the last temptation of the Hominid

A friend forwarded me the following (slightly edited):

Dear Applicants,

Chungdahm Institute (CDI), one of Korea's most prestigious private institutes and ESL research facilities, is looking for talented and motivated full-time instructors, managers and professionals to join CDI schools throughout Seoul, Korea to begin from February 2005.

CDI Remuneration:

The standard remuneration packages, generally considered to be among the highest of any industry in Korea, can be seen under the "Salaries & Benefits?section at http://job.cdi.co.kr

Example of standard starting pay scale:

6 hours of instruction per day
Average of 30 teaching hours (5 days) X 4.2 weeks = 126 hours/month
126 hours X 30,000 KRW/hr = 3.78 million won/month
3.78 mil. Won X 12 month = 45,360,000 won/yr
45,360,000 won/yr ?3.3% tax = 43,860,000 won/yr (net $41,855 USD/year)*

*net $41,855 USD/year equals to approximately $55,000 USD before taxes in the U.S.

Please note that the above is an average STARTING pay scale for 5 days worth of instruction at 6 days per hour. For highly qualified candidates based on stellar academic background and experience in English education-related fields, higher initial hourly rate (up to 40,000 KRW/hr) and incentives (housing loan, airfare etc.) may also be offered for salaries in the $50,000 ~ $70,000 net USD range.

Resume Application:

For a complete overview of CDI's formidable pay structure, admission requirements, CDI culture and mission statement, etc., please visit our comprehensive homepage at http://job.cdi.co.kr. The official recruiting at CDI occurs year round, and applicants are welcome to apply at any time by completing our online application at the website. Should the online form pose technical difficulties, please send an updated resume and cover letter with a recent self-picture to job@cdimail.net in MS-word document.

Interview process:

To be eligible to begin in February 2005, all resumes must be received as early as possible TO BE CONSIDERED FOR JANUARY INTERVIEWS. Below are the dates for the interview sessions. Please include all the dates that are possible from below in your application letter. Please note that Interviews are offered only to applicants who successfully meet the resume screening qualifications and interviewees must initially attend an interview at the CDI HQ in Seoul, Korea. (CDI may also conduct onsite interviews in the US in late January, and will re-post for such opportunities)

CDI interview session dates in Seoul, Korea
January 3rd, January 14th, January 25th
January 4th, January 15th, January 26th
January 7th, January 17th, January 27th
January 10th, January 19th, January 28th
January 11th, January 20th, January 13th
January 21st

Training sessions:

Successful candidates in the interview and writing sample section will be invited to CDI's own paid-training sessions (up to one million Korean Won depending on the training duration) including video training, in-depth lecture, method analysis, time management, in-class observations, mock-teaching, and administrative training.

Once again, CDI interviews will be conducted in Seoul, Korea. Phone interviews or video conference-type interviews will be given only on a limited basis to highly qualified candidates based on stellar academic background and experiences in the English education related fields.

Immediate openings at CDI:

CDI is seeking to hire highly qualified instructors for the positions below to start In early January 2005. Preference will be given to candidates that can start immediately.

1) Writing Instructors: Instructors with strong writing background either professionally or academically; Instructors who have taught TWE or SAT essay writing; Instructors who have taught writing in high schools or at the university level. The individual must have graduated from a recognized 4-year undergraduate program and hold at least a BA degree. The position is set to begin from early to mid-January.

2) Test Preparation Experts: Instructors who have taught SAT, TOEFL, CBT; People who have worked for ETS content development; people who have developed items for SAT, TOEFL, or CBT. The position also includes incentive-fee based content development projects in addition to class instruction. The above positions are open for immediate start.

Please send an updated resume and cover letter outlining your qualifications with a recent self-picture to job@cdimail.net in MS-Word document.

With over 6000 students enrolled and a 120-instructor staff, the CDI organization is expanding at remarkable speed. But CDI means more than just a teaching job, encompassing diverse fields including R&D, publishing, copyrights and intellectual property, online e-Learning, and software development, to name just a few.

I look forward to meeting all the talented and passionate professionals who are looking for more than "just another teaching job."

Truly,

Jimmy Chang

HR Director, CDI

Job@cdimail.net
http://job.cdi.co.kr

For those of my co-workers at EC who read this blog, feel free to contact these folks. Take the smarmy stuff with a grain of salt. Look for the catch. Ask if you can speak with other employees there. Speak with more than two or three. Make sure to ask HOW LONG they've worked at the place. Find out who's stayed there longer than two years, and why they chose to stay while others chose to leave. Also, check whether the place is doing split shifts and/or block schedules.

By the way, note with caution the clever language about "average" work hours. When talking with the expat staff, ask them how often they're asked to do extra work for the company, and whether they think it's worth it. Also note that "CDI is expanding with remarkable speed," which can be a source of problems, just as it currently is at EC. So take this job ad with a grain of salt.


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