The Job Search-Dave'sESLcafe (English-speaking Sleazeballs & Losers)

-The title of this post reflects my interpretation of the overall sentiment of the message board on this informative and useful site. Do yourself a favor and avoid the Off-topic and General topic message boards and only use it for the Job search. The job board is updated daily and I abused that thing like a red-headed step child. Before I digress into the subterranean stench that lay in the chasm of dave's message board, I want to vent my anxiety and frustration that consumed me during my 2 month long job search.

While 2 months doesn't seem like a long time to look for work, it was a full time job in essence, without pay. Recruiter's will hook you up... or give you the runaround, or ignore you. I applied to many a recruiter who promised instant interviews and the best paying jobs in the best schools according to wherever you want to work in Korea. Then the job market crunch, thanks to the tanking economy, had recruiter's telling me to be open to less popular locations. As the weeks passed and many a resume sent to schools answering ads on dave's, I started to sweat the possibility that these jobs were getting filled by more qualified applicants. I got a few nibbles from schools and a phone interview. I got rejected by 4 schools in 4 weeks and all of the sudden it was September. Word on the message board was that fewer schools were hiring.

I abandoned my hopes of working in Busan by the ocean and started applying to schools everywhere in Korea. The sticks, industrial cities, places I knew would eventually kill my spirit but a foot in the door as I saw it. Contracts are only a year long, so I figured better to just get over there than face a frigid, dark winter in the states waiting for a perfect job that might never arrive. With my hopes dwindling as the jobs seemed less available until the hiring period of February and March, I began to panic a bit. I had no fall back plan, no money and no way to get around once this land froze over in the nearing months ahead. Just when panic and misery was about to sink its claws into my dwindling life force I got an email.

Weeks prior I had applied to a different school in a location that had earlier been a source of jubilation turned disappointment. I had gotten a great response from an owner of a school saying he thought I was perfect for the job and that he would call me the following Monday. When Monday came and went, I sent an email checking in with him. He responded that two teachers who were leaving are renewing their contracts and that he was sorry. I was seriously bummed as it was too good to be true. I was prepared to be let down by now as I applied to this other school and countless others. Then I got the email that changed my life.

As I courted the owner of the school, trading emails for 3 weeks, finally a contract was offered to me. Subsequently, I signed it, mailed it with my passport and transcripts. 8 days later I was issued a Visa and soon after a flight booked and paid for by the school. Knowing that I will be in Korea at the tail end of December, I laugh in the face of winter as it mocks those who hate it at -10 degrees F. I will be leaving at the peak of its wickedness, three months before Spring takes over and not a day too soon. Had I signed with a school earlier out of desperation or been offered a contract from some middle of nowhere town, my lack of patience would have betrayed me once again. I must have done something right to have things work out the way that they did. Now all I can do is pray that I have a cool boss and that I am well received by the school and community... and prepare as much as possible for the unknown.

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What can I say about daveseslcafe.com that hasn't been said in the blogosphere already? Nothing new, nothing positive and nothing surprising. Living in isolation and spending time searching for jobs on dave's, I couldn't help but sign on to the site. I was going to milk it for all of the information I could get out of the thing. Signing on to the site would enable me to post questions and get feedback from this online community. What I didn't realize was what a smack-talking, smart-assed, know-it-all, hating bunch of regulars I was about to join in wasting my time voicing my opinion about stupid topics for the sake of argument.

I like smack-talk as much as the next guy, but it is a whole new ball of wax in cyber-land.  Face to face, I can tell in 15 minutes of spending time with someone if they will annoy the hell out of me eventually or instantly.  The thing about the internet is, half of these kooks are such geeks, the likelihood of meeting them in a social setting is slim to none.  In between Warcraft and D&D or whatever, they get on their dave's soapbox flexing their nerd muscles.  Before I offend all of Nerddom, I have friends who do that thing at night and i don't hate because they are cool people.  The thing is, you can tell the socially inept by the way they write or respond to others' posts.  I have nothing against geeks, because they aren't confrontational in the day to day, but cyber geeks turned bullies can piss-off.  I guess it is their chance at seeming cool in a world that veils their being in anonymity.

 All I know is that out there in the real world, these clowns would think twice about voicing such opinions in person. I must admit though, I lose my cool a tad on the board because I don't have to pretend to be nice or bite my tongue like I would in the face of these people, so I just let 'em have it usually. I swear it is because I am trapped in this frigid, isolated home, basically alone.   My active participation on dave's should cease to be necessary once I make my move overseas, but I might be addicted for arguments sake...