EnglishWork

Program Reviews

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Zoe
2/5
No, I don't recommend this program

Got placed at a bad hagwon

Watch out for which hagwon they try to place you at. They don't vet them on their own.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
Make sure you know what you need and *know the labor laws*. The hagwon owners will try to get everything they can out of you, legal or not. Know your rights, know the laws.
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Nikolai
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Michael Kim- Amazing and Helpful Recruiter!

Michael has been very helpful with the entire recruiting process! He tried as best as he could to find a job in Seoul but it wasn't in the recruiting season so there weren't much options but he helped me locate to a small city an hour and a half away from Seoul. Michael helped me gather the right materials and he explained it so easily. If you listen to his instructions, you will not be lost. I was really thankful that he answered all my annoying emails, but I greatly appreciated his responses.
When I arrived at the Incheon Airport, we had a problem because it was late in the day that there were no more direct buses going to the city I was going to work at. But he gave me precise instructions on how to get there. A little complicated but he helped me until I arrived at my apartment. From the airport I had to take the bus and then take speed train and then a one hour taxi and was so scared because I couldn't speak Korean but Michael and the teacher from the school helped me with the translating. I would recommend Michael to anyone who is planning to go to Korea. My only suggestion is to look for the appropriate recruiting seasons where schools are looking for more teachers and that will help Michael look for more options for you.

If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?
I would probably wished to have lived in a bigger city like Seoul because there are more foreigners. Over here there I see a foreigner on the streets maybe once every two weeks (if I'm lucky). There's a lot of limits for foreigners living in a small city. I usually take the bus to Seoul on the weekends to enjoy but the weekdays it is a very quiet experience. It could be a good or bad thing depending what kind of expat life that you want~
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Kimberley
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

English Work Review

I had a very positive experience with English Work. Michael is an extremely honest, efficient, and professional recruiter. He set up an interview with a school within a few days of interviewing me. He answered all my questions related to the employment contract, mandatory quarantine, airport pick up, provided housing, etc. Unfortunately, the school cancelled my hiring process due to their own personal timing needs. Michael set up another interview with a different school just a couple days later, and I have been happily working at this school for the past three months. The working conditions have been exactly as described and I have had no issues so far.

I highly recommend English Work and would not hesitate to reach out to Michael should I want to try teaching at a different school in the future.

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Biansa
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Great Experience

This was a great recruitment site. It was straightforward to manage. My recruiter, Michael, always stayed in touch with me, and he worked very efficiently to help me get in touch with schools. He set up an interview with a private school within a week of meeting me. He also provided excellent advice on how to ace my interview. I was able to get that job, and he later helped me with the paperwork process.

I am settling in well with my new school, and I am very excited about this opportunity. It would not be possible without Michael and English Work.

Kyle
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Great, Quick and highly Efficient Service

Michael is extremely professional and brutally efficient and very honest and reliable.
He knows the system extremely well. Over the last 2 years, I had signed 3 other job contracts but never managed to reach the end goal. He managed to push the entire process through within 8 weeks from first contact to arrival in Korea. Out of those 8 weeks, roughly 5 weeks was literally bureaucracy waiting for the visa which nothing could be done to increase the speed.

He is very honest when talking about positions. He will not tell you a school is lovely just to get you to go and he will give you plenty of advice before your interview and try to find a placement that suits you best.
My placement school is fantastic and my co-workers are highly supportive. The working conditions are exactly like Michael described. I would highly recommend him and if I want to move location to another Private academy in Korea in a new city, I will not hesitate to contact him again. c:

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
Korean Quarantine is very rough. Be prepared for it. You might have less food than you'd like and be extremely bored. Make sure you bring plug converters or something for entertainment. And the quarantine officials are extremely strict.
My wifi in my apartment was not good and kept disconnecting so officials showed up thinking I broke quarantine. Fortunately, my employers managed to communicate with them to explain everything and it was fine.
Lastly, make sure you come to work, and not travel. As you are unlikely to get many holiday allowances aside from weekends. Fortunately, Korea is small enough that you can go almost anywhere for a weekend trip. But make sure your primary reason is to work and you enjoy working with kids.
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Ellie
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

English Works review

Michael was very helpful in informing me of any relevant documents needed for my E2 visa application. As well as reputable places to attain things like signed apostile copies.

He was quick in finding me multiple possible schools and giving me appropriate information about these and getting me interviews.

Because of Michael, I found a good school I have been happily working at for 1 year and I have just renewed my contract for another year.

However, should I ever need to find another school in the future, I would happily contact Michael again.

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John
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Highly recommend

Michael helped me through the entire hiring process. He would always respond very quickly to any questions or concerns and gave very clear instructions which helped avoid delays in the process. I still managed to have a delay because of the bureaucracy but he helped with that too.
Once all the paperwork was sorted, he got me 2 interviews in the first week, one of which is where I ended up.
Once the location was decided he even helped me get in contact with the other teachers.
Great experience and great help overall.

What was your funniest moment?
I taught a bunch of six year olds how to dab which led them making that their default greeting to me and the other teachers. "Hi teacher! *dab*".Makes me laugh every time.
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Sophie
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Would highly recommend English work!

Michael is really helpful through the whole process. He found me a school really quickly & gave me lots of information about the school, contracts & their work ethics/expectations. After I passed the interview Michael helped me get all my documents & could recommend where I should get them from. Arranged airport pickup & has helped every step of the way. The school have also been really amazing & have helped with everything! Would definitely recommend working with English work, I’m so glad I did.

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Michael
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Michael was a great help throughout the employment process!

Michael was great throughout the whole employment process.

When my partner and I were applying for jobs, Michael found available jobs extremely quickly, and put our CVs forward to arrange interviews.

When we accepted our new job, Michael continued his support, making sure we had all of our documents prepared. He helped us through the arrival process (which was very helpful as it was during Covid times and there were many obstacles!).

Overall, he made the process very smooth from start to finish.

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Sara
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Would definitely recommend!

Michael was great in helping my boyfriend and I find a job in Korea. He was professional throughout and reassured us often as we were looking for work during the pandemic. He gave us various job options and interviews. Michael was patient whilst we made a decision on which job was the most suitable for us. He was very friendly on the calls that we had with him which made the process very smooth. Michael helped us with our legal forms and gave us a lot of information about the quarantine process when we arrived in Korea.
I would highly recommend Michael and English Works to anyone who is considering a move to South Korea.

What was the most nerve-racking moment and how did you overcome it?
Moving to a different country during the pandemic was overwhelming at times but we had reassurance from online groups and our school which definitely helped. We settled in really quickly in our new home!