Job Discussion Forums

[Manada]

So I've just graduated, sitting in Toronto currently jobless & feeling like I'm failing at life, and am strongly leaning to just saying "screw it" to my previous plans of steady jobs and buying condos in favour of moving abroad.

Teaching (or working for an TESL company anyways) is something I've been considering for awhile, but I'm wondering how much of an effect my appearance might have...

In terms of visible mods, I have a nostril piercing and some very small stretched lobes (the holes are about as wide as a pencil). How much do you think that would impact my chances at getting hired here? Or how much attention do you think would be called to them over there?

Otherwise I look very mainstream... I've worked professional jobs HERE and its never been an issue, but I'm wondering if that would change in Asia.

[canuck]

[shuize]

[kdynamic]

It depends. I have six piercings, including my eyebrow and tongue, as well as a visible tattoo and it has never been a problem at work at all. I was actually talking about this yesterday when I looked around at the 4 friends sitting around the table at the pizza place we were at and realized every single one of them had facial piercings (eyebrow, nose... one guy with about 10 holes in one ear!) All of them said it had never been an issue for them at work at all, save the occasional kid who curiously inquires about them. Several of us last night had visible tattoos as well. One guy said he had been asked to leave an onsen once because of his tattoo, but as far as work goes no one reported any problems. These were all American/Canadian English teachers who have been living in Japan for several years.

Yes, piercings (and tattoos) aren't yet mainstream in Japan. But there is a general understanding that they are more common in some cultures (such as in the US) and people seem to accept them on foriegners. You might want to debate the fairness of me being able to have piercings while my Japanese coworkers aren't allowed to, but at the end of the day, no one related to work has ever even mentioned them to me.

[Nagoyaguy]

OP;

I would have to honestly say that, for many ESL jobs here, you are screwed. You may get interviews, but having pencil sized holes in your head won't endear you to many schools.

A lot would also depend on how your hair style/colour is, how you dress, etc. The overall image is very important.

In any case, how can you be jobless in Toronto? The Canadian economy is humming along, the buck is hitting close to parity with the US Dollar, unemployment is low, etc. Crack open The Star and you can see pages of job ads- just pick one and go for it.

[Manada]

That Canadian dollar may be doing well - but from experience that can be more detrimental to entry-level, new graduate-type work. I used to work for the Canadian office of an American company and ended up losing my position because they kept moving operations to the states. The reasoning is that if it's going to cost an american company the same to do business there as it is to have a Canadian office - they'll centralize as much as possible.

Many others who did the same type of work as I are finding similar issues. There's a sense of instability in the large companies as the dollar continues to gain, because the support jobs are just moving elsewhere as globalization continues.

[partialtone]

Planning on taking out your nose stud would be a good idea, but gauged ears are really easy to hide. Just invest in some clear plugs and get your hair to go over your ears a bit and you should be fine. What gauge are your ears now?

[Nagoyaguy]

It also depends on if you are a guy or a girl. The "long hair over the piercings" thing may not go down too well for a man.... suffice to say that image matters more here in Japan than back in relaxed Toronto. Imagine a school that sees your resume and photo, and another resume and photo with similar qualifications but a clean cut, short haired, GQ kind of guy. You will not get the job 99% of the time.

As for the economy and jobs, you have to start small. There is no guarantee of anything, so worrying about "entry level positions" in companies may be a little restrictive. Any job is better than no job at all. Wait some tables, collect a bit of cash, network like a madman, and you will make progress.

[canuck]

[fox1]

[partialtone]

[shuize]

[Apsara]

My opinion is that if you are a female, you will be fine. If you are a male, you will have a lot harder time. It's acceptable for women to wear earrings to work here so if you are a female and wear something that looks like earrings it won't be too different. You would probably be asked to take out the nose piercing while at work. As a guy though the holes in your ears would stand out a lot more.

There is some wiggle room for body modification these days- I have a small tattoo on my ankle and it was quite visible if anyone was looking when I was teaching English- I didn't worry about covering it, and one of my co-workers had a tongue piercing- neither of us had problems with management because of these.

[canuck]

[Yawarakaijin]

The amount of ignorance shown by some is mind boggling. Just how is the poster supposed to get an idea of how his body modifications may affect his job prospects here if he does not post honestly about the extent of his modifications?

Perhaps your own level of reading comprehension and logic are an indicator as to why ESL salaries here are falling?

Oh, I completely forgot. You have a personal issue with the OP's appearance. In that case, feel free to continue looking down on him and wasting our time with snide remarks.