Job Discussion Forums

[RFD]

Hi all,

First time poster, long time reader trying to get a little bit of advice from some of the vets here. My situation is as follows:

I've been planning to head out to Japan later this year and have an order of preference in terms of who i go with out of the following schemes.

1)JET
2)AEON
3)NOVA
4)GEOS

Now, whilst thinking that I was particularly clever i applied to the eikaiwa positions in the last couple of weeks expecting that i would possibly get interviews after my JET interview and with a little luck get offers back around the same sort of time .....wrong

In a stunning display of speed and guile Nova offered me an interview in the next couple of weeks and from what I read, their turn around on decisions is pretty quick (in the 7-10 days region). AEON thankfully fell a bit further from the tree at the end of Feb. My JET interview is late January and obviously I don't expect much until April.

My fiendish plan to pick and choose at the same time has fallen flat on its preverbial backside it seems, my question is thus:

"If Nova offer me a position, how easy would it be to accept the initial offer and duck out at a late stage should i be offered a position by literally anyone else? Will this affect future VISA applications made by myself through JET or AEON if i were to jump ship?"

I plan on being fairly honest with Nova and saying I have also applied with AEON and would like to at least attend the information session before making any decisions (this after all is perfectly true, i do have a slight inclination towards AEON). I may neglect to mention JET however for the moment.

[Glenski]

Actually, this sort of question comes up fairly often here.

Interview with as many places as you can in order to maximize your chances of getting hired. If you get offered a job before you hear from (or interview for) another, and if you think it is acceptable, take it. You can always refuse it later. Places like NOVA have hundreds of office in Japan, and it's not much skin off their noses if you turn them down in the middle of hiring proceedings. If they started a visa for you during that time, all they have to do is cancel it with a single call from immigration.

[lalalateda]

Do you have much experience with job interviews? If not it may be a good idea to go to the interview even if it's only to practice your interviewing skills.
The first time I interviewed for a TEFL job I was so nervous that I spoke really fast. A big no no for English Teachers.

[PAULH]

Not sure if you know but in the US AEON makes you pay a $250 deposit which you get back when you arrive in the country and start work. Makes you think twice about quitting if you have money riding on it.

thats to stop visa freeloaders and tire kickers from going onto an interview and wasting their time.

[gaijinalways]

I would suggest not being fully honest about who else you have applied with. Certainly if the question comes up, you can say that you have applied to some other schools, but bring the focus back to the current company. But most importantly, don't bring the subject up unless you are forced to answer a direct question about it.

[RFD]

Great stuff, thanks guys for the feedback, that's really all i needed to know.

I will definitely go to the interview, I've got a fair amount of interview experience under my belt but never anything with regards to work in an EFL environment, my only worry was the problem with pulling out late on and the thorny issues it may create further down the line.


RE: Aeon. yeah i heard Aeon has a $250 deposit, with luck my JET interview results may be through by that point, if not it's a small price to pay to ensure i get the best result possible.

[chirp]

RFD,

Where are you located? I thought the deposit required by Aeon upon signing the contract was 200USD/300CDN or AUS. Where did you hear $250?

If you are willing, I would love to hear about your various experiences as I am about to go through the same process myself. PM me!

Thanks and best of luck!

[Gordon]

$200 US is now about $230 CDN or $260 AUS, so that might explain it if there was a change.

[chirp]

I got the numbers off their website - I was wondering if they were going to tell me something different at the interview.