How to get Your EPIK NOA/Contract

Ok so you have decided that you are going to officially apply to EPIK (English Program in Korea) to become an ESL Teacher. There are two intakes for teachers in EPIK. August which is the most popular, and February. I applied to the August intake, which I would suggest beginning as early as 6 months in advance, in February. I say this because EPIK fills the best positions on the first-come-first-served basis. 

There are two things you immediately have to do once you decide you are serious about applying to EPIK; get a recruiter, and start getting the paperwork together. 

Recruiter

Why a recruiter? It is almost impossible to apply to EPIK (correctly) without one if you've never worked in Korea before. Just trust me on this, it will save you headaches, and they essentially provide a free service as they get their profit from commission from the Korean Government per student they place. That being said, any recruiter that asks for any payment other than some money to cover the shipping and apostille of your documents is a scam. I only spent about $120 on this. 

My particular recruiter was EduCon, who was great! I highly recommend them. More about them in another post though. 

Ok you got a recruiter, and if you haven't already started collecting your paperwork, then they are going to tell you to immediately start.  

Paperwork? Yes, you need some serious documents to work in Korea. Firstly, you'll need a FBI criminal background check.

Background Check

You will not get hired if you have anything on this record. Anything. Even a DUI, except for in NJ where a DUI is not considered a crime, but a traffic offence. S if you have one from NJ, just don't bring it up and you'll be fine. 

Visit the FBI website, and print out the appropriate forms. Make sure you order the background check through the FBI and not one of the expedited private companies listed on the website.  I ordered two, just in case, and there is a small fee for each one, I believe around $30. 

You will also need to visit your local police station to get your fingerprints taken to send in with the other forms. Your local police should provide this service for free, but you can go to a private company and pay around $50 if you want. Be sure to bring the Federal print form, as your local police will only have state forms. Put your prints in a plastic baggy so that they don't smudge.

Start the background check process ASAP, as it can take up to two months to be mailed back. To make sure the FBI has received your request, call them four weeks after you mail it in and they will give you an estimate as to when you can expect your documentation back. After you receive your clean background check, either you, or your recruiter will have it sent to be apostilled at the federal level. 

Korea won't accept the background check if it is more than 6 months old at the time of application, so be sure to factor that into your timetable. 

Now that was just the first set of paperwork you need to send off. 

Diploma/Expected

Now if you already have a degree in a discipline, request get a copy of it, as you will need to send an original to Korea. If you have not graduated yet, but will in time for the August or February intake, you must send an official Letter of Expected Graduation/Good Standing, which must be hand-signed. Also you will need to mail out your sealed official transcripts. If you have not completed your degree yet, you need to send your incomplete official sealed transcript as a place holder. 

Letters of Rec.

You will also need at least two letters of recommendation. They must have a letterhead, be hand-signed, and follow a format specific to EPIK's requests. Your recruiter should provide you with a sample to send to the recommender. Be sure to send the original letters, as they must be hand-signed and not photocopied, just as the letter of expected graduation. 

Application 

Now you have to do the actual application. There are many specific guidelines written on the application, be sure to follow them and ask your recruiter if you have any questions. They should double check it to be sure everything is filled out correctly. The application required a passport sized photo of yourself (smile and look happy, they want to hire energetic-happy people). The application will also ask some question that are flat-out illegal here in the states; eye colour  weight, height, vegetarian or not, alcohol consumption, ect. No one says it, but it is true EPIK discriminates based on some of these questions. They will straight up say no, or at least be hesitant if you are a vegetarian. 

The application also requires a full lesson plan, so be prepared to crank one out. It will also ask which cities you would be interested in and what age level. Talk to your recruiter about this and see what they suggest for your particular interests. The application is usually due April 1st of each year, so be sure you leave yourself enough time to complete it. 

Interview 
Great, now you sent in all the essential preliminary documents. Your interview is next. I will go in depth about the interview in another post, but be prepared to be up very late for it. Anywhere from 8pm-4am, or later. You'll find out if you passed a day or two later, and if you did, you got the green light for the next couple of weeks/months until EPIK sorts out where you will be going. 

Finalization 
You have been kicking around since you passed the interview and now you need to take the final steps. This is the time you need to send in the real documents to replace the place holders (Letters of Expected Graduation/Good Standing and official sealed incomplete transcripts). During this time you will also receive your official placement, via email. Congrats this means almost nothing can go wrong at this point. 

Making it Official
You go to the mailbox one day and open a large envelope, out of it falls your contract, information pamphlet, and your NOA (Notice of Arrival). These are the official documents saying that, yes, you are official going to Korea and EPIK cannot go back on their choice to hire you. That is unless you kill some babies, fail to get your visa, or decide to not sign the contract. 

Now is the time to get serious about moving and taking up your new job. You need to apply for your E-2 visa, which you cannot do until you receive your NOA, so try to do this immediately after getting it, and try to do it in person. It cost $45.  

The NOA usually does not arrive until just a month before you are expected in country, so you might have a lot to do if you have been procrastinating like I did. I still needed to register with the IRS to claim tax exemption, get some clothes, even buy the luggage to put the clothes into. But its all very exciting.

After you get all that outta the way, book your flight, your recruiter may/should help with that. They will, or at least should, recommend you arrive a day earlier than EPIK suggest. Your recruiter should help you find a hotel in the airport with some of the other EPIK teachers so that you can shower and sleep (not together, unless you want to) before orientation. Trust me, you do not want to go right from the plane, to a shuttle bus, to orientation without a break. Its just to much. 

But that's a quick run down of what to expect if you want to get a contract with EPIK. Each stage has a lot more detail, but I just wanted to give a brief overview for you without getting lost in detail. Hope it helped. 

Cheers.