This morning I woke up to see the e-mail I have been waiting to receive for what seems like an eternity.
Gwangju was my preferred location so I could not be happier. Of course, I would be happy with any placement, as I believe each city and province has its own personality and charms.
Now comes the wait for the notice of appointment, contract, and visa application. Exciting stuff!
Ad astra per aspera,
– Jeffrey
Most of these suggestions are dependent upon your timing and personal preferences~
1. Apply directly
I say this even though I applied through KorVia consulting. The general rule is that recruiting agencies have a later application acceptance date (around April 1st) than applicants who apply directly. As an example, for Fall 2016 intake, direct applicants could submit their applications on February 1st, 2 whole months earlier than us recruiter applicants.
However, I HIGHLY recommend KorVia should you choose to use a recruiter!
2. Strategize your preferred location and be open to any location
Check that box saying you are open to other locations if you cannot be placed in your preferred location! Being flexible is a huge deal.
Seoul, Busan, and Gyeonggi-do are generally viewed as the most competitive locations. If you have your heart set on a metropolitan area, you may be best served to go avoid listing Busan and Seoul, and instead, apply to a smaller metropolitan area such as Daegu, Ulsan, Daejeon, Sejong city or Gwangju.
In other words, choose a less competitive metropolitan area or else you may be placed in a place like rural Gangwon province (no hate on Gangwon, though. They have the Olympics coming up!). Rural areas have their own charms and you may find that you are best served in the countryside.
Of course, by all means, if you really want Seoul or Busan write it down. Continue reading
While I will not share what I wrote for my mine, I hope these tips will help you in formatting and writing your personal essays!^^ Continue reading
After receiving your cleared Identity History Summary Check from the FBI, you will need to have that document apostilled by the Department of State in Washington, D.C.
You have the option of using a channeler to expedite this process, or you can do it independently. I went with the independent option via mail since I expedited my initial background check results and had time to go the normal route.
Documents you need to include in your package – Continue reading
Constantly checking your email, counting days, searching online to see if anyone else has received placement notices. One of the best ways to deal with the struggle of waiting for your EPIK placement, is by focusing your attention elsewhere. Here, in no particular order, is my list of things you can do while waiting for your EPIK placement! Continue reading
Let me just start by saying that this topic is a HOT MESS. It may be because it is tax related that I automatically had a predetermined attitude that this would be a complicated form to complete, but the 16 page set of directions that go along with it seem to justify my confusion and frustration.
So after I passed my EPIK interview I received an email from my recruiter telling me that I need to apply for a residency certificate to avoid double taxation.
This is only applicable to teachers from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, United Kingdom and United States. Candidates from Canada and Ireland and those who resided in Korea for more than 2 years are NOT applicable. For those who cannot apply for this income tax exemption, your income tax (3.3%) will be deducted from your salary. By submitting your residency certificate to your school(employer) in Korea, you will prevent about at least ₩800,000 (per year) of income tax in Korea per year being deducted. Continue reading
“Applicants must attach a professional photo in the box provided. The photo should consist of the applicant’s head and shoulders. Make sure to smile and look friendly as this is going to be your school’s first impression.” – EPIK Fall 2016 Application Directions
I recommend taking your own photos to avoid paying too much and ending up with a photo that you are not happy with putting on your application.
What you will need –
Digital Camera / Smartphone with camera
Anyone applying to EPIK knows about the dreaded “FBI Criminal Background Check”. No, most of us (I assume) do not have a criminal past, but because the process is notorious for being drawn out, sometimes delayed (looking at you government shutdown!), and adds more time to an already seemingly unbearably long line of “wait and see” necessities required to apply to EPIK.
In the words of Sweet Brown:
Ain’t Nobody got time for THAT!
Speeding up this process IS possible. Of course I will say that with every part of this application process, a lot of what you choose to do depends on time and money. I personally wanted to have all of my documents in hand so that as soon as I passed my EPIK interview (knock on wood) I could send off my documents and be in the queue ASAP.
I did my research and discovered that the FBI has a list of “Approved Channelers”. These channelers operate so that they get your fingerprints, they send them to the FBI and the FBI sends the results to them in literally only days vs. the WEEKS (Months, possibly) it usually takes when you do it alone. Continue reading
Here is the timeline of my EPIK application process
Ad astra per aspera,
-Jeffrey
