job interview...?

No, I can't say that a university has called to ask me for a job interview, but at one of the unis I applied to, my inside man has told me that I've made it onto one of three necessary lists. At this uni, which I won't name lest I be Googled for having written this post (but which I've written about in the past), the process of elimination of candidates is this: a mass of applications will arrive, after which there's a "first cut." From this first cut, the remaining apps are placed on one of three lists of possibles—each list created by a different staffer. The possibles are each given a rating from 0 to 100 (obviously, to have made it this far, no possible will ever rate a 0). The three people, presumably creating similar lists of possibles, will then narrow the field further by averaging the ratings across the three lists. Top ten average ratings get the interviews.

Much of this is dependent on the paperwork that I sent in. Before there's even any interpersonal interaction, there's an assessment of my cover letter, résumé, transcripts, diplomas, etc. In all likelihood, given this university's terrible track record with me in the past, I won't hear a thing if I don't make the cut—not even a curt "Sorry, but we feel you aren't a match for us"-style rejection. Many, many Korean universities need to work on their professionalism in this regard; too many just leave the job-seeker hanging, which is annoying and inconvenient, especially with regard to the making of crucial travel plans. The university in question has said, in its advertisement, that job interviews are to take place this Saturday, June 28, so if they're planning on telling people to come in for an interview, they'd better do so by either today or tomorrow.

A colleague of mine, also applying to other universities, has said that some places have given him very little lead time: they've told him to come interview with only a day or two of advance notice. Again, this isn't very professional; a civilized place would give the prospective employee at least a week. But last-minute shenanigans are a Korean trademark, so perhaps this isn't so surprising.

I continue to check the job classifieds for new opportunities, but very few conform to my expectations, so I'm not sending out a blizzard of applications: I'm picking and choosing my targets carefully. I have no intention of going to Seoul just to work at a job that pays the same as what I've been getting; the goal is to leapfrog a whole tax bracket or two in order to start paying down my massive scholastic debt. Meanwhile, the Golden Goose has been coy about whether it wants me in its employ; what seemed a sure thing is now no longer so sure.

So I wait.


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