The Seoul Stumbler

The first step to take when looking for a job teaching in Seoul is to get a recruiter.  Becoming an English teacher in a foreign country is very complicated, and I highly suggest getting a recruiter.  They will explain the process to you and help you the whole way through it.  They will also put in a good word with your application.

Recruiters are free, so it's basically like hiring free help.  I don't see why anyone would apply without going through a recruiter.  They will find you jobs and make sure you complete all of your documents correctly. 

I applied through the Korvia agency.  Their website is very helpful, and they even have a quiz to see if it's the right job for you.  I spent hours and hours on their site finding out all sorts of information before I applied.  It's very informative and they have lots of videos as well. 

They hire teachers in August and February.  I recommend applying for a recruiter 6-8 months early! I know this sounds crazy, but you will need all the time to get your documents ready.  There is a lot of waiting on documents to be processed with the government, such as background checks. 

The website has a simple application that you fill out and add your resume on. 

A recruiter will get back to you shortly and have you fill out a questionnaire for them. This questionnaire asks about your health, where you'd like to be placed, just simple personal questions.

The recruiter will then have an interview with you to make sure you are serious about this job.  This interview may be over skype or over the phone.  My interview was over the phone. (I thought it would be through skype and I actually dressed up! haha I felt silly afterwards) I answered some very simple questions like why I wanted to work in Korea, if I had ever been there, did I know any Korean... things like that. It was really no big deal, though a few times I had a hard time understanding my recruiter's accent. They are very kind and patient though, and will repeat their questions.