Job Discussion Forums

[InLimbo]

Well. I guess it's official.

NOVA didn't hire me. Hmmm. I thought
that CELTA certificate would do me some good.
After all, it proves (to me, anyway) that I
enjoy teaching and *am* an effective
teacher.

The NOVA interview was quite odd.
At no point, did the NOVA recruiter
ask me any questions regarding
actually *teaching*.

He did ask me a couple of questions
about what I found difficult about
living in Japan (I was there for
a few months in the past). I really
couldn't give him a satisfactory
answer, because truthfully I didn't
find anything difficult while in Japan (except the humid weather - which
I stated). I don't think he liked
that answer that much...

In any case, do you think perhaps
he was thinking that I was just
trying to use NOVA to get a visa
and then jump ship for a different
school once I got to Japan??

Maybe my CELTA was not welcome?
I really wanted to get hired by NOVA
and was willing to work for the long
term for that company, because
NOVA was pretty much *THE* only
company willing to give me an
interview.

I really don't know what to do next.
But I am gonna send a letter to
AEON (and I do have a GEOS
interview next month). Maybe
JET fits into the picture somehow.

[Celeste]

Were you working in Japan for a few months and then left? I think this might have been what the interviewer was getting at- why did you leave Japan after only a few months, and how will you prevent that in the future? Or it could have been your CELTA. A lot of bigger schools prefer to have malleable employees. If you do try to get on the JET programme, you should emphasize that while you have obtained your CELTA, you are very flexible about your teaching style and have no problems deferring to a Japanese teacher who might want to run their classes in a more traditional Japanese style. You will also have to address the reason you were only in Japan for a short time before. (If it was indeed a vacation or you were in Japan for study purposes, then this is a bonus with the JET programme (I was in Japan for an extended vacation and I fell in love with the place and vowed to myself that I'd return there to work and immerse myself further in the culture someday... sounds pretty good in a JET interview).

Good luck. You will find something. There are plenty of jobs out there, you just have to find one that's a good fit for you..

[PAULH]

[BenJ]

I find this a little hard to believe - I have been looking for a job for my partner who does not have a degree and had no troubles at all. We sent Resumes and cover letters off to a whole list of schools using various websites to get the contact details. Some of these schools were hiring actively, others we simply 'cold-called' to see if anything was coming up. By no means did we exhaust the list we had, and my partner was offered 5 definite interviews without resorting to NOVA etc. More difficult is for me to now find a job in the same place as her, but I am not terribly concerned.

Don't wait around for that special job advert to come up, grab school contacts and start sending your details out. I can't think it would be hard to get a job if you are willing to work in any location.

[Wolf]

[Jax]

I don't think it's necessarily your fault - I applied to Nova with a BA in English Language and Literature, an MA and a TEFL qualification. I was completely ignored. When I emailed them to check that they had received my application, they ignored me again.

I applied to ECC (see thread elsewhere) and they have been much better. They responded to my application for a start! I did an interview / teaching demo / test with them yesterday and they seemed friendly and even - dare I say - interested in teaching the students effectively. Though this could have just been affected, I think it was genuine. Several people there with me had worked for NOVA previously and were glad to leave for various reasons.

I'd suggest giving them a try.