5 steps to writing a killer Korean resume (Foreigners only)

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When I was searching for a job in Korea, one MAJOR problem I had was that the format of a Korean resume is so different from an English one. Nevertheless, I found REALLY great help here: The Sawon

It’s so detailed and covers you all the points you need to write for a standard Korean resume that it saves me lots of confusion. *thumbs up*

Hence, I followed the template and wrote one up myself. Then I showed it to the boy-friend. Other than my lousy Korean, one very important flaw that struck him was the DRY, UNORIGINAL and BORING content. He threw my resume into the bin and asked me to re-write everything (by ‘everything’ I meant the part on Self Introduction since the other portions are quite standard) because I am so not getting anywhere with that. 😦

So I did. And with a little tweaking from him, I scored almost all the interviews I have submitted my resume to thanks to these pointers:

1) You need to Overcome a Problem

In Kyunghee University Level 4 classes (I studied level 3 & 4 at KHU before I decided I am ready to look for a job), they teach you the format to write a Korean resume. You start off with how your parents brought you up and the kind of values they instill in you. ALL foreigners will write that. So it’s BORING, it’s uninteresting, it’s NOT SPECIAL. You are JUST ONE OF THEM. It’s like a model answer template, then again it’s not like we foreigners know better how else to write. So no, You my friend, start writing like a Korean. i.e.

Don’t say how kind your mother is and how strict your father was. Find a SAD or TOUCHING or INSPIRING childhood story or problem that you have GONE THROUGH PAINS TO OVERCOME. There, doesn’t that show how much more amazing you are than someone shaped by parents’ teaching? Hah. It’s Korea, go the drama way.

2) Create a Story. Play up your strengths.

When you were a student, I hope you had done some nice awesome community work or had some kind of work experience. I was a badge instructor giving lectures on anti-drug abuse messages to high school kids, I kind of boosted it up a little by adding counseling to ex-drug abusers (I did work with them before, so not entirely false)– which inspired me to study my major – Psychology). SEE, the story needs to FLOW. Cuz we Asians like things that are consistent, that make sense and are logical.

3) Work experience

Just write whatever you would write in an English CV, but it would be better if you had led any kind of projects and excelled in or was awarded for that.

4) Motivations

Everyone will say they love the Korean culture, Korean food, everything Korean, etc. Or that they want to gain overseas work experience, blah blah. I can’t write honestly that I have a Korean bf and am preparing for my marriage so I want to work here either (though in the end, they did dig this reason out from me during the interview, because how else can you give a convincing enough reason that you will not be leaving Korea anytime soon other than that?). So I wrote the same old boring shit. I am not sure how different you can go from here. If you can think of some awesome reason please share it with me, I might need it again soon. Hah!

5) Career plans

Foreigners, you’ve gotta make yourself useful. What did I say? Other than the previous experiences and a positive attitude, I can even make use of my language skills by teaching my colleagues English or Chinese during our free-time or create a recreation workshop, etc. Koreans have that you know, 동호회, they call it. It wasn’t 100% bullshit, I really did want to contribute in that manner. I think it would be better for myself if more people speak better English to communicate with me rather than me having to use my broken Korean with them on a daily basis.

There you go, all the best!

Get a Job in Korea (From D4 to E7)

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Hello, I’ve been working here since September last year. I wouldn’t say I am exactly happy but let’s leave that for another day.

I had a relatively smooth time when I was looking for a job, the whole process from looking to securing one took just a little over 4 months. Note that I was on a language study visa and had only been in Korea for 5 months. I didn’t even have to leave Korea for the visa change, but it was a long wait and I had a hard time convincing the immigration to accept my application. According to them, they don’t really change D4 to E7 just like that (i.e. without having to leave the country first -.-)

Well, here are some pointers I learnt from my job application. You might find them useful:

  1. If you are not into looking for an English teacher position, you should know a bit of Korean.

Because, why else would you be working here if you don’t know Korean at all?

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  1. You need a well-written resume in both English and Korean. (Click here to see the components of a GOOD resume for a foreigner’s standard)

If you don’t add the Korean version, most of the Korean companies will just skip you. You need to write your resume the Korean way, forget your straight-to-the-point-just-write-my-experience English template. Welcome to the “let me begin my story with how my parents brought me up, what kind of personality I have and how much community service I have done” format.

yadayada

  1. The job you are looking for should either match your degree or have a high relevance to your previous job (safe bet would be at least 2~3years).

Because even if you are lucky enough to find a place who’d take you in without a relevant experience, the immigration will not pass you.

nooo

  1. Spam your resumes.

Leave no ground uncovered – direct to ads, direct to companies, through friends, through headhunters, put it in saramin, check out Craigslist, attend career fairs, etc. I got mine through a headhunter that I found on Craigslist though.

answer me

  1. Impress your interviewers with your eagerness to learn and speak Korean, no matter how poor your current standard is.

For this I had no choice, my interview was conducted in Korean most of the time.

For my first ever interview here (a 1 year low-paying contract job which I luckily failed or I wouldn’t have found a better one now. By the way, most entry non-teaching job then wanted to pay 1,800K won per month to foreigners which is like, are you crazy?!), I had to do it simultaneously with a Joseon-jok (Chinese Korean) who is fluent in Korean. The older Koreans just ignored me straight away after 10 minutes because listening to me speak in my broken Korean was a chore. That job stated that they required a marketer who is fluent in Chinese but it is really more like a translator job. And I believe this is going to be the case for most jobs here.

If you are a foreigner fluent in your mother tongue and know quite a bit of Korean, all small to mid-size companies here will take it for granted that your job scope will include translation. For my English-speaking interviews, they were a breeze but unfortunately I overqualified for almost all internships here that are really just looking for cheap fresh-grads or I under-qualified for those looking to hire senior managers or directors.

I hope you have better luck in having interviews that are conducted one-to-one. Or only with you as the potential candidate in the room. As for illegal jobs, yes there will be some available. Those who are willing to pay students cash for simple admin work or translation so that you do not have to register with the government and still get to earn quick money. You can find those on Craigslist, just don’t get caught.

english not good

  1. Be sincere, be punctual and look smart.

I know you can’t help it if you don’t have big bright eyes, an enormous head or a high forehead to look like you are smart, etc. unless you go the plastic surgery route, which would mean “what? Fork out money before you even start earning?” But the least you can do is to dress smart – they love black and white (which is such a bore in Singapore, really. But it’s the standard here) and be ON (no, before) Time. Be confident too, but don’t go too yaya-papaya. Stay humble, remember no one likes an arrogant prick.

im-brilliant

Lastly, do you best. If you fail this round, fret not. Say your prayers because better ones will come. They really do.

How to Get a Job in Korea within 5 Months

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I’ll share with you my experience of being really blessed in my job hunt.

And to add toppings to the dessert, it’s a non-teaching job.

The reason why I say I’m really blessed is because I’ve heard how really difficult it is for a foreigner to find a job in South Korea. Especially one holding a language D4 visa, to be locally hired.

But I’m still playing the waiting game with the Immigration office i.e. it has been 2 months since the visa application and I’m still waiting. I guess Mr. Officer is really busy. He looked really swarmed when I finally went for the face to face interview 2 weeks ago. I’ll continue to pray hard.

Then I’ll continue with this post when everything is confirmed.

God bless.

Time for a change

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Ok, so I have decided that I need a change to this blog. It was too dark and gloomy previously that I didn’t feel like writing. I am also shifting all my personal stuff to dayre, so I guess this space will be more of sharing information and good tips that might be helpful to remember for use later on. 🙂