Job Discussion Forums

[pabo]

i wrote a similar post a few days ago, but after reading more posts i found out some new things and had some new questions. i'm looking for a job starting in september for a year. i'm a 28 year old american. my situation is i have a B.A. in English, and 4 years EFL experience at a uni in korea. that doesn't qualify me for uni jobs in japan, so i'm hoping for the next best thing.

i read about the "big 4" (NOVA, AEON, ECC,etc.) and some of them seem okay, but i live in korea and i can't interview in japan or in my home country. (contract is up in mid-aug, and then i want to go straight to japan.) i have the money to do it, but i don't want to waste a big portion of my savings showing up with a tourist visa and looking for a job for 1-2 months. so, i'm looking for a decent job that will hire over the phone. preferably adult eikaiwa under 30 hours a week. i want to stay away from dispatch companies and teaching little kids. i read about westgate, but i don't think its for me.


i know i'm probably asking for too much, but just checking to see if there is anything else out there. are there any junior colleges, vocational colleges, etc that will hire an experienced teacher without an M.A?

thanks for the help.

PM me if you have any questions about working in korea. average income here is about 200,000 yen a month, free accommadation, heaps cheaper than japan, and well worth it if you can get a uni job. be careful with korea's language schools.

[denise]

There are always small, private eikaiwas advertising on the "international jobs" page here. Some of them will do phone interviews. When I was job-hunting, I only applied to three schools in Japan, and all three of them did phone interviews. (One of them was Westgate, though.)

d

[Glenski]

You can't come here and you can't go to your home country.
Your options are extremely slim.

Phone interviews are pretty shaky at best. Westgate was the only one I'd ever heard that had no real problems, and you discounted them.

Think twice about just how much you really want a job. If you really want one that won't try to buffalo you on the phone, suck up your courage and come here. Just plan extensively ahead of time.

Unless someone can name names of reputable employers who interview by phone, I can't offer any more advice than that. Come on. Phone interviews? How much do you really think you can glean from one without seeing the face and body language of the interviewer, or the office and its neighborhood? The most you can hope for (and in some cases, hoping is about all you get) is to try to speak to current teachers as well as the interviewer.

[stillnosheep]

has someone deleted my post about the big 4 and if so could they do me the favour of pm-ing me why?

thank you

[pabo]

thanks for the reply. i realize that if i want a job, i'll have to show up in person and interview. now that i think about it, most korean jobs are landed over the phone. even some university jobs. and that explains why there are some really wacko people teaching in korea.

i'm thinking i might want to stay away from the really big eikaiwa's. can anybody recommend a smaller, decent one that teaches only adults? i know april is the start of the school year, but i assume the eikaiwa's hire year round.

thanks again.

[pabo]

thanks for the reply. i realize that if i want a job, i'll have to show up in person and interview. now that i think about it, most korean jobs are landed over the phone. even some university jobs. and that explains why there are some really wacko people teaching in korea.

i'm thinking i might want to stay away from the really big eikaiwa's. can anybody recommend a smaller, decent one that teaches only adults and is under 30 hrs a week. i know april is the start of the school year, but i assume the eikaiwa's hire year round.

thanks again.

[PAULH]

[bearcat]

pab,

Some of the smaller schools are just as bad or worse than the big 4. Since they are smaller, they get overlooked for their bad conditions etc.

Some smaller ones are ok but there are many that also are not.

Look, you need to sit down and make a list of what your priorities are for working in Japan: What days, shifts hours per week, holidays, pay, kids adults or both, long or short commutes, dispatch or inhouse, etc etc etc.

Once you got your conditions, then you need to see if you can find what meets your conditions. If nothing OR your conditions are not realistic for the jobs available(as now we're getting into sloppy seconds season), you may have to modify your conditions to take what you can get.

And to answer your question on smaller colleges etc. No, many of them have the same conditions and their larger brothers. For the sake of your peace of mind, just close that door and move on.

As another mentioned, there are some companies that will hire you via the telephone, but you're gonna really limit your options in that manner. But if that is all you can do, then just accept what conditions you can... if you're willing.

I keep getting the feeling you're hoping someone is going to come on and just lay this golden ticket of a job or school in your lap that fits all your wishes... it ain't gonna happen. You're gonna have to get serious and realistic about your situation and its imposed limits.

Sorry if Im coming down harsh but you really need to think on what you're setting yourself up for. At this point Im speculating you're gonna go with some smaller school.. any school that will take you, then spend your next six months here in frustration because you took something that really wasn't what you wanted and you dislike the conditions you set yourself into. I hope I'm wrong but that's how you're coming across to me.

[bearcat]

As far as hiring seasons are concerned:

January to April is the peak hiring season for eikaiwas and Dispatches. That would be roughly 90% of the positions available at those types of companies, and as well about 90% of the work available in this country.

Private JrHs and HS positions start looking in December through March. They hire early.

From End of April to about the middle of June, is the sloppy seconds season. These are the jobs that others either weren't willing to take, teachers were already fired from or quit(culture shock etc), or the company miscalculated is needs for teachers.

From Mid june to the beginning of august its a dead zone. Few positions listed and even fewer are for full time... many are part time gigs.

From the beginning of august to mid september is a small hiring season for positions that teachers vacate(d) during the vacation period in mid august. Some teachers use that time to leave because of some being able to get the full salary for the month even though quitting. Or some teachers go home for their vacation and just done come back.

From mid september to the beginning of November, there's a decent amount of part time positions and again few fulltime ones.

From November to January is another dead zone. (other than the stuff I mentioned above).

That's about the size of it. The 10% of positions not hired in the peak season are spread out over the year. That means they're pretty thin.

While searching ads, pay attention to ads of companies you see posted weekly... especially if its the same position... that's usually a bad indication... especially if they do so for months

Read between the lines. An ad may state 20 teaching hours a week. But that could very well mean you teach a solid 20 hours each week with another 20 doing all sorts of things including standing outside in all types of weather handing out flyers, sales, cleaning the school's toilets etc.

Watch for bait n switches. w5 ss for example bait people in with ads stating 10 weeks paid vacation 40 hours a week of work. But then you get into the interview or to sign the contract and conditions are different. Do NOT leave yourself open for trouble on the day of signing a contract. Be able and willing to back out if they pull something at the last minute. Companies wait to offer contracts after you complete training or on the first day of training etc and rush you through em. They know in many cases, the person is here, starting or started, and already dependent on the company for housing etc. Leaving at that point would put them in a dire situation and thus they begrudgingly sign.

Do NOT get talked into a verbal contract. I don't care how good they make it sound, I've yet to see a verbal contracted job here that produced a teacher with a good experience.

Be aware that scams do exist and exploitation of teachers here exist. Do your homework and research thoroughly... but even then you can get burned. Be prepared.

[pabo]

you're right bearcat, i was looking for someone to lay that perfect job on my lap that met all my stipulations. money's not a huge issue for me so i've been leaning towards teaching uni in china the whole time, but was just checking out japan to see if anything was out there to fit in well with my situation. i'll wait on japan until i get a master's or i'm more serious about knowing what i want to teach in japan. thanks everyone for the information. its a lot clearer now.

pabo.

[joncharles]

Bearcat has many good points. There are some companies that offer Junior High or High school positions, but for many of those they want some basic Japanese knowledge and there is less pay than the eikawa's. Unfortunatley, for most jobs here you WILL have to teach kids. Actually it isn't bad. Back when I was with NOVA, I refused to teach the kids at first and then swallowed my pride and gave in.. now here at Bernard, some of my favorite classes are with kiddies. You shouldn't be afraid of the kids. I work for a company that also does phone interviews. It's how I got here. About half of our staff was hired over the phone. Those in Japan came in for interviews. Keep an eye on the ads.. here on Dave's, on Gaijinpot, and Ohayo Sensei (sp?). Sometimes you can find a company looking for someone to teach English to their employees.... still often they may want some Japanese language skills.. Good luck

[spidey]

Did you say "Bernard?"

My prayers are with you...

[madeira]

I don't really know why you won't consider dispatch companies. The one I'm with now, contracts are only 3 months and you don't have to take any job you don't want. I don't want to teach kids, either... so I don't. I specified the area I want work in, so the commutes haven't been too bad.

If money isn't a problem, cherry-picking from a dispatch company or two, plus some privates seems pretty good to me.

After you've got your work visa, of course.

[bearcat]

[joncharles]