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What's the deal with Nova?
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Sourigaijin



Joined: 17 May 2014
Posts: 23

PostPosted: Fri Nov 14, 2014 1:23 pm    Post subject: What's the deal with Nova? Reply with quote

I thought they went out of business and closed down several years ago, but lately I have been seeing Nova job ads. Does anyone know if this is the same company that supposedly went out of business? Are they under new management? Does anyone on this site currently work at Nova? If so, what are your impressions? Are they a decent company to work for? I am thinking about applying....

Thanks in advance for your input.
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Cool Teacher



Joined: 18 May 2009
Posts: 930
Location: Here, There and Everywhere! :D

PostPosted: Fri Nov 14, 2014 2:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

NOVA are tlike the Zombie Company. Do you remember Altered Beast?

"Rise From Your Grave!" Laughing

I've seen these adverts on teh trains and think why woudl anyone trust that company? Confused

And then guess what happend? The dispatch company I work for doing business classes one day took off the mask and they were NOVA! Surprised Shocked

I didn't know that I worked for NOVA but I do! Shocked
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water rat



Joined: 30 Aug 2014
Posts: 1098
Location: North Antarctica

PostPosted: Fri Nov 14, 2014 7:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Take a hint from the wise Spanish. In their language nova means don't go.
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Miura Anjin



Joined: 20 Aug 2014
Posts: 40
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Fri Nov 14, 2014 9:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think Nova now is run by different companies in different regions of Japan, and how good (bad) it is may depend on where you are and which version of Nova it is. I suspect the larger cities have quite large turnover of instructors.

As for the work itself, well, it's eikaiwa and the drawbacks have been well-documented on here but I worked for them for nearly two years until quite recently and it wasn't that bad. Wasn't great, but wasn't terrible.
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Shimokitazawa



Joined: 16 Aug 2009
Posts: 458
Location: Saigon, Vietnam

PostPosted: Sat Nov 15, 2014 1:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Miura Anjin wrote:
I think Nova now is run by different companies in different regions of Japan, and how good (bad) it is may depend on where you are and which version of Nova it is. I suspect the larger cities have quite large turnover of instructors.

As for the work itself, well, it's eikaiwa and the drawbacks have been well-documented on here but I worked for them for nearly two years until quite recently and it wasn't that bad. Wasn't great, but wasn't terrible.


I talked to a guy in Tokyo who was working for the new Nova about this about two years ago. He worked for the new Nova but in a couple of schools. He said that he was having problems as the management were trying to push him out. He had been there for 6 or 7 years and was also a union member.

Anyway, he said that some Nova schools are franchises and independently run, managed and owned. They often do not play by the same set of rules or policies that the corporate owned Nova schools operate by.

Other Nova schools are owned by the new group that was formed after Sahashi was arrested and the company filed for bankruptcy protection, although I do not recall the exact details about all of that.

I have heard that the company has been sold once or twice since the original Nova went under.

Seriously, though, I would steer a wide path around an eikaiwa company like Nova.
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Rooster.



Joined: 13 Mar 2012
Posts: 247

PostPosted: Sat Nov 15, 2014 2:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

After Nova went bankrupt in 2007 in has been under the name G. Communications, Jibun Mirai, and again Nova maybe one or two others. If I remember correctly it is owned by two different companies now that continue to both use the same name. They also bought out Geos.
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RM1983



Joined: 03 Jan 2007
Posts: 360

PostPosted: Sat Nov 15, 2014 5:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I actually went for an interview with them a few years ago and didnt get a good impression. I didnt understand the pay structure and the little blast of Nova-style teaching was lame. I was told they were "starting to bring in pair work" into their classes and that was it for me, I bolted at the thought of such reckless progressionism.

Theyre probably about as bad as te other eikawas but if you work for em then you lose all right to complain if they screw you over
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bluetortilla



Joined: 18 Apr 2006
Posts: 815
Location: Henan

PostPosted: Sun Nov 16, 2014 11:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm now doing some temporary work for Nova. As far as I can tell, they're reformed and not bad at all. Repeat- as far as I can tell. Actually, it's no longer Nova, but 'Nova and Holdings' and the group includes other schools that also bit the dust, most notably GEOS. I guess they have schools still (I haven't seen any), but the guy who hired me mainly seems to be an agent for different companies and government agencies. The job I just finished was for the prefectural high court!
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RM1983



Joined: 03 Jan 2007
Posts: 360

PostPosted: Sun Nov 16, 2014 11:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

To be fair I never heard of NOVA as being THAT bad to work for, it was more that they were run by morons who managed to run it totally into the ground and take down 3/4 of the industry with it
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Shimokitazawa



Joined: 16 Aug 2009
Posts: 458
Location: Saigon, Vietnam

PostPosted: Sun Nov 16, 2014 1:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

RM1983 wrote:
To be fair I never heard of NOVA as being THAT bad to work for, it was more that they were run by morons...


No, you are not being 'fair.' Nova was indeed 'that bad' to work for.

It was and is a terrible company.

Please, people, at least those who have been hear for years and with experience, do not recommend this company as a possible starting point for new instructors.
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bluetortilla



Joined: 18 Apr 2006
Posts: 815
Location: Henan

PostPosted: Sun Nov 16, 2014 1:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

As I said, I just did a temp job for them, and they don't seem to be the same Zatsu raitto Nova of old.
I never knew NOVA, never knew anyone who worked for them, and avoided them like the plague, but I can't personally say they were horrible. They were (and are) a chain, and I really hate chains.
But a company under completely different management is going to be a completely different company, that much is true. I'm just assuming that's the case.
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rxk22



Joined: 19 May 2010
Posts: 1629

PostPosted: Sun Nov 16, 2014 10:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rooster. wrote:
After Nova went bankrupt in 2007 in has been under the name G. Communications, Jibun Mirai, and again Nova maybe one or two others. If I remember correctly it is owned by two different companies now that continue to both use the same name. They also bought out Geos.


I looked it up a few years ago ooc, and yeah it is a pretty complicated situation. Looks like it has been bought and sold, as well as some areas having had the rights purchased.
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bluetortilla



Joined: 18 Apr 2006
Posts: 815
Location: Henan

PostPosted: Sun Nov 16, 2014 11:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I guess 'NOVA' was really an appropriate name!
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Miura Anjin



Joined: 20 Aug 2014
Posts: 40
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Thu Nov 20, 2014 5:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've read a lot of the horror stories about Nova but my experience didn't seem to match.

There were problems, of course: rubbish schedule, workload, being farmed out to other branches once or twice a week, having to take your paid holidays when the branch is shut, and mistakes in the paycheck (which were always corrected when I queried them). From what I've read, those are problems that occur at most eikaiwa chains.

And the problems did all mount up, as I'm sure they would when you spend a long time in any situation (or at least that's what happens for me).

But despite all that, I never felt that I despised the company or the job. I moved on because it's not what I want to do with my life but I had colleagues who'd been with Nova for over a decade. Maybe it was because it wasn't a particularly big city? I don't know. It looks like I was lucky, though.
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steki47



Joined: 20 Apr 2008
Posts: 1029
Location: BFE Inaka

PostPosted: Thu Nov 20, 2014 9:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Shimokitazawa wrote:

No, you are not being 'fair.' Nova was indeed 'that bad' to work for.

It was and is a terrible company.


I was at the old Nova for four years and had both great and horrible experience there. In terms of teaching, working at smaller eikaiwas made me miss the professionalism and consistency of Nova. Seriously, the other places were ridiculously disorganized with zero infrastructure and usually with some tyrannical middle aged woman barking orders at everyone. Such is the industry.

I made pretty good money at the old Nova. Starting pay was better than elsewhere and after four contracts and two promotions, I was raking in more than I ever have since.

The personnel at the old Nova ranged from awesome to horrible. I am still friends with some of the teachers and staff from my old area. On the other hand, I remember quite a few socially deficient teachers. One female teacher physically assaulted a friend (beat him over the head with a skateboard) and a drunk Geordie threatened to "kick my f"$%& ass" over the phone. A few of the foreigner managers were quite hostile and quick with personal insults.

I still think their training program was top notch compared to anything elese I have seen in eikaiwa.
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