Applying to EPIK Fall 2012

[pinedust]

Update for my fellow recruiter applicants -
I received an email from my recruiter this morning (midnight), she says I have an interview scheduled for this Wednesday night my time (est) Thursday (KST). So it seems they are starting to roll into the recruiting picks now.

(For reference, my app. was submitted April 3rd, the 2nd day of accepted apps.)

I'm eggggggcited about it. 

Hoping to get one of those 400 spots. Time to shine the pearly whites. Good luck to everyone with an upcoming interview (known and unknown yet. They're coming!!!!)

Congratulations on the interview!

I just FedEx'd all my required documents- so I'm just crossing my fingers for a Seoul placement. 

[tehayne]

Anybody know when the last day is to send in your application?

The preliminary date is June 1st. But spots are filling fast...and they are first come first serve. So the earlier the better. :)

[BELTA]

Interview JUST finished. :)

I think it went well. She told me to get my docs in order and gave me tips on what to do when I meet my co-teacher (because my height is SO rare in Korea, I may be intimidating - I'm 6 feet) so I'm taking that one to the bank and hoping it means what it sounds like it does.

My interview was based a lot around my majors (English & Textual Studies / African American Studies); the CELTA; my experience teaching kindergarten; my educational philosophy, what kind of experience do I want to have, what do I know about Korea and what I would do if my co-teacher was teaching the wrong thing in class. It lasted about 25 mins.

She began with asking me very basic questions like how do you say your name, whats your address, phone number, where will I apply for a Visa and what kind.

*Tip - make them laugh. Yes, the process is very stressful and if you're like me you're uber nervous, but at the end of the day, they're just trying to learn about YOU so show them you (your personality) and let the all the pieces fall into place.

(Hopefully I'll be back on soon with good official news of passing, and if not, then count this as the biggest "you thought you did it when you didn't" EVER!!! :o

[BELTA]

Interview JUST finished. :)

I think it went well. She told me to get my docs in order and gave me tips on what to do when I meet my co-teacher (because my height is SO rare in Korea, I may be intimidating - I'm 6 feet) so I'm taking that one to the bank and hoping it means what it sounds like it does.

My interview was based a lot around my majors (English & Textual Studies / African American Studies); the CELTA; my experience teaching kindergarten; my educational philosophy, what kind of experience do I want to have, what do I know about Korea and what I would do if my co-teacher was teaching the wrong thing in class. It lasted about 25 mins.

She began with asking me very basic questions like how do you say your name, whats your address, phone number, where will I apply for a Visa and what kind.

*Tip - make them laugh. Yes, the process is very stressful and if you're like me you're uber nervous, but at the end of the day, they're just trying to learn about YOU so show them you (your personality) and let the all the pieces fall into place.

(Hopefully I'll be back on soon with good official news of passing, and if not, then count this as the biggest "you thought you did it when you didn't" EVER!!! :o

I passed  :D
I used RushDocs for the apostille. I will post my experience on here. However, I can say that so far their response has been less than 24 hrs when I asked questions so I'm anticipating a fast turn around.

Para mas, check out my blog http://blackeltabroad.wordpress.com

[sgtsloth]

Interview JUST finished. :)

I think it went well. She told me to get my docs in order and gave me tips on what to do when I meet my co-teacher (because my height is SO rare in Korea, I may be intimidating - I'm 6 feet) so I'm taking that one to the bank and hoping it means what it sounds like it does.

My interview was based a lot around my majors (English & Textual Studies / African American Studies); the CELTA; my experience teaching kindergarten; my educational philosophy, what kind of experience do I want to have, what do I know about Korea and what I would do if my co-teacher was teaching the wrong thing in class. It lasted about 25 mins.

She began with asking me very basic questions like how do you say your name, whats your address, phone number, where will I apply for a Visa and what kind.

*Tip - make them laugh. Yes, the process is very stressful and if you're like me you're uber nervous, but at the end of the day, they're just trying to learn about YOU so show them you (your personality) and let the all the pieces fall into place.

(Hopefully I'll be back on soon with good official news of passing, and if not, then count this as the biggest "you thought you did it when you didn't" EVER!!! :o

I passed  :D
I used RushDocs for the apostille. I will post my experience on here. However, I can say that so far their response has been less than 24 hrs when I asked questions so I'm anticipating a fast turn around.

Para mas, check out my blog http://blackeltabroad.wordpress.com

Did you apply direct or use a recruiter? I submitted mine 12 days ago through a recruiter, still nothing back I am beginning to lose hope =/

[BELTA]

Interview JUST finished. :)

I think it went well. She told me to get my docs in order and gave me tips on what to do when I meet my co-teacher (because my height is SO rare in Korea, I may be intimidating - I'm 6 feet) so I'm taking that one to the bank and hoping it means what it sounds like it does.

My interview was based a lot around my majors (English & Textual Studies / African American Studies); the CELTA; my experience teaching kindergarten; my educational philosophy, what kind of experience do I want to have, what do I know about Korea and what I would do if my co-teacher was teaching the wrong thing in class. It lasted about 25 mins.

She began with asking me very basic questions like how do you say your name, whats your address, phone number, where will I apply for a Visa and what kind.

*Tip - make them laugh. Yes, the process is very stressful and if you're like me you're uber nervous, but at the end of the day, they're just trying to learn about YOU so show them you (your personality) and let the all the pieces fall into place.

(Hopefully I'll be back on soon with good official news of passing, and if not, then count this as the biggest "you thought you did it when you didn't" EVER!!! :o

I passed  :D
I used RushDocs for the apostille. I will post my experience on here. However, I can say that so far their response has been less than 24 hrs when I asked questions so I'm anticipating a fast turn around.

Para mas, check out my blog http://blackeltabroad.wordpress.com

Did you apply direct or use a recruiter? I submitted mine 12 days ago through a recruiter, still nothing back I am beginning to lose hope =/

NO! Don't lose hope. I submitted mine through a recruiter. It was submitted April 3rd (which was the 2nd day they started accepting submissions. I heard about my interview 13 days later, and had my interview scheduled 3 days later.

They didn't start looking at the vast majority of applicants through recruiters until the 2nd week of taking apps. From what I SAW, it's NOT many people conducting the interviews at a time. I'm guessing they rotate but I saw a girl on the other end of the room also conducting a skype interview. So taking into consideration the 2,000+ applicants they've receive, getting them all sorted may take a while. Send an email to your recruiter to see what's up. I did when I hadn't heard anything. It can't hurt!

[pinedust]

Moral of the story = APPLY EARLY & APPLY DIRECT! 

[sgtsloth]

Interview JUST finished. :)

I think it went well. She told me to get my docs in order and gave me tips on what to do when I meet my co-teacher (because my height is SO rare in Korea, I may be intimidating - I'm 6 feet) so I'm taking that one to the bank and hoping it means what it sounds like it does.

My interview was based a lot around my majors (English & Textual Studies / African American Studies); the CELTA; my experience teaching kindergarten; my educational philosophy, what kind of experience do I want to have, what do I know about Korea and what I would do if my co-teacher was teaching the wrong thing in class. It lasted about 25 mins.

She began with asking me very basic questions like how do you say your name, whats your address, phone number, where will I apply for a Visa and what kind.

*Tip - make them laugh. Yes, the process is very stressful and if you're like me you're uber nervous, but at the end of the day, they're just trying to learn about YOU so show them you (your personality) and let the all the pieces fall into place.

(Hopefully I'll be back on soon with good official news of passing, and if not, then count this as the biggest "you thought you did it when you didn't" EVER!!! :o

I passed  :D
I used RushDocs for the apostille. I will post my experience on here. However, I can say that so far their response has been less than 24 hrs when I asked questions so I'm anticipating a fast turn around.

Para mas, check out my blog http://blackeltabroad.wordpress.com

Did you apply direct or use a recruiter? I submitted mine 12 days ago through a recruiter, still nothing back I am beginning to lose hope =/

NO! Don't lose hope. I submitted mine through a recruiter. It was submitted April 3rd (which was the 2nd day they started accepting submissions. I heard about my interview 13 days later, and had my interview scheduled 3 days later.

They didn't start looking at the vast majority of applicants through recruiters until the 2nd week of taking apps. From what I SAW, it's NOT many people conducting the interviews at a time. I'm guessing they rotate but I saw a girl on the other end of the room also conducting a skype interview. So taking into consideration the 2,000+ applicants they've receive, getting them all sorted may take a while. Send an email to your recruiter to see what's up. I did when I hadn't heard anything. It can't hurt!

2000! Holy S$%#, where did you get that number from? That would mean 1,300 people applied directly, in other words, I have little chance at this point! I did contact my useless recruiter and they told me I should just wait and that I should hear something back in the next 10 days-ish. It is my recruiters fault that I submitted so late to, taking 5 days to respond to one email question!

[WestMeetsEast]

Hi everyone!

I submitted my application to my recruiter on March 28th.  They forwarded it to EPIK on April 2nd and I received my interview date on April 10th.  I had my interview yesterday on April 19th and I'm currently waiting to hear back.

Good luck everyone, I just thought I'd provide an example that demonstrates that recruiters can be efficient.

[amc45]

Hi everyone!

I submitted my application to my recruiter on March 28th.  They forwarded it to EPIK on April 2nd and I received my interview date on April 10th.  I had my interview yesterday on April 19th and I'm currently waiting to hear back.

Good luck everyone, I just thought I'd provide an example that demonstrates that recruiters can be efficient.

Yeah I agree, I've said before on here that I don't think it's worth stressing too much about applying through a recruiter, although it is a little slower with recruiters they're definitely not pointless! To add my example; I sent my application to my recruiter on the 26th March and it was submitted on the 2nd April, I heard on 9th April that I had an interview on the 13th, and found out on the 17th that I'd passed it! (I had the unfortunate timing of an interview on a Friday and therefore waiting even longer to hear back about it!) But it's definitely not a problem to apply through a recruiter, but the later you apply then I think direct becomes your best option.

Good luck to everyone still waiting to hear - just try not to compare your own waiting times to others - it doesn't mean anything! Just try to take your mind off it. After all, those of us who have passed now have a 2 month wait (minimum) to receive final approval and Notices of Appointment! The waiting never ends - this whole process is a massive test in patience!

[WestMeetsEast]

I just received the confirmation from my recruiter that I passed the interview!

[Guvut]

I just received the confirmation from my recruiter that I passed the interview!

Haha, I'm jealous! I interviewed on Tuesday and haven't heard back yet.

[tehayne]

Hi everyone!

I submitted my application to my recruiter on March 28th.  They forwarded it to EPIK on April 2nd and I received my interview date on April 10th.  I had my interview yesterday on April 19th and I'm currently waiting to hear back.

Good luck everyone, I just thought I'd provide an example that demonstrates that recruiters can be efficient.

Yeah I agree, I've said before on here that I don't think it's worth stressing too much about applying through a recruiter, although it is a little slower with recruiters they're definitely not pointless! To add my example; I sent my application to my recruiter on the 26th March and it was submitted on the 2nd April, I heard on 9th April that I had an interview on the 13th, and found out on the 17th that I'd passed it! (I had the unfortunate timing of an interview on a Friday and therefore waiting even longer to hear back about it!) But it's definitely not a problem to apply through a recruiter, but the later you apply then I think direct becomes your best option.

Good luck to everyone still waiting to hear - just try not to compare your own waiting times to others - it doesn't mean anything! Just try to take your mind off it. After all, those of us who have passed now have a 2 month wait (minimum) to receive final approval and Notices of Appointment! The waiting never ends - this whole process is a massive test in patience!

I'm not trying to start a debate...just want to know. :) I applied direct and found out I passed before interviews were even given to those who applied with a recruiter. The Epik coordinators do everything that recruiters do themselves...I mean it's a nice backup plan if you don't get into EPIK. But isn't it better to just cut out the middle man. Although free document shipping is a nice plus...and phones. Is it the peace of mind of a second pair of eyes? It would've killed me to wait that long for an interview, but I think it must just be personality types and what they prefer. Some people love the recruiter track, some love direct...I think I'm thinking too much about it as a Psychology student (and future psychologist) lol.

[amc45]

Hmm, I wouldn't say it's a personality thing, well not for me anyway. I just happened to be really recommended my recruiter by the only person I know who is already in Korea teaching with EPIK. And I actually think that by the time it came to applying I would have been perfectly happy to apply direct because I knew the process so well by that point, and really did consider it, but it had been over 2 months already that I'd been in contact with my recruiter and she'd been so helpful that it would have seemed really unfair to suddenly ditch her and go direct. There were a few days when the interview offers for direct applicants started rolling in where I started to really regret it, but then I only waited a week to hear in the end and that is still loads quicker than most people. And I know there are people who applied direct and had their interviews before me but are still waiting on documents and that's holding them up, so it can go either way. If we could make a preference for a specific city I might have been more bothered, as being as early as possible is essential for getting your choices, but as that's not the case anymore I'm perfectly happy with my decision to use a recruiter now.

I just really hope it works out for the others on here using recruiters! and everyone else too of course!

[Guvut]

I also went through a recruiter, and she was enormously helpful. She looked over my lesson plan and gave me some tips on how to improve it, which was much appreciated. I interviewed on the 17th and was told they'd get back to me in about 3 days, but I'm still waiting. Do they notify people on the weekends? I have all my documents sitting on my desk waiting to get mailed out, the waiting is killing me!

[amc45]

I also went through a recruiter, and she was enormously helpful. She looked over my lesson plan and gave me some tips on how to improve it, which was much appreciated. I interviewed on the 17th and was told they'd get back to me in about 3 days, but I'm still waiting. Do they notify people on the weekends? I have all my documents sitting on my desk waiting to get mailed out, the waiting is killing me!

No, they don't work weekends so unfortunately your 2-3 working day wait gets dragged out a bit if you have a weekend in the way. It's usually 2-3 days but I know some people were warned it might be up to a week at the moment, and so try not to worry too much! I know that's easier said than done lol.

[sgtsloth]

Good thing Korea is 13 hours ahead of me, the weekend there is half over and soon they will be back to working on applications! 

........still starting to lose all hope, I know now I will NEVER use a recruiter again. They are the sole reason for my late submission.

[amc45]

Which recruiter did you use?

[BELTA]

Good thing Korea is 13 hours ahead of me, the weekend there is half over and soon they will be back to working on applications! 

........still starting to lose all hope, I know now I will NEVER use a recruiter again. They are the sole reason for my late submission.

FACT: EVERY recruiter is different. I'm working with Rilee of KORVIA Consulting and have had a very smooth and helpful experience thus far. In my opinion, she's great. However, I also know of a young lady who went through FOOTPRINTS and she found out they never sent her application. She found this out because she was diligent in asking them to follow up on whether their records confirmed a submission. She then applied direct and received fairly quick feedback. Read her full story - http://allaroundana.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/review-of-footprints-recruiting-epik-2012/


My advice at this point, try and send EPIK a tweet to ask if they've received it. That will ease the "did they even get my app" question in your mind. If they have then it's patience time, however, like in Ana's case, you may need to take matters into your own hands. I'm rooting for you!

[sgtsloth]

Footprints. Came highly recommended but I am not pleased with their service.