We all know living in Korea is expensive, especially if you are planning to stay for a while. However, I personally really underestimated how much money I would spend in my day to day life. From rent to groceries, travel to school fees, my expenses seem never ending. That is why I decided to start looking for a job a few months ago. And soon after starting my first job, I discovered that getting a job not only helps with your financial situation, it is also a great opportunity to practice your Korean, meet new people, and experience the culture.

But being from a smaller country with a weak to non-existent community meant I had to discover everything on my own. Plus, living outside if Seoul made finding a job as a foreigner even more complicated. Therefore, I wanted to write this post for people facing similar circumstances to me. Hopefully, these 5 steps can contribute to your succes stories!

Step 1: Visa

So where do you start in this type of situation you may ask? Firstly, I recommend looking up your visa, as every visa has different and very specific rules. For example, most student visas include rules like:

Maximum of 10 hours of part-time work per week. 25 hours if you have a TOPIK level 2 certificate.

No work that relates to a different visa (ie. No English teaching jobs, no entertainment, no office work, no factory work etc).

Must have an attendance rate of over 90%.

Step 2: How to find a job

After looking into the limitations of your visa, the next step would be to find an actual job. For this, you can use several platforms. I personally tried a lot of them, with differing rates of success. Hereby my personal experience and recommendations:

Karrot market

This app can easily be downloaded and set up by any person, but does require some Korean language skills. This app has several uses; from selling used goods to real estate. However to find a job, you will have to use the 알바 search function. I recommend starting by setting up a profile, as this will make applying a lot easier. Karrot market mostly advertises jobs at smaller companies, cafes, and restaurants. This usually means that less people apply, thus making your chances of getting an interview a lot higher. Another plus is the pay. Due to most listings being from smaller businesses. Many Koreans prefer working for larger companies. Due to this they tend to pay around minimum wage. To remain competitive, smaller companies are raising their hourly wage by 1 to 4000 won per hour. When having selected a job you like, you can apply by simply pressing a single button. (BE AWARE!! However, due to many listings being posted by smaller businesses, Karrot is a bit more sensitive to scams, so always be careful!)

알바몬

Personally, I have had no success using this app. However, many of my friends have found their current jobs through this platform. Compared to Karrot, this app requires more Korean language skills, as there are no English settings. However, it does allow you to specifically look for jobs targeting foreigners. In my friends case, she was able to find an English teaching job at an English kids cafe using this setting. Another plus of Albamon is the amount of lisitings made by bigger companies. These jobs often last longer, are more stable, and safe!

Instagram

Lastly, I have had a lot of success using Instagram to find jobs. These jobs are usually short term jobs and tend to be related to social media. However, for people interested in marketing or one-day-jobs, it may be worth while. I usually find jobs through buddieskorea.official or kowork_official. I like being able to see job listings in my instagram feed, as it does not require me to go out of my way to search for work, making the process more natural. Also, the jobs listed on instagram are often different from those found on Karrot or Albamon. Therefore, you can find a bigger variety for jobs using different methods. Besides, these accounts also post about other topics relating to working in or finding a job in Korea. This makes it easy to learn skills that may be usefull later on in your career. Both of these accounts offer apps as well, but mostly focus on professional jobs and internships

In general, I have found most success in serving and dishwasher jobs. Specifically those posted by smaller businesses and franchises. However, around me, I have also seen a lot of foreigners working in bbq and chicken restaurants, as well as in positions such as kitchen assistants. Your chances may be higher when seeking out these jobs!

Tips: Most important is to just keep applying to everything you see. This is because the competition is high and jobs are posted and deleted all the time! For people from bigger countries, looking for job communities on Facebook may also be helpful. I know many Vietnamese and Burmese students who have found jobs through such pages. (Again, be careful when it comes to these methode, as illegal activities and scams are most likely found here due to less regulations.)

Step 3: Interviewing

You have found a job that is willing to hire you! Congratulations! However, now it is time for an interview. For most, this is the scariest part of the whole process. Sadly, there are no lifehacks when it comes to it, but the following tips may help your chances:

Manners

Koreans take their manners a lot more serious than you may be used to. Make sure to speak formally and remain humble!

Be on time

Altough this is important in every culture, but I recommend arriving a bit early to make a great impression.

Preperation

there will be a lot of applicants, and when competing with natives, you have to come prepared. Think about answers to basic questions (ie. Why should we hire you? Why do you want to work here? How good is your Korean? Can you work hard?). In certain cases, preparing anaquedotes may make your story a lot stronger. For example, when I was applying for my first job at a BBQ restaurant, I told a story about a busy dinner rush from when I worked at McDonald's!

Step 4: Before you start your job