Job Discussion Forums

locomote · Joined: 16 May 2005 Posts: 27

Hi,

I have searched about Peppy Kids, and I've noticed one question that doesn't seem to be answered:

It seems that many people who applied from inside Japan with experience got friendly letters saying there was a "hiring freeze", which tends to be Peppy's way of saying "we're not interested in you".

Has anyone ever been hired by Peppy in-country with experience already, or do they have a major preference for those newbies coming from overseas?

locomote · Joined: 16 May 2005 Posts: 27

I applied and got this form letter:

Reisender · Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 45

Lots of people get hired in-country and experience is an advantage. In-country hires miss out on the �20.000 bonus at the end of their employment. That bonus replaces the old system where they'd pay for your trip to whatever port of departure from Japan that you choose and up to 3 nights accommodation depending on length of service.

locomote · Joined: 16 May 2005 Posts: 27

Thanks for the reply.

So - can you clarify? Lots of people get hired in-country, but only if they already have the proper visa?

If you're coming from the US/Canada/Australia, they will provide a visa, but if you are in Japan, they will not?

Thanks~ ^^

Synne · Joined: 06 Apr 2004 Posts: 269 Location: Tohoku

locomote · Joined: 16 May 2005 Posts: 27

Thanks~

I sent them an email with these questions, but judging by the form letter they sent me (an attached word document), I didn't get the impression that they were up for much chit-chat. We'll see...

I'll try to give them a call, but I don't want to be pesky. Maybe I'll give it a week or two until it's closer to the time I'll actually be in Japan.

Thanks again for the info~ ^^

canuck · Joined: 11 May 2003 Posts: 1921 Location: Japan

The reason they do this is to hire people from Canada on a working holiday visa for cheaper. They aslo try to get teachers through a co-op situation, through university, so they can pay less and have a stronger guarantee that the teacher will finish out a year or close to it.

If you're already in Japan, shouldn't you be looking for something better than Peppy's?

locomote · Joined: 16 May 2005 Posts: 27

That's an interesting comment....shouldn't I be looking for something better than Peppy's?

From what I've seen, Peppy's seems to be one of the better entry-level jobs. Low working hours, normal pay, reliable company...few complaints beyond lack of "real" teaching. Personally, I really enjoy travelling on buses/trains, so the travel time doesn't bother me. I've spent the past year in a very formal teaching situation (public high school), so I wouldn't mind the change into something less formal...

I'm not really in Japan "yet". I'm in Korea, but I'll be visiting Japan in two weeks for the job hunt.

It's funny how these job boards work sometimes...people tend to either say "you should be going for something better than that" or "you @#*&$#@Q!, go back to your own country - Japan doesn't want you".

I'm not in any way saying you're wrong to say I should be looking for something better than Peppy's (I think I'm way overqualified for what they're looking for), but I've been given the impression it's hard to get in the door in Japan, so I've gotta start somewhere. Peppy's seems to be one of the better places to start. All the "good" jobs won't even consider you unless you already have the "proper visa", which I don't have. That's the stumbling-block I'm working to get past...

Being a US citizen, working-holiday visa isn't an option. If it was, I'd be teaching privates in Japan right now... I'm one of those dorks that doesn't want to work illegally on a tourist visa. It's just makes my life more simple when I'm not breaking any immigration laws, especially since I'm looking to start at least a few years of a career teaching in Japan.

bearcat · Joined: 08 May 2004 Posts: 367

Chuoh Publishing(Peppy's) very much likes to have control over who they hire. In general this is why they like to go through their overseas venues because in those cases they feel the teachers are more dependent on the company and thus more likely to stay out their contract unless they are in a dire situation. Those who they hire in country in many cases already have an established state of support and more likely to bail when they want if they don't like the conditions (some people don't like teaching kids).

As well with a FOB(fresh off the boat), there isn't anything that Chuoh percieves as having to be "unlearned" in the form of habits or perceptions that people with experience in country have developed. We might consider these things to be normal experiences but to Chuoh, they are not "peppy ways of thinking and doing" and thus in their minds, such employees are high maintenance and just not worth the effort to deal with.

That all said, Mr. Wright has a history of essentially waffling on who and how he hires and as eluded to above, it does change frequently. During the bulk hiring season they stay pretty strict to their hiring policies outside of Japan. Once the peak is over and its the rest of the year, they tend to be more open to other options because their choices are limited.

I do know they were hiring from in country last year though during some times of the year, but I take that more due to the influence of J-staff than E-staff such as Mr. Wright.

locomote · Joined: 16 May 2005 Posts: 27

Very useful insight bearcat - thanks~

In a disappointing way, that makes sense...

Oh well - back to the drawing boards~ Cool