Hiring Timeline

There are five major stages in the hiring process:

1. Applying and interviewing

2. Being issued a job offer letter

3. Being issued a contract

4. Applying for a visa, if necessary

5. Visa issuance and arrival

Many bureaucratic factors are involved in securing a position in South Korea and obtaining a work visa. The following information is a generalization based upon trends from previous hiring campaigns, and is meant to help applicants estimate how much time each stage might take. The hiring process might take less time, but don't expect it to. International hiring has many important bureaucractic checks that could slow down the hiring process.

Our hiring campaigns tend to begin in October (for Spring semester start dates) and April (for Fall semester start dates). We usually apply for new visas in December or January (for Spring) or July or August (for Fall), which coincides with the local immigration office's busy season. Often, there are factors beyond our control that impact the timeline laid out below.

Hiring timeline

1. Applying and interviewing

If you meet our minimum requirements following the first screening, and the Hiring Committee decides to pursue your candidacy, you'll be emailed a link to our internal application. After that, you'll have a one-on-one interview that lasts for about half an hour. We conduct these inteviews live via video Skype. Following a successful first interview, you'll be invited for a committee interview, also via video Skype, which will last around 10 minutes. If you can't conduct the second interview live, it is possible to complete it via a recorded video message.

2. Being issued a job offer letter

If the hiring committee decides to offer you a job following the second interview, you will be sent a job offer letter and some other documents. That letter provides some basic details regarding your position, such as the start date, housing details, and your starting salary. You will have one week to consider the offer, though we can give you more time if necessary. Please note that the Hiring Committee may diliberate for a couple of weeks, or longer, before making any decisions. 

Stages 1 and 2 can take 4-6 weeks or more.

3. Being issued a contract

Once you accept our job offer, and once we have all of the initial documents we need (such as proofs of employment and transcripts), we will begin drawing up your contract. We will email you a scanned copy of the contract, which you should sign.

While waiting for your contract to be issued and emailed to you, you should begin procuring the documents you'll need to send us before we can apply for your visa, or which you'll need to bring with you when you arrive at Woosong. These documents vary based upon the type of visa you currently hold or which Woosong will sponsor for you.

Stage 3 can take 3-4 weeks or more. It could take longer for you to get the necessary documents issued. It is best to start procuring your visa-related documents as soon as you accept our job offer.

4. Applying for a visa, if necessary

You will return a completed visa application with your signed contract. We will provide the visa application. When you return the visa application, you should type it and then return it to us as a .doc or .docx file, as we need to add some information before submitting it to the local immigration authorities. If you are transferring your visa sponsorhip to Woosong University, or if you have an F visa, you will not need to apply for a new visa.

At this point, the timeline diverges. Some visas take longer to issue than others, which is why successful applicants must begin procuring visa documents as soon as they sign their job offer letters (end of Stage 2, beginning of Stage 3). Once we receive everything we need to apply for your visa, we submit the application materials to the local immigration authorities and await your visa issuance number (VIN).

From the time we receive your signed contract and completed visa application, Stage 4 takes an indeterminate amount of time, usually 3-5 weeks.

5. Visa issuance and arrival

Once your visa is issued in South Korea, we will send you a confirmation of visa issuance, which includes your VIN. You should use that document to have the visa issued and physically placed in your passport at the South Korean consulate or embassy that has jurisdiction over your current location. As protocol will vary from location to location, you should contact the consulate or embassy at which you will apply for specific instructions.

When the local consulate or embassy confirms when they'll place your visa in your passport, you can buy an airline ticket. At this point, you should email both the hiring team and your faculty mentor with your ETA in Daejeon. You should also send us a PDF of your flight itinerary.

Depending upon your location and other factors, this stage can take between 5-21 days, though one calendar week seems to be a fair approximation under normal operating circumstances.

Of course, there are unforeseen factors that can extend the time required at any stage of the application process. Please stay in touch with the hiring team (hiring@wsu.ac.kr) at all times, and keep us updated regarding your progress. We welcome your questions and queries at any time, too. 

If you are out of touch for an extended amount of time (i. e. no contact for 2-3 weeks after signing a job offer letter), and if we've not been able to touch base with you via email, telephone, Skype, or other means, we may assume you've lost interest in the position and move on to other candidates.

After you arrive...

Upon your arrival here in Daejeon, you will need to have one of your apostilled (or, for Canadian applicants or other countries that are not signatories to the Hague Convention on Apostilles, consular-notarized) criminal background checks notarized. We can put you in contact with a local attorney who can handle this service.

There are other on-boarding requirements as well, such as completing a medical examination (at your expense), which includes a drug test, applying for your Residence Card, signing your printed contract, opening a bank account, and acquiring a local mobile phone number. We can advise you with these steps as well.

Please note, though not required at present for COVID-19, that any quarantine requirements will need to be fulfilled before you officially begin working. If you don't start working on-time, your first month's salary may be prorated. All costs pertaining to document procurement and translation as part of the hiring process is your responsibility. Woosong will not reimburse you for application-related expenses.