Job Discussion Forums

ready2flybutterfly · Joined: 12 Feb 2006 Posts: 8

After reading this board for sometime, with one interview complete, and a few more ahead, I'm trying to figure out how someone could make a final decision about what Japanese ESL company to choose to work for at the end of the day.

For almost all the "Big Four", I notice the positive and negative comments are about equal on here, but all the negative makes me wonder if the final choice is just picking the "lesser of all evils" and hoping for the best.

I believe that whether you have a positive experience or not depends more on what you put into it and what your expectations were to start with (and this applies to life in general). I also think it's only a year-which is not a lot in the grand scheme of things- you still have learned, and if it doesn't work out, you can move on, right?

How can you trust what you read and what a company tells you?

And...is there really a "bad choice" when deciding where to teach ESL in Japan?

canuck · Joined: 11 May 2003 Posts: 1921 Location: Japan

DNK · Joined: 22 Jan 2007 Posts: 236 Location: the South

In the process myself. As far as the big four go, I'm steering clear of NOVA for housing reasons. Otherwise, they're a fallback option, which I'm having to start executing at this point. If they're that bad, it's a 5-6 month stint before I'll move on and be able to interview in person and have significantly more opportunities waiting for me. 5-6 months until I can move on to greener pastures isn't so bad. From what I've heard of the worse teaching places, there's worse jobs out there (data entry, for example).

Outside of that, yeah, it's hard to tell. Some companies have resoundingly negative reviews here and on GaijinPot, so I keep away from them if I see too much bad about them. Otherwise, watch what they say and expect. If they want little and pay nothing, or work without a proper visa, I steer clear. I don't suppose such a company would be very interested in its employees or clients' actual learning.

If the ad is all about what an amazing corporate adventure the job will be, I figure they don't care as much about teaching, since they're effectively pitching to those more interested in chasing money, and are probably doing so themselves. If, on the other hand, you're ambitious and want to climb the ladder (how far you can go is another question altogether), then maybe that's best.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Are there bad choices? Sure. Web sites like this delete many / most of the posts that talk negatively about some employers because they tell the sites they will stop advertising, and that means loss of revenue. This site used to have a sticky devoted to such unscrupulous sites. Used to...

How you choose is up to you and your situation. For example...

If you are just getting started and have little to no experience, you are going to start at the bottom rung.

Even with experience, if it's not in Japan, you will likely start at the bottom rung. An exception would be eligibility for international schools.

And, you have a choice of coming here and supporting yourself for 2-3 months before getting that first paycheck vs. staying home and having fewer opportunities from which to choose. So, at home, you have to rely on boards like this to give you information.

If you have questions about particular employers or contract conditions, post them. PMs do not get read by moderators, so you can exchange information that way if nothing else.

womblingfree · Joined: 04 Mar 2006 Posts: 826

Whether you'll be in a good situation is as down to the branch you're in probably more than any particular company.

A lottery really.

Gypsy Rose Kim · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 151

Choose the one with the highest salary and the longest vacation.

First rule of exception:

Remember that if you take an eikawa job, you'll probably be working weekends for most of your first year. For this reason, if I were a new teacher getting ready to sign my first eikawa contract, I'd give priority to the one that guaranteed me weekends off.

Second rule of exception:

Remember that if the person who hires you is different from the person who'll be making your schedule, they CAN'T guarantee you weekends off unless you're at a branch that's closed on weekends.

Third rule of exception:

They could always send you to another branch on weekends.

Don't stress too much, because most of the jobs are pretty much the same. Choose based on money, unless you know the situation at the specific branches you're looking at.

gaijin4life