Job Discussion Forums

[Sheep-Goats]

I'm entertaining the idea of coming to Japan (specifically Tokyo -- but I'd be willing to try Kobe also) and looking for work. There's a lot of general advice around on the board, and I've been reading it for a good month or two now, but I'm looking for specific help with my situation -- if anyone has the time for that I'd be most grateful. I've included what information I'd need to give someone this kind of advice, but if you need to know anything more I won't get upset if you ask.

I know answering these kinds of questions is tiresome, so thanks in advance to those with the energy to do it. I have a couple stikes against me (detailed below), and am mostly wondering what my chances are of working around them.

1) Ease of finding work

I have a BA in English, a CELTA, and two years EFL experience. None of those years were at a langauge school -- I was either employed directly by a high school or a university (here in Thailand and in China) and was either wholly responsible or took part in team based lesson planning, curriculum development/selection, test writing, and program development. Neither place had an active teacher development scheme, but I did what I could along those lines as well (reading development books and doing the exercizes in the back). I have a bit of experience specifically with Japanese people, but only through a few privates here in Bangkok. I have paper to show employers that verifies all of this (as well as how well I've done at it) to about as much of an extent as one can.

I understand that if I don't play this down it may hurt my chances at an eikawa -- but I'd be more intereseted in working for a highschool as either an ALT or a plain old language teacher. I understand that the term begins in most places on April 1 -- which happens to be the absolute earliest date I could be on the ground in either Tokyo or Kobe (current contract's vacation time begins then).

How long would it take for me to find an acceptable job? How much does my arrival date hurt me as far as non-language school work goes (here in Thailand many schools have vacancies when the year starts and are desperate to fill them -- how similar is the situation in Japan)? If I send applications from Thailand and tell them I can arrive April 1 (possibly a week sooner using my sick days here to get past the do-nothing time that comes at the end of March in my current job) will my application go straight to the circular file?

Failing these kinds of jobs, will language schools still be hungry for applicants come April?

How does the ease-of-finding-work situation vary between Tokyo and Kobe?

Any general advice to make the work search easier would be appreciated.


2) Expenses

Money's thin on the ground here in Thailand. I would arrive with only 2,500 USD in my pocket, but would have another 1,000 USD due me at the end of April (which would be electronically desposited and available through an ATM). Advice on the following expenses (Tokyo/Kobe) would be appreciated. I'm thrifty (right now I live in an apartment that's certainly not much bigger than 6 tatamis, doesn't have a kitchen, etc).

Rent: I'm assuming I'd take a room in a hostel or a Leo's Palace for a month at a time. 700USD a month? More? Other expenses (I certainly won't have the resouces to pay down key money for a normal apartment -- I mean other expenses invovled in low-deposit type accomodation)? Kobe discount?

Living: On the tally sheet I made at home I figured on 800USD a month for food, transport, necessities and entertainment (entertainment being scant). Realistic?

Visa run: I'd most likely arrive on a tourist visa. About how much does it cost folks to take that trip to Seoul to obtain the proper visa once they find work? How long does that usually take?

Financial assistance from employer: How likely is any of that with the schools I'm looking at? (Fat chance here in Thailand). What form(s) might it take?


3) Practicalities

I'd want a cell phone asap. Where do I get a cheap one and are the buy-a-refill-card type of accounts available, or will I have to set up a month-by-month account? I would arrange this in Thailand (lots of cell phones here) but I've heard that you can get a decent year-old phone in Japan for pennies.

Can you reccomend a particular place to stay in either Tokyo or Kobe that would be eminently suitable for looking for work (and also affordable)?

How much work can be done here as far as jobs in Japan goes? Would it be possible to have interviews lined up for after I arrive -- or can I basically forget about getting the ball rolling until my feet are on Japanese soil?

What kind of cold-weather clothes would I need for Tokyo/Kobe? Is a fleece jacket enough, or would I need something heavier? (My home's about 20 minutes by car from the Canadian border in America, and last winter a wool jacket, stocking hat and pair of gloves was enough).

If I come to Japan and after a month haven't found what I needed (or otherwise have to boogey), does anyone know basic startup costs for Korea or Taiwan -- off the top of your heads?

Anything you'd want me to bring you from Thailand?

Thanks again...

[Glenski]

[Sheep-Goats]

Thanks very much, Glenski.

Is the "experience in Japan first" issue for work at high schools mandated somewhere along the way? If not, what's the logic behind it's request? I do have some experience with Japanese folks and that can be played up a bit -- and I'm just curious as to how iron-clad that requirement is.

Or perhaps more importantly: If I were to somehow get around the working in Japan first requirement, would the visa processing time also make things impossible? I'd be willing to put my kung-fu up against one impossiblity, but two might be too many...

Failing all that, how hungry are eikawa for teachers like myself (or, how much do I have to dumb it down) come April? Or is March better?

[Glenski]

Let's just say that every ad I've ever seen for HS work calls for experience. That doesn't necessarily say all schools ask for it, and many ads are not posted; they may be word of mouth.

[Sheep-Goats]

[ERINJK]

You do not need to do a VISA run to another country now. It is all done within Japan. This changed just after I had left Japan to get a VISA in Korea. Double check to make sure, but I'm pretty sure.

There are alot of Jobs being posted right now for an April start, so you should be able to find something before you arrive. If you arrive then start looking I recommend looking in "The Japan Times" newspaper for jobs, they seem to have many listed.

Most public school jobs have an April 1st start date, but some schools also hire in July/August. You should be able to find a job, but maybe not with a Public School.

[sethness]

Coming to Japan and lookign for work, without first having a visa, is not as easy as in Thailand. In fact, it's quite hard.

Here are some tips to make it easier on you:

1) Many small schools would really prefer you to already have a visa. However, if their foreign teacher quits suddently (happens at the best of schools, really) they may be quite desperate for hiring someone NOW, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. So, don't be offended or suspicious if a small school gives you no time at all to make a choice. THey may want you there and working (without the proper paperwork) just as soon as you can get yourself to their office. This may happen the day you walk in, or many months later. (I got 2 job offers by phone when I'd given up and gone home from Japan to America, 5 months after I'd left a resume at the schools. So yes, it does happen.)

I saw one thread here by someone who was suspicious of a school that wanted him to come to Japan with only 1 week's notice. That was unfortunate... as I said, it's not a sign of disrespect, just a sign that the school's small, therefore desperate when one staff member leaves.

2) 2,500 dollars is not a lot of money in Japan. Rather than staying at a hotel, perhaps you can stay at a youth hostel ($35 a night) or a "weekly mansion" which is a pay-by-the-week efficiency apartment complete with furniture and PHONE. If you play your cards right, mybe you could even get a host family to put you up, in exchange for a little free English teaching ? That's what I did...though, for an APril start, you're kinda pushing the limits if you want to find a host family.

3) Cell phone's an excellent idea. Try to get a fax number you can use, too. Make sure the cellphone has e-mail, and an English menu. (About half can do an English menu.) Yes, you can get a $30 (3,000 yen) phone, or an $80 (8,000 yen) phone-with-camera to go along with a $30 or $60 phonecard that you must use up within 1 or 2 months.
Or, if you're SURE you're gonna stay in Japan, you can get a free phone with your signature on a signed-in-blood long-term cellphone contract.

Good luck ! What city you coming to ?
Tell us about THAILAND ! (I"m thinking about going there to teach English ....so I can SCUBA on weekends / in free time. Japan's great for making money, but unless I get a job offer in Okinawa, Japan's weather sux for SCUBA.)

[sethness]

Financial assistance from employers is...not likely.
However, they often have an apartment they can rent you, or a company car they can lend you.

These can be VERY important money-savers, because the startup costs for either one can be prohibitive in Japan. For an apartment, for instance, there's
1) first month's rent
2) 1 or 2 months' rent for security deposit / cleanup fee (you'll never see that $ again.)
3 1 or 2 months "key money", which is basically a GIFT to the real estate agent. It's his commission. It's money you never see again. It's sometimes optional, if the apartment's old, or decrepit, or unpleasant, or the market's slow.
An employer will quite frequently (half the time, in the case of English schools) have an apartment semi-furnished that you can just move into and start paying rentl, without items #2 and #3.

A car has the initial cost of the car (quite cheap, often) BUT....
also "shakken" (once-every-2-years roadworthiness test) which can cost as much as $2,000 depending on the engine size, or free if we're talking about a scooter under 250cc.
And there's insurance and road tax, which can cost as much as the car.

--------
Strongly consider living in a youth hostel where you can trade tips with other foreigners and pick up news abotu schools who're lookign for teachers. Paying $35 a year for membership in the Japan Youth Hostel Association will give you a significant discount on daily rent, at a youth hostel.

Don't worry so much about the APril 1 thing. That's a worry for students in Japan, but in my experience it's not nearly so important for teachers. There's a little flurry of hiring and firing around April and October, yes, but the hiring and firing is quite common during the rest of the year, too. Your chances are not horribly reduced by simply ignoring the April 1 "start of schoolyear" thing.

WOrking for a highschool, though, is simply not likely. Most high schools hire through JET, which is a year-long hiring process with a nice fat salary, but a rigid schedule of application that starts in mid-summer or early autumn.

Some "eikaiwa" schools (conversation schools, private nighttime shops) will send you out to high schools, though, so don't be afraid to mention your preference for high school teaching, on a resume.

[Brooks]

if you are really concerned with money, consider Korea.
There you can get a free flat, and get your flight paid for.
Plus, the tax rate is lower, as well as the cost of living.

[PAULH]