Hello,
I'm trying to find a job in South Korea teaching English. I am getting my CELTA certificate all of September. I have been contacted, after applying to a few sites, by a group called HandS Korea. They sound legit. They help people find jobs. However, I just wanted to be sure that there was no scam involved. Anyone on here ever heard of them? They said they could assist in finding both a job and in the visa process.
Any help on this is appreciated!
Best,
Drew
Hands Korea appears to be--as you said--a recruiting agency for teaching English. There are many recruiting agencies here, and there is no reason to go with the first one that contacts you.
You need to do some research; I agree that you should look at the Korean job forum on Dave's. Spend a few days looking over the job ads. Note that some of them are posted not by recruiters but directly by schools. Since recruiters are typically motivated solely by money, you may be better off trying to find a direct ad from a school that is also motivated by trying to find a quality teacher.
Make it a point to talk with current/former teachers at a school before signing. Also, any recruiting agency or school will, by necessity, assist you in the visa process (which includes a criminal background check and, usually once in Korea, a medical check).
Good luck!
Hands Korea may be the first, but if you have posted your details anywhere on any Korea job search sites, you can place a sizable bet that very many similar recruitment agencies will be contacting you in the near future!
Almost 10 months after starting work in Korea, I still get job listings and unsolicited emails from recruitment agencies almost every week.
I found my (very good) job through a recruiter .... but keep at the forefront of your mind that they are not to be trusted. Like #2 suggests, recruiters are only interested in getting you into a job and receiving their commission from the school. Once a recruiter has contacted you about a position, you need to do your own research about the school rather than trust in everything the recruiter tells you.
There are a few problems with Daves ESL Cafe.
1) They delete anything negative about paying sponsors.
2) People there have a tendency to accuse visitors of being trolls or just ignoring new people all together.
3) Sometimes you just get no info at all and the search feature there BITES!
;)
Hands Korea is actually a really good recruiting agency. I have used them 2x now. I have looked into others and they tend to tell you what you want to hear and get you started on the application. Then, at the last moment, they tell you that you need something else or that the school you were going to teach at isn't interested anymore or whatever. It's very frustrating.
Hands Korea has a number in the USA so it wont cost an overseas charge for talking with them. Just remember that they are about 13 or 14 hours ahead of the USA East coast.
They are quick with replying to email too, especially if you send them in the evening (USA time).
If you want a public school instead of a private school, make sure you tell them. Also give them an idea or 3, where you want to be located in South Korea and they will do their best to get you there; such as Busan or Suwan or even Seoul.
Good Luck.
