Job Discussion Forums

[cafebleu]

Jazz - I haven't been following your other posts so much but I gather you are a young Canadian man? Under 30? If that's the case you are already half way to a job in Japan. Generally speaking your age makes it less of a hassle for somebody to employ you - one thing for starters that you have going for you.

You missed out on GEOS after making the final interview stage? DON"T take it personally! There could be any number of reasons including a visible lack of confidence. Practice being interviewed with a friend as the interviewer. We always have our own self-image but sometimes it can be far from how others see us.

Couldn't handle the English grammar test?
I was a teacher in the UK in schools where the majority of students came from underprivileged/migrant/refugee backgrounds. I insisted that my students could never communicate properly without having the basics of grammar.

I didn't spend too much time on it but I did insist that 'having great ideas' and 'just expressing yourself' were point blank useless if you couldn't communicate that using the correct forms. Even those who were poorer/poor at English including the native Brits came to be able to write grammatically correct essays with the correct punctuation and knew enough basic terminology.

Grammar is NOT difficult to teach yourself even if you lacked the finer points at school or university. All you do is buy a basic English grammar book that tells you about nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, past tense, present tense, continuous, past perfect, present simple, etc, etc.

It is NOT difficult to learn. More native speakers of any language than you think, write well but have not the faintest idea of the actual terms and so couldn't do grammar tests well or necessarily understand what is being asked of them. The answer is a decent, simple English grammar book.

GEOS is not the be all and end all of teaching English in Japan. In fact one of the poorest teachers I met when I was living in Japan and working there was a "Manager" for GEOS. She was an Aussie, had a shedload of self-confidence but simply was a rather inadequate communicator.

She went to work at a private eikaiwa that somebody I knew was associated with at one time, and this woman ended up presiding over the school being closed! Some of the students told the ex teacher that they couldn't understand Ms X GEOS.

According to the ex teacher at the school who was involved during her last weeks at the school in helping Ms X GEOS take over her job, Ms X GEOS did not know how to communicate effectively. She only got by in the school kids/kindy level classes and even then with the school kids it seemed to invariably involve doing hangman on the whiteboard.

Ms X GEOS was overly complicated and didn't seem to have any idea of the level of different classes and how to make interesting activities. She was rather bad in dealing with conversation classes. Remember - this was a woman considered good enough to work at GEOS and rise to the rank of Manager!

That may not be true of all GEOS teachers but I don't think they are known for being anything special. What's wrong with NOVA? The bad aspects of the Big Four are routinely exaggerated. I had friends in Japan who worked for NOVA and got along fine because they realised their job was about working and they also knew how to turn off the pressure after work. They also didn't get involved in battles they wouldn't win - something that some ex NOVA teachers never understood.

Why don't you try NOVA?

[Jazz1975]

Thanks, Cafebleu. You bring up a lot of good points. I will pm you.

[TRod]

I dunno. I know I'm new to this forum, but I gotta back up Jazz. I hate job interviews because it's the most subjective and random thing on the planet. You just gotta try your best, but sometimes you won't get chosen. You can do things to increase your chances, but it all comes down to luck, I think. It seems that some of these eikawas have questionable hiring practices, so I don't think anyone should feel bad for not getting hired. Getting pissed is ok though. There have been so many times where I felt I was qualified for a job, but of course they hire someone less qualified or less professional. It's just the way it is, I suppose. But it's understandable for one to get angry, especially if he/she wants to go to Japan very badly.

[TRod]

I dunno. I know I'm new to this forum, but I gotta back up Jazz. I hate job interviews because it's the most subjective and random thing on the planet. You just gotta try your best, but sometimes you won't get chosen. You can do things to increase your chances, but it all comes down to luck, I think. It seems that some of these eikawas have questionable hiring practices, so I don't think anyone should feel bad for not getting hired. Getting pissed is ok though. There have been so many times where I felt I was qualified for a job, but of course they hire someone less qualified or less professional. It's just the way it is, I suppose. But it's understandable for one to get angry, especially if he/she wants to go to Japan very badly.

[TRod]

I dunno. I know I'm new to this forum, but I gotta back up Jazz. I hate job interviews because it's the most subjective and random thing on the planet. You just gotta try your best, but sometimes you won't get chosen. You can do things to increase your chances, but it all comes down to luck, I think. It seems that some of these eikawas have questionable hiring practices, so I don't think anyone should feel bad for not getting hired. Getting pissed is ok though. There have been so many times where I felt I was qualified for a job, but of course they hire someone less qualified or less professional. It's just the way it is, I suppose. But it's understandable for one to get angry, especially if he/she wants to go to Japan very badly.

[angrysoba]

[shuize]

[PAULH]

[TRod]

First of all, me and you agree and are saying the same things about jobs/interviews and what not. My point is that they suck, but they are part of the reality we live in, therefore we have to deal with them. In my previous post I never implied that I didn't want to apply for an eikawa job. I've just been reading everyone's posts for months complaining about the process--doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun. I also never implied that anyone should hand me a job. I wouldn't compare an eikawa job to admittance to Harvard or Stanford--that's like apples and oranges. This is just a job. You can be exploited in Japan or in your home country--your choice. Either way, you're screwed.

And let me just add that a lot of people in this forum are quite abrasive and presumptuous. I don't like how people respond to each other. I know half of you would not say these things face to face, so ease up a bit and try to understand where the other is coming from instead of ripping them a new one right away. Just trying to make this enjoyable for all of us.

[PAULH]

[shuize]

[PAULH]

[luckyloser700]