Job Discussion Forums

[tulkas]

Hi all,
I've been reading this forum off and on for a few months now, and now that I've finally decided that I want to live in Japan for a couple years, I was wondering if someone could help me out with some of my questions.

Here's my situation. I'm a 28 yr old American, and I've long held an interest in Japan. I took a couple years of Japanese in college, but I want to become fluent before I get too old to move around. I also want to pass the level one Japanese Proficiency Exam, as it may help me find other work in the future. Aside from language, I love Japanese food, customs, the festivals, and I want to travel around a little during my time there.

On to the questions, then. First, I am applying to the Jet programme, but I'm not sure exactly how competitive it will be. At this point, I feel like my chances are slim. I'm also going to apply to the big eikaiwa's(Aeon, Nova, ECC, and possibly others), but I don't know how I should schedule the process.

From what I've read, eikaiwa's take about two to four weeks to respond to an application. If they grant an interview, am I allowed to pick and choose from a set amount of dates? I'd also like to know when they extend job offers, if you pass their interview. Do they decide at the interview or wait a few weeks before extending offers? I realize that these details may vary from place to place, but any information would be helpful.

Jet lets you know if you have an interview in January, which is held in February. You have a final answer by April. So given this, can anyone suggest when I should apply to the eikaiwa's if Jet is my first choice? Obviously, if I get rejected from Jet, I could just start right after I get the notification. However, I want to minimize the amount of time spent waiting around. I want to time it so that any offer from an eikaiwa would come shortly after I receive the results from Jet. Any ideas from experienced people would be helpful.

Finally, resumes. I have no professional EFL experience, which is okay for the big eikaiwa's, according to most people. I'm considering getting a cert in January, but I'm not sure how valuable that would be. Certainly, at US$2500, it's not cheap. Anyway, I have a computer programmer's functional resume, and I've been at the same company for six years. Work before that was part time, and not a whole lot. So my dilemma is, if I remove the list of programming skills, the remainder only takes up about 3/4 of a page. I certainly can't say that I have any EFL qualifications, and my work history can't be expanded. Maybe an interests/hobbies section would work?

I changed the objective on my resume from programmer to teacher, and the end result looked pretty ridiculous. Any thoughts? Thanks for any help, and thanks for reading the post.

[J-Pop]

tulkas,

If you don't get many responses, I suggest dividing your post & starting a new thread for each main question you ask. There are several questions (it seems) you're asking.

As far as the resume:

1. Is there some way you can do some volunteer English conversation partner-type activity? Foreign students at your college (or one nearby), or at church or local community English classes? This would look good on the resume & show some current interest.

2. You should look at different resume styles. I mean, there are resumes & there are resumes. Specifically, if it looks stange having "teacher" listed as your objective--then, uh . . . how about deleting this category completely?

--Some of the better resumes/CVs I have seen don't have this category of "goal," or "objective." Why not? Simple. When you send your resume include a cover letter. In the cover letter, state your objective. For example, you can explain, "though most of my experience is in ( ) my real interest is in ( ) because . . . . " You fill in the details. A brief, well-written (thoughtful) cover letter can be quite useful.

Too, with a cover letter you can "customize" (vary) your approach from company to company. You can include some bit of information in the cover letter about the company you are applying to show: 1. you have done research in the company AND, 2. to explain why you would be a good "fit" for the company.

Finally, sending along a nice cover letter can (potentially) make you appear a bit more "serious" or responsible (professional) in those situations where you take the time to do it--& no one or only few others do so.

[cangel]

I was a JET for three years and I will be returning to Japan in February to work for NOVA. NOVA responds to your initial application very quickly. However, unless you are close to one of their offices (SF, Chicago, Boston), it may take a a few months for them to hold an interview at a different location - I had mine in Seattle. You need to be prompt in scheduling your interview because they fill up quickly and then you'll have to wait. They normally recruit 2-3 months out because if you get an offer it will take some time to process your visa. You can basically choose your departure date so long as it's not too far in the future, say 6 months. You If offered a position you must arrive in Japan on a Thursday. Qualifications have little to do with being offered a position so long as you have at least a BA and are a native speaker.

[Glenski]

You have it right about scheduling interviews and getting responses. Some places want an answer right then and there, while others will take their zillion applicants and process the interview data for a day to 3 weeks before getting back to you.

[shmooj]

[tulkas]

Thanks for the information so far, everyone. I'll be revising my resume for a little while; hopefully Glenski(thanks a ton, btw ) will point out a few ways to improve it once I pass it along. I think I will go ahead and send out applications in Nov or Dec and try to schedule any interviews for March. I'll see if I can find any local volunteer possibilities as well. Definitely a good idea.

[PAULH]