My school started looking for a new English teacher to replace me. I’m giving input on the whole process and, in turn, it shows me how schools here do their hiring. I’ll be posting tips and such as I get ideas for how to present yourself as “the right (wo)man for the job”.
When you apply for a job in Korea, you need to send your resume and a photo to a recruiter. These two items will decide if the school hires you or not. Schools contact recruiters and they send the school a package containing the picture and the resume of the candidate. If the candidate suits the school’s needs, they contact the recruiter how puts them in touch with the applicant for an interview.
When choosing the photo for your application, take something that makes you look friendly, attractive, intelligent and mature. One of the candidates attached a passport style photo and it made him look like a criminal. My school didn’t even consider him.
You may also want to resize your photo so that it’s not giant on the screen. One of the other candidates had a fairly close portrait that showed all her imperfections (as a close digital shot tends to do). She looked kind, but a giant shot of her face on a white background turned the other teachers off to her, a bit.
Basically, you should think of this as a picture for the yearbook. You want to look good. Your future employer will base most of his decision to consider/not consider you on this picture.
