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blueboy
Joined: 02 Jul 2004
Posts: 27
Location: Seattle, Wa
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 Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 12:24 pm Post subject: I've been forewarned... |
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| I just talked to a school that is interested in hiring me, and they put one of the other English teachers on the phone. He said the apartment was dilapidated and the the work was tedious and he couldn't take it anymore. The only problem is, how do I know he's not just a disgruntled crybaby? |
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womblingfree
Joined: 04 Mar 2006
Posts: 826
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| Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 12:39 pm Post subject: |
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I think you have to take these things with a pinch of salt.
Think about how long you are planning on staying, if it's a year then you can probably maintain genkiness in the face of all but the harshest circumstances.
In my experience staying at a job, especially in Japan for some reason, more than a couple of years turns most people into disgruntled cry babies. Not usually without cause, but if you have a short stay you'll probably be oblivious to what everyone's moaning about. |
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blueboy
Joined: 02 Jul 2004
Posts: 27
Location: Seattle, Wa
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| Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 12:45 pm Post subject: |
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| The fact that they're willing to hire me sight unseen kind of drops the bottom of my stomach out, but on the other hand, I think "How bad can it really be?" This guy had only been working there about four months and he said that he had bad asthma and skin rashes, I'd be pretty miserable if things went that wrong for me, but then again maybe they won't. |
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Nismo
Joined: 27 Jul 2004
Posts: 520
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| Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 12:58 pm Post subject: Re: I've been forewarned... |
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| blueboy wrote: |
| The only problem is, how do I know he's not just a disgruntled crybaby? |
You should ask him for specifics. Have him describe everything in detail that he finds bad. What makes the apartment bad? What makes the job bad? If he has NO positives to add, then he's just a bloody whinger. Even the worst jobs have upsides. (Meet new people, learn a new skill, learn what not to do when you are managing staff, etc). But, if he can say at least one good thing about the job, but for every one good thing he lists 5 bad things, then I'd say steer clear.
| womblingfree wrote: |
| In my experience staying at a job, especially in Japan for some reason, more than a couple of years turns most people into disgruntled cry babies. |
It's, in all likeliness, because of no challenge in terms of skills, a feeling of isolation, always standing out even if you want to just blend in, and a gap in communication between Japanese staff and Native speaking staff.
A good way to ease into Japanese business is by reading The Rice-Paper Ceiling: Breaking through Japanese Corporate Culture. Although it's focused on employees working for Japanese companies based outside of Japan, it will still give you a glimpse into what it is like to work under Japanese employers. Here's a link to amazon. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 1:14 pm Post subject: |
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| The fact that they're willing to hire me sight unseen kind of drops the bottom of my stomach out, but on the other hand, I think "How bad can it really be?" |
Doesn't this pretty much say it all? They are desperate enough to hire someone sight unseen. Red flag.
The other teacher has been there only 4 months, and he sounds negative or disgruntled? Red flag. Of course, what was his previous experience and expectations to label the work as "tedious"? We aren't developing cures for cancer (which are pretty tedious to do, by the way, but I think you get the picture).
Any chance in getting a digital photo or two of that apartment? I wouldn't base my JOB on the condition of an apartment, though. You could always change, right? |
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blueboy
Joined: 02 Jul 2004
Posts: 27
Location: Seattle, Wa
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| Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 1:22 pm Post subject: |
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There's no question that the red flags are raised, maybe I just have such low confidence in myself that I think I have to take it. I've taught ESL in the US for two years, even though it was pretty much volunteer work through a program called AmeriCorps, I was working full time. I worked in Taiwan for a year teaching kindergarten in the morning and elementary kids at night and it ran me ragged. However, I've never really been formally trained to teach. A CELTA course would be great but they're really expensive and I want to get back to work.
What do you mean by "you could always change, right?" the apartment or the job? |
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Anne0
Joined: 08 Nov 2005
Posts: 22
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| Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 2:03 pm Post subject: |
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You might hate this answer but....i'd say you might have to just take a chance and see or not take the chance and turn them down. I took a job in S. Korea in January and was hired sight unseen and it's a great job. However talk to another coworker of mine and she'll tell you it's the worse place on earth and she want to leave as soon as possible. Each person reacts to each situation differently. While I call this my dream job another person is ready to run for the hills.
So while this person might hate it you might love it. then hiring you sight-unseen is not a total red-flag depending on where you live. My job was using a hiring firm based in Canada and I lived in the US at the time of thew hiring. The most I could send was a picture.
Are you and your employer in two different countries? |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 2:03 pm Post subject: |
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| blueboy wrote: |
| What do you mean by "you could always change, right?" the apartment or the job? |
Both, but you have to have enough money to move out and set up your own apartment. If you are broke your only alternative is a gaijin hostel.
You dont want to come here broke, then quit your job and find you have no key money and cant make rent.
If you want to quit your job you give a month's notice or whatever is in the contract. I suggest you line up a new job before you hand in notice.
Legally in Japan an employer can not evict you from a company apartment unless he gives you six months notice, so don't worry about being chucked out on the street.
Last edited by PAULH on Wed Jul 19, 2006 11:04 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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bornslippy1981
Joined: 02 Aug 2004
Posts: 271
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| Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 2:11 pm Post subject: |
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What was the name of the school, if you don't mind sharing? Chances are if it's a red flag, people will have heard of it.
It's a bit strange that the teacher would be so honest with his boss sitting there. Is he leaving? Will you be his replacement? |
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blueboy
Joined: 02 Jul 2004
Posts: 27
Location: Seattle, Wa
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| Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 2:19 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, I'm in the US right now. I'm really put off by how desperate the school seem, and probably won't take the job now that I've thought more about it. They called me about four hours after submitting my resume, and want me to come to Japan in three weeks.
The job itself sounds alot easier than my last one (strictly conversational classes, no testing, no homework, no split schedule) but the whole thing about the apartment is kinda scaring me. The rent is taken out of the paycheck, and on top of the "dilapidated" account.
I'll try and get the e-mail address of the teacher so he can be more specific without the boss hanging over his shoulder on the phone.
Edit: I was wrong, it's 1dk |
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womblingfree
Joined: 04 Mar 2006
Posts: 826
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| Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 6:38 pm Post subject: |
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| PAULH wrote: |
| Legally in Japan an employer can not evict you from an apartment unless he gives you six months notice, so do nt worry about being chucked out on the street. |
That's useful to know.
A friend of mine was fired and returned home to his apartment to discover an Aeon trainer waiting and his stuff on the pavement.  |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 8:30 pm Post subject: |
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| womblingfree wrote: |
| PAULH wrote: |
| Legally in Japan an employer can not evict you from an apartment unless he gives you six months notice, so do nt worry about being chucked out on the street. |
That's useful to know.
A friend of mine was fired and returned home to his apartment to discover an Aeon trainer waiting and his stuff on the pavement. |
Then probably what the trainer did was breaking and entering and can not enter your private apartment without your permission. You pay rent and as such have access to your own apartment, no one else. You can sue the school for illegal entry to a private residence.
Question: I was fired over a dispute about working conditions. Although I have not agreed with being dismissed this way, my employer also told me to move out of the apartment provided by the company, as required by the contract. Do I have to leave the apartment now ? If so, I will have to find another place. What should I do ?
Answer: When an apartment is contracted by a company, the civil laws are applied differently depending on whether it is provided free or is leased.
Normally, the former cases is covered by the provisions in Article 593 of Civil Law, and the latter by Article 601 of the Civil Law. However, if the rent is extremely low, there will be some question as to whether the latter case applies.
If you have a rent-free apartment, you are required under the terms of worker-as-tenant to give up the apartment on the day specified in the contract (Article 597,Civil Law).
The employer has demanded that you move out of the apartment at the time of your dismissal. If you do not comply with that demand, your employer could possibly take to matter to court.
On the other hand, a lease contract with a company is governed by Article 28 of the Land and Building Act. According to the act, in order to end a lease relationship, an employer as a landlord is required to give notice to an employee, with a justifiable reason. When the lease has a specified period, the landlord should give advance notice of 6 months to one year and should clearly tell the employee that he/she does not intend to renew the lease contract.
Also, with a lease that has no specified duration, advance notice to vacate the property of at least 6 months is required. Therefore, even if it is stated in a contract that the employee shall move out immediately upon dismissal, such requirement is totally contrary to the Land and Building Act (Article 30, Land and Building Act, or Article 6, former Land and Building Act). The landlord can never make a tenant leave by force. In the case of a company house, the argument often turns on whether it is provided free or is leased. The court rules that each case should be carefully considered under its own merits. Since the situation that arise are not always typical, the right decision is not easily reached. Therefore, it is recommended that further discussion is needed between you and your employer and that your landlord should wait until you find another place to live.
Last edited by PAULH on Wed Jul 19, 2006 11:14 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 9:53 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| What do you mean by "you could always change, right?" the apartment or the job? |
My answer is the same as Paul's.
| Quote: |
| I'm in the US right now. I'm really put off by how desperate the school seem, and probably won't take the job now that I've thought more about it. They called me about four hours after submitting my resume, and want me to come to Japan in three weeks. |
MAJOR red flag! They want you sight unseen from overseas in less than a month. Do they even realize how long it takes for you to get a work visa? I've heard of places that want people so quickly from overseas, and they turn out to be really bad. They'll claim they filed the visa paperwork, then you work for them illegally and hear that there were "delays" or "mistakes" in the processing until you have overstayed your visa and been paid low wages, then you are fired with no final paycheck, and there is no legal recourse because you have been there illegally.
Find another employer. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 11:03 pm Post subject: |
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| blueboy wrote: |
Yeah, I'm in the US right now. I'm really put off by how desperate the school seem, and probably won't take the job now that I've thought more about it. They called me about four hours after submitting my resume, and want me to come to Japan in three weeks.
The job itself sounds alot easier than my last one (strictly conversational classes, no testing, no homework, no split schedule) but the whole thing about the apartment is kinda scaring me. The rent is taken out of the paycheck, and on top of the "dilapidated" account.
I'll try and get the e-mail address of the teacher so he can be more specific without the boss hanging over his shoulder on the phone.
Edit: I was wrong, it's 1dk |
You are under no legal obligation to take the apartment that an employer offers you, and if you are coming in from overseas it is their responsibility to arrange a real estate agent to show you suitable apartments. They should also be expected to cover any key money or upfront costs before moving in.
You can not work in Japan on a tourist visa and though its possible to process a visa once in the country I would be wary of any employer asking you to come into the country without a visa pre-arranged. Work visas take 6-8 weeks and it would be impossible for you to come in that time. Not only that you need to tidy up your life back home, get rid of apartment, car possessions etc before booking a plane ticket. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 11:08 pm Post subject: |
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| blueboy wrote: |
| The fact that they're willing to hire me sight unseen kind of drops the bottom of my stomach out, but on the other hand, I think "How bad can it really be?" This guy had only been working there about four months and he said that he had bad asthma and skin rashes, I'd be pretty miserable if things went that wrong for me, but then again maybe they won't. |
You can't get asthma from a rundown apartment as its a respiratory ailment, unless you already suffer from asthma in which case it would make it worse. It may be old and have fleas etc but asthma is not something you pick up like a cold. Skin rashes may be because of termites (dani) which would mean the place needs fumigating. A fairly easy problem to fix. |
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