There have been some dramatic changes in the Korean ESL job market over the past few years. In the past the Korean ESL industry was a teachers market; meaning, there we’re countless jobs and not enough applicants to fill all of the available positions each year. Today the market is much different and many schools now have the luxury of reviewing multiple applicants for many of their available positions; meaning, current market conditions are in the schools favour (in most instances).
I thought South Korea had the world’s greatest number of English teaching opportunities for western graduates? This is still true; Korea still hires and employs more western graduates than any other country on the planet. The reality is, teaching overseas is now common practice for many recent graduates so there’s a lot more people looking for teaching jobs abroad then there was in the recent past. The economic struggles in North America and Europe have also fuelled the increased number of applications as graduates who are unable to find work at home look for alternative opportunities abroad.
We obviously do our best to accommodate as many applicants as possible but as recruiters we’re limited to the number of job vacancies that are available each year, the hiring practices of the schools and the number of applications we’re receiving; therefore, we do not guarantee job placements for everyone that applies.
Secondly, meeting the requirements doesn’t translate into a job guarantee. Recruiters are essentially responsible for introducing applicants (teachers) to the schools to review but recruiters are not employers and as such we have no control over their hiring practices. The truth is many Korean schools have specific preferences when it comes to the types of teachers they’re willing to employ. Hiring preferences vary between employers but it’s fair to say that all schools have specific preferences in one form or the other. Some schools will only consider certain nationalities, some schools will only consider female teachers, some schools will only consider teachers who are under a certain age and some schools will hire anyone as long as they like the person’s personality.
Please Note: School preferences are not a reflection of Gone2Korea policies - again, we’re recruiters not employers. As recruiters we charge schools the same recruitment fee regardless of age, gender, nationality, etc. In short, if a recruiter is able to place an applicant then they will - it’s how we earn a living and it’s as simple as that.
Like most things in life, timing is critical and securing employment in a foreign country is no different. There are certain times of the year when more jobs are available. It’s during these peak hiring sessions that people will have the greatest chance of placement. Please visit our When to Apply page for more details.
Gone2Korea is one of the leading ESL recruitment agencies for South Korean schools and we’re proud to say that we place hundreds of teachers in the public and private school sector each year. Our teachers come from Canada and the US, the UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
