Message from a Recruiting Agency in Response to Complaint

Kudos to Amanda from Flying Cows in response to a comment from this posting.

Hi there

I am the founder of Flying Cows and I’d just like to say that this in no way reflects the manner in which we normally work. I can only think that this must have been the response of a non-permanent member of staff. I would like to personally apologise for this and let you now that we are taking this very seriously.

I set up Flying Cows almost seven years ago. After having taught in Korea for four years I was acutely aware that there was a need for a decent recruiter in the industry who was interested in more than collecting a recruitment fee.

I was both surprised and disappointed to read this post and I hope you will accept our apology.

Enjoy Korea!!

Amanda

I hope this message shows that not all recruiters are only looking for short-term gain at the expense of their candidates’ misfortunes.  The recruiters that last long are the ones that try to uphold their reputation as honest and working in the best interest of all parties involved.  There are many horrible recruiters in Korea; that’s for sure.  Everyone says that recruiters are only out to make money.  To be honest, that’s the number one goal.  This isn’t a charity, it’s a business.  However, smart businesspeople understand that they cannot cut corners or screw people over if they want their business to stay afloat or even survive.

Also, one must understand that even honest recruiters encounter shortfalls like the one mentioned above.  We’re people after all.  It goes to show the agency’s integrity that she apologized on another person’s behalf.

By the way, I don’t know Amanda or Flying Cows, although I do remember the name:)

Tutor caught illegally making hundreds of millions of won

I posted before about how private tutors make a killing in Gangnam.  Looks like this guy takes the cake though.

He allegedly taught a group of students in a 337 square-meter (102 pyeong) apartment, charging about 10 million won per student per year.

Wow, wonder how he got caught.

Bad News for Some F-4 Holders/Applicants

It’s come to our attention that some people that we know have recently tried to renew their F-4 visas and were denied based on the fact that they were born in the U.S. (haven’t heard any problems from other countries but doubt that their cases would be different) when their parents were still Korean citizens.  They were even told that they may have to serve in the Korean military which I believe is total BS (if the immigration officer said that) as they were Americans.  Does anyone know of a Korean-American that was conscripted into the military.  I know that this is not new news but I really doubt that it ever happened.

Anyways, I’ll get into the details once I hear more information but I’m presuming they’re doing this to discourage Koreans from going overseas to give birth so that their offspring can avoid military duties.  From what I understand, it’s only gyopo males that are facing these issues and they were all born in the U.S.  It doesn’t really make sense as they were already issued F-4 visas and working here.  If this law stays in effect (why wouldn’t it though eh?) there’s going to be a major brain drain as many of these visa holders work for major corporations here, not only as English instructors.  One guy told me that the immigration officer implied that he should just come back with an E-2 visa.

I just renewed my F-4 last November and it’s good until 2012.  My parents were Canadian citizens long before my birth so I don’t think I have nothing to worry about.  If my visa does get revoked, I’ll be married to my girlfriend by then and just apply for the F-2:)

If anyone has any experience like this applying or renewing the visa, please let me know your situation.  I think this new law is utterly absurd as it has nothing to do with the actual individual but choices or circumstances their parents were in several years (decades?) ago.

Last Post on Filipino Instructors

Okay, my posts (here, here, and here) on the possibility of Filipino instructors have generated a lot of discussion.  I’m going to end it.  Some may have claimed that my stance was racist which I don’t believe it is so.  I just believe that nationalities whose native tongue is English should be the ones teaching their language.  I think it can be generally agreed upon that most Koreans would want to learn English from someone with a North American accent and to a lesser extent, those with British, Australian, Kiwi, South African accents (sorry guys, sad but true).

Kaiweasley, a Filipina, echoes my sentiment.  We are talking about the vast majority here; of course there are many that may be capable of teaching the writing, reading, and grammar aspects of English and even less, speaking.  I know I’ll be flamed for saying this as well but there is also a lot of nationalistic pride involved when defending one’s peoples particularly on this subject.  Kudos to Kaiweasley for telling it like it is:

Hello. I’m a Filipina and I’ve had my fair share of time in those Korean call centers in the Philippines. Unfortunately, many Korean call centers fail when it comes to screening their tutors – which is why a lot of students do not get their money’s worth. I’m not looking down on Filipinos because that would be ironic and just stupid. My point is, a lot of so-called English tutors pride themselves in being capable of teaching the language when if fact, they do not have the skills to do so. I admit, when I hear some fellow teachers speak, I can’t help but secretly cringe. However, I’ve also met a lot of capable Filipino English tutors as well.

It’s just a matter of proper screening, really

6 Out of 10 Employees Dissatisfied with Pay

I don’t even know why they conduct these polls.  Aren’t the majority of employed people in this world dissatisfied with their pay??

Fifty-one percent of respondents said the best way to get paid more appropriately is to switch jobs, while 42 percent said they could earn more through performance.

Big fat DUH.

Changing Jobs in the Middle of a Contract

Pedro asks:

What advice do you have for changing jobs 3 months into the contract?

This was commented from my post here.  My advice would be unless your current employer is seriously screwing you over or you’re extremely miserable at your job, don’t try to change to a different position.  It’s possible but there is a lot of red tape.  If you’re getting paid on time and your boss and coworkers aren’t putting you through hell, I would just stick it out.

That said, if something is seriously not right here are the steps you should take:

• Give written notice via email and on paper to your employer.  Your contract should outline the minimum amount of days you should give before ending your contract
• Be as civil and professional as possible up to your last day of work.  Don’t be late, complain about little things, and do your best.  This leads to my next point.
• Obtain a letter of release from your employer.  If you worked more than 6 months on an E-2 visa, a transfer is possible sans visa run.  However, if you worked less than 3 months, you must go on a visa run (once you have a new position) to get a new E-2.  Keep in mind that it is not a legal requirement for an employer to provide a letter of release which is why you should be as nice and professional as possible so that they will.
• Get a new job (ideally this should be done before you quit).  Transfer the visa over (6 months or more) or go on the visa run (less than 6 months).  The new school may or may not pay for the visa run.