Job Discussion Forums

[inuzuki8605]

Hey! I have an interview with JoyTalk coming up next week and I can't find any recent and reliable information about this company, good or bad.

Can someone tell me something about JoyTalk?

Pay Rate, Work Schedule, Paid Holidays, Time Off, Locations (generally), Students, etc...

[inuzuki8605]

Has anyone even heard of JoyTalk? Is no news, good news on this one?

[flyer]

My friend works for them and they seem alright (as far as dispatch goes)
I have asked him about working there and he said they have treated him well, no complaints

[inuzuki8605]

[flyer]

They pay on time (but not insurances as they are supposed to, but then I think all dispatch co do this?) and (as I said) seem reasonable as far as dispatch goes.

Good luck.

Let us know how you get on

[inuzuki8605]

I have an interview tonight so I'll make sure to post what I find out. From their website, they look pretty good and, from other forums, the only problem is that they seem to pay on the low side, which could be a problem for me. I don't know if they will ask for a second interview after this one today but I'll let you know that too. I do know that they want people who have some level of Japanese ability. It isn�t required for the position but it could affect your pay - higher if you speak Japanese, lower if you don't speak Japanese, which is a plus for me.

They also require you to join a school club of some kind and eat with the children, which I don't mind either. Sounds fun.

If anymore has anymore information, let me know.

[inuzuki8605]

Okay, so I had my interview with Joytalk yesterday/this morning. Since no one seems to know anything about them, I decided to give a gift to the forum society and tell you how it went and what I found out.

So, I was able to book my interview time and date online (the link was given to me in an email by the recruiter). I actually ended up changing it a few times do to personal reasons, but they are very flexible and understand if you need to reschedule. I was in constant contact with the recruiter the whole time, which was nice.

I ended up having my interview at 1:00am EST (my choice). The interview was via Skype, but I dressed up in a business suit anyway. Nothing wrong with showing them that you are dedicated even at 1:00 in the morning. ^_^ I set up at my kitchen table with a note pad, pen, and something to drink in case my throat got dry, which it did.

The recruiter was a really nice guy. He started off with the normal questions: �Why do you want to come to Japan?� �How was your experience last time you came to Japan?� �How are you with children?� �How long do you plan to stay in Japan?� I tried to answer every as enthusiastically as possible and kept smiling, which wasn�t really that hard (he was awesome). He even asked me to sing a children�s song (I sang the Hookie Pookie song) and asked me if I would mind dressing up during Halloween and doing events for holidays like Christmas. I didn�t.

After the initial question and answer session, he asked me if I spoke Japanese. I reluctantly said yes because, although I lived in Japan for a year last year, it�s been nearly a year since returning home and my Japanese is getting rusty. But, nonetheless, he started asking me questions in Japanese. What was my name, age, hobbies, etc. I was very nervous at first so I was messing up all over the place, but soon I got comfortable with speaking to him and even started some short conversations in Japanese throughout the rest of the interview. I think he was impressed by that because I showed him that wasn�t shy and was willing to use Japanese.
By The Way: Unlike most eikawa and English Teaching Companies, with JoyTalk, using Japanese is very important in the work environment. I was told that most of the Japanese Teachers the ALTs work with don�t speak English very well and also the parent don�t speak English very well either, so Japanese, with a mix of English will have to be used. Unfortunately, this factor would make this particular ALT job difficult for someone that has no knowledge of the Japanese language. They may still hire you if you apply, but the chances are a bit reduced compared to someone who has a bit of conversational Japanese under their belt.
After the Japanese speaking session, he gave me some current information about the company and let me ask all the questions I wanted. This is some of the information I got:
1. It is a year one contract (of course) with a chance of Renewal if both parties agree.
2. Work hours are Monday-Friday between 8am � 5pm with lunch time with the kids. There are usually 6 classes in the usual school schedule, but ALTs usually work about 4 classes a day/20 classes a week, giving them time to plan, meet with teachers and time to join a school club of some kind.
a. Joining a school club is required, I think, but it usually falls between the normal work hours of 8am-5pm and, only happens maybe once or twice a week. (If you need to skip one for some reason it�s fine, they don�t hold it against you.)
3. They will assist you with finding a cheap flight but, of course you have to pay the flight cost.
4. Once in Japan, they send someone to escort you to get your �Gaijin� card (Sorry, couldn�t think of anything else to call it), your cell phone if you want one, and to check into your apartment. Later, they will help you get your international license and a car if you need one.
5. The car rental is about 18,000 yen a month (much cheaper than my car haha) and they reimburse you about 5,000 yen for gas per month for work related driving. (Some how, I don�t think that will be enough, but it also depends how far to have to drive for work). Good thing about the car is that the rental company takes care of all of the upkeep and maintenance on it. You just worry about the monthly cost (which is deducted from your check) and gas.
6. When you get to Japan, JoyTalk will have already found you an apartment (most of them are furnished, and with the internet ready to be hooked up upon the move in day)
7. The rent is between 50,000 to 60,000 a month and is deducted from your check along with your car payment. But, because it is that high, you don�t have to worry about paying anything out of pocket when you get to Japan. All of the money you bring will just be for your own use until you get your paycheck (which could be nearly a month and a half or so after getting to Japan) Joytalk takes care of all of your start up costs and you pay them back over the time of your contract which is included in the rent cost.
8. There is 24 hour help and assistance for anything that the ALT needs.
9. The interview process is one interview which is mainly through Skype unless you live in Japan and can go to the office. They don�t make you fly all over creation for just a chance of getting hired. I like that part.

Ooooooookay! That was a really long post. I�m sorry about that, but it seems that NO ONE knew about this company so I wanted to post it for future inquirers. If you have anything to add, feel free.

[sideways_gun]

Oh wow, Joytalk sounds like an awesome company to work for!! Especially for those who would love to be able to use Japanese in a working environment also.

Thanks so much for your post inuzuki8605. I hope you get the job~ Is it the only company you have interviews lined up with so far?

[inuzuki8605]

[sideways_gun]

[flyer]

Thanks very much for the info

much appreicated

[inuzuki8605]

[flyer]

tell me, what is the situation with the summer and winter holidays?

Thanks

[sabina]

Just wondering: how is your location selected? Do you list some preferences, or are you just placed where the company has an opening?
Does JoyTalk place ALTs all over Japan, or just in certain areas?

[inuzuki8605]

From what I can tell, JoyTalk has schools only in and around the Kanto Region. In the interview that asked me questions like, "What was the least amount of money I would accept?", "Would I be willing to drive?", "Did I prefer a big city or small town?", and any other location requests I had.

Of course it's good to be flexible with stuff like that but it doesn't hurt to tell them what you are thinking and what you'd like. My recruiter told me that, if I got the job, he wanted to find me a place I would be comfortable in.

They don't have schools or programs near Osaka or Nagoya though which does kinda suck because that's where I would have liked to move back to...