wrote back, "Wow, how great if you could get a job teaching art! I am not sure what kinds of opportunities there are for someone with your qualifications but if you are interested in working in the Middle East, namely the UAE, I would simply apply to the unis and colleges. That is what I did. I googled the major colleges and universities in the Gulf and applied to the ones I thought I would like to work for. So I applied to the universities directly.
I teach English at a college about 150km from Dubai, close to the Oman border. I love it here. But a colleague of mine lasted only one semester, she absolutely hated it!
So, I cannot tell you if you will like it or not. Life here is very different from any Western country and I would recommend reading up on the culture and the dos and don't before you think about coming. Life here is restricted in a lot of ways and living here requires...patience and an open mind."I couldn't risk hating something right now. I needed percentage... besides it didn't feel right. Danielle felt Korea was a better place to start and less formal. Korea was the right choice. So, I did find a contact either through her but not sure.. I don't remember, as I said I should have wrote alot sooner. Well, the contact was with a company called Welcome Recruit. I went along with her briefly but didn't feel 100% as she wasn't foreign and wanted that perspective. I did have a great job offer with great pay but I didn't have all the paperwork yet. Regardless, I sent my resume and the company didn't respond so the job was given to someone else. I was a big broken hearted. I felt connected to it, I know it wasn't mine but sometimes you can just read something and get a good feeling. After that I really did hear from her and was still disturbed by the diploma aspect.
A little time later, I was chatting (IM) with my ex in Peru and talked about Korea some more. Although it wasn't a new topic, this time he was telling about another teacher interested in going, Ronday. I met him briefly last year when I went back to Arequipa to get the rest of my things and visit Macchu Picchu. After, I got his email and contacted Ronday. He was thinking of going this Jan. and didn't know much about Korea either. A new teacher there, Tracey, taught in S. Korea and she was a lead. I wanted Ronday to forward my questionnaire to her, with a brief intro about me but he said I should. All this took a week or more span..I was getting impatient. I told Ronday I would do it but it would be faster just to tell her as they were working together... well, anyway, I did get in touch with Tracey and she was very helpful. She still had her contact info from recruiter. I took it and ran with it. The contact was Canadian who started his own company after working and traveling here.. That's my guy! I emailed him immediately. I heard back within a day or so telling me to go to his company's website www.teacheslkorea and fill out application. Once I saw the site, I felt at home. This was what I was looking for. I was ready to go on this journey.
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