My first ever sickie: but all in a good cause!
After a visit to a Buddhist temple a few weeks ago I’d accidently ended up with an interview for a copy editors job on the Korea Times. (The coming about of the interview is a long story that I hope to get change to blog soon.)
So I got up this morning (23.01.07) very early to make sure I was in Seoul for 10am after hardly having slept due to a mixture of nerves over the interview and terror at having to phone in sick.
I called my boss just before leaving with a readily concocted story and argument about having a migraine and being in for afternoon lessons at 2pm. Amazingly I didn’t need it as he didn’t argue at all, I think this may have had something to do with it being that early, 7:45am, that I woke him up!
Then I ran to the bus stop in disguises, so as not be caught out. I put on a hoddie, with the hood up, to hide my blond hair (I’m the only fair haired person living in the area), and a scarf obscuring most of my face. Once I’d got on the bus I removed my disguise, but still hid my face when it the bus stopped outside the school – I don’t know why, it was far too early for anyone to be there.
After an uneventful journey I arrived 40 minutes early at the 15 story, smoked glass building that was Chungmuro Tower where I was to have my interview. I took a brief walk around the area to discover more about vicinity where I may soon be working. But apart from Nickelodeon and MTV there wasn’t much around other than the obligatory McDonalds and loads of sign writing shops!
Arriving back at Chugmuro Tower for my interview I realised that inside there wasn’t a floor guide and I hadn’t been told which floor to go to. My attempts to ask the girls in the coffee shop were unsuccessful and after standing in the foyer looking confused for a few minutes I decided to call Tony – the guy had arranged the interview (whom I’d met at the Buddhist temple!). As I was dialing the number some men told me they would show me to the floor. In the lift one of them said something in Korean, the others explained he had said I was very beautiful – you could get so big headed living in this country.
I was shown to Tony and after a brief chat he said we would have the interview in the coffee shop because their usual room was in use! We went down and were given free coffee – it was their opening day! Then a few minutes later were joined by an American guy who was in charge of the copy desk.
They had interviewed someone the day before and explained that the managing editor had asked fro a recommendation from them.
The American guy, whose name I can’t remember, had worked in newspapers for 40 years and was there to improved standard of copy, which wasn’t great because of the two language system they operate. At the Korea Times the majority of the reporters are Korean and so the copy can be a bit jumbled and doesn’t always.
He looked over my CV and asked me briefly about Pluto, but he didn’t really seem that interested and didn’t ask anything about my responsibilities. Then he proceeded to tell me I didn’t have any real experience. I hate the way some people totally disregard the ‘experience’ of working for a student newspaper.
As expected he questioned me about why I don’t read the newspaper. The fact that I can’t buy it where I live wasn’t good enough and I was expected to have a subscription to it. The answer that I don’t get enough fee time in which to read it to justify a subscription was met with “are you sure it’s not lack of interest not lack of time!”
He also asked if I knew the name of the President of Korea. Having anticipated this question I was readily prepared – I looked it up in the newspaper whilst on the bus! My answer of: “He’s called Roh something but I don’t know how to pronounce it” seemed to satisfy him.
We chatted for a bit longer and he left. It was then that I realised the interview was over without me being given the change to ask any questions and I hadn’t met a single Korean who worked for the paper.
I left with all my queries about working hours, visas etc unanswered and awaited a phone call the following day.
Getting back to school and convincing everyone I’d been sick wasn’t difficult. Rubbing some brown eye shadow under my eyes meant I looked the part and after the stress of the day I actually had a headache so acting unwell wasn’t difficult either.
The only problem was I wasn’t so sure I still wanted the job. The seemingly disorganised way the interview had been conducted hadn’t answered any of the questions I had and what about seeing Cambodia and Vietnam?
* Posted by j150vsc on 26/01/2007.
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