Wednesday, August 24, 2011

More reader questions....contacting unis

These ones from Matt:

"Should I contact universities by phone, email, snail mail? What do they prefer over there?

Are there many non-English degree professors teaching English in the universities?"

1. I always think a snail mail package is much more impressive, but more expensive and time-consuming on your end.  You'll have a hard time getting through to the person who actually hires on the phone.  And email is an easy way to contact a huge numbers of unis.

Your best bet is to look at job ads (www.eslcafe.com) and follow the directions PRECISELY.  Many people don't and the applications just get thrown out. 

2. Yes, most people don't have English degrees.  A master's degree in anything is good enough, especially for the lower-level unis out in the countryside.  It might be a challenge to get a job in Seoul with something not related to English, education or TESL. 

2 comments:

Mr. Henderson said...

I'm with you that snail mail is a better option. When I was job searching, I basically sent out a thick packet which included a cover letter, resume, copy of my transcripts, copy of my diploma, letters of recommendation, and a passport size photo. After sending out around 150 packets, I only received about 10 responses. This could have been because I applied in the fall, or because I hadn't started on my masters yet. Nevertheless, I got hired at national university on the east coast.

I was fortunate enough to have a former coworker give me a file which had many addresses for universities, but here are couple of sites that might be helpful:

http://www.4icu.org/kr/
http://www.duke.edu/~myhan/c_blku.html

Jackie Bolen said...

10 responses isn't bad!