Ryan O’Loughlin Application to teach English in South Korea

Submitted to ASK Now Inc. for placement

1104 S. Concord Road, West Chester, PA 19382

1-610-350-7083
rolough@gmail.com

Objective To teach English in South Korea

Summary • Received Certificate in Leadership upon graduation from the University of Pittsburgh.
Certificate required students to take classes in a wide range of disciplines including world
politics, communication, public speaking, economics, community service, and successful
completion of the “Emerging Leaders Program.”
• Completed University of Pittsburgh’s “Emerging Leaders Program” as a participant and
subsequently became a peer facilitator for the program, teaching and assisting my peers to
develop and hone their leadership skills. The seminar was 10 weeks long.
• Volunteered at National Student Partnerships, a student run organization that helps others in
need. Here I mentored an 18-year-old student, helped improve his study habits, and aided in
his college search.
• I love to travel and to learn new cultures. I have been to Australia, New Zealand, the
Bahamas, Aruba, Canada, Italy, France, Ireland, and Switzerland.

Education Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Minor in Philosophy, Leadership Certificate 2009

University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA

Career History & Accomplishments

2009-
Customer Service Representative, Philadelphia Federal Credit Union Present
Philadelphia,
PA Present
• Identify customer needs and match with relevant financial products
• Explain the differences between various accounts, loans, and promotions
• Exhibit positive attitude to ensure customer satisfaction and retention
• Maintain strict control of cash and checks in drawer

Branch Intern, Smith Barney 2007

• Interned under the VP of Wealth Management Operations
• Shadowed top executives and assisted managers with day-to-day job
assignments
• Improved administrative and clerical skills, from data entry, filing and
copying to organizing customer accounts
• Planned, managed and motivated employees to partake in holiday food
drive
 Assistant Manager, Dairy Queen 2004-
• Taught co-workers company policies regarding food preparation, 2007
customer service and workplace conduct
• Paired new hires with experienced employees to expedite the training
process
• Rewarded exemplary co-workers to improve productivity in the
workplace
• Worked overtime to ensure successful management of struggling
employees

Personal Interests
• Traveling
• Reading: Books include Personal Development for Smart People, The Four Hour
Workweek, The Now Habit
• Blogging (currently launching www.ryansreadingreviews.com)
• Learning new skills
• Meeting new people

Writing Section Please answer the following questions.

1. Please explain why you are the right type of person to teach overseas.
I am very passionate about helping others, especially teaching them skills that may yield value for
them in the future. Teaching English is important because it is a useful language to know—it is the
language of business. One of my strengths is my open mind—I realize that not only will I be
teaching students English, but the students will be teaching me a lot more in return. I have had some
experience mentoring and teaching those younger than me; these were rewarding and worthwhile
experiences. I love being creative and realize that not everybody learns the same way, which also
highlights my strength of patience. I will use my passion of teaching and learning and make every
effort to ensure that each student maximizes his learning potential.

2. Please explain what qualities you think are necessary to be a good teacher.
A good teacher must have patience—learning is not always easy, especially with cultural differences
in play. She must also be passionate and very knowledgeable about the subject being taught. In
order to effectively communicate with students, a teacher must be organized with proper lesson
plans and materials. Creativity is needed to make learning enjoyable and to capture the audience’s
attention. Good teachers often possess open minds, as one class session is never the same as the
next. Finally, a teacher must have integrity and be trustworthy so that the students can get the most
value of out the learning experience.
3. Please describe how you would deal with a workplace dispute with another co-worker or supervisor.
A workplace dispute is something that happens because it is human nature—people are different and
tend to disagree from time to time. I once had a disagreement with a coworker when I was cleaning
tables and she was not doing her share of work. The manager took notice of this and told her to start
working, but she still refused. Like the manager, I noticed she was not doing her share of work that
day. I decided to confront her, but I did so in a private, calm environment. I treated her with respect
and I tried to relate to her by finding a common ground. I asked her what was going on. I asked her
if she was okay and if she had any problems that day. I worked hard to maintain a professional
relationship with this coworker. I think the most important thing in these situations is to separate
personal business from professional business in order to get the job done. We may have had a
disagreement, but in the end we worked hard to put that incident behind us and continued to do our
best work for the organization. It is important to note that each disagreement and situation is
different; sometimes during disagreements one may need to bring in a third party such as a manager
or a mediator to help settle the dispute.
4. Please describe some actions you could take if you began feeling homesick or lonely while in Korea.
If I were feeling homesick, I could use Skype (essentially an internet phone) to call my family or
friends back in the United States. I could also email them—this is the beauty of technology. I can
also relax by listening to music, meditating, writing in a travel journal or relieve stress by exercising.
Furthermore, I could talk to other teachers and peers in Korea who are feeling lonely or who have
felt lonely or homesick in the past. There are plenty of options to choose from if feeling this way.

5. Do you have any other plans for your time in Korea? (Further study, hobbies to pursue, places to
visit?)
I would love to travel and explore all over Korea during my free time to soak up as much Korean
culture and customs as I can. I also would like to visit Thailand and Japan. Also, I plan to continue
blogging and taking advantage of the Internet—South Korea is know to have one of the best Internet
systems in the world. And the most important thing is to teach, learn, meet new people, and have
fun!