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Paul-AK
Joined: 07 Jul 2007
Posts: 8
Location: Ottawa Canada
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 Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 6:33 pm Post subject: Reputable recruiters for Japan? |
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Hi, I was wondering if anyone can recommend me some recruiters to go through in order to get some work in Japan.
Thanks. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 9:23 pm Post subject: |
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You don't say anything about yourself or your work aspirations, so it is not easy to answer.
The only place I would recommend is JET. |
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TokyoLiz
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1548
Location: Tokyo, Japan
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| Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 3:47 am Post subject: |
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Paul-AK,
In your topic, you ask for reputable recruiters.
What are your expectations on the recruiters? And what kind of job do you want to be recruited into? What are you qualified for?
I recommend you read the faqs and look up particular recruiters that suit your qualifications and then consider asking questions about conditions with these recruiters.
Good luck |
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stillnosheep
Joined: 01 Mar 2004
Posts: 2068
Location: eslcafe
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| Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 9:08 pm Post subject: |
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| Recruiters? Avoid like plague! |
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TokyoLiz
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1548
Location: Tokyo, Japan
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| Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 2:03 am Post subject: |
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Stillnosheep said
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| Recruiters? Avoid like plague! |
There are reasons to use a recruit company.
Japan�s business culture is dependent on smoothers and middlemen. Look for an established company with agents who have been at it a long while. They tend to be stable and good at it.
A big wad of money goes into your pocket and into the agent�s pocket, too. That person works for you, representing you as much as he or she works with the client school.
High schools in Japan put huge demands on their teachers, foreign and local. You may find that you cannot or will not work past your contracted time like the other folks. Your situation is different, anyway. You are here to work for a few years for a set salary, while your Japanese colleagues are lifers and can anticipate raises and bonuses. Your agent can be your gobetween when you need to talk about work loads or compensation.
Japan social structure is about maintaining harmony and face. If the school has a beef with you, they may not tell you outright, but suggest you have committed other minor infractions. This saves you face. If you have an agent, he or she can act as a buffer and can relay pertinent information to you. It goes both ways - if you have a beef with the school, you can send the information through your agent. This keeps harmony.
The problem with interviewing from abroad is that you may not be talking to the people that ultimately work with you and the school. They may not be really plugged in to the situation. Or they may just make the situation look like Happy Hello Kitty Land.
Some recruiter-agents lack people management skills, run into critical situations between teachers and schools, or are plain disorganized.
Some cultivate a positive atmosphere for their teachers, value teacher�s skills, and act as a liason between the foreign teachers and client schools. Coming in cold from abroad, you take a chance.
A case -
A recruiter brought from abroad a qualified k-12 teacher to work in a jr-sr high school in Kanto. The recruiter had visited the school and made the deal when school was not in session. On the first day of school, the teacher observed a lot of violent behaviour and found that the Japanese teachers were no longer able to maintain order or effectively teach lessons. The agent then visited the school, observed, withdrew the teacher and compensated her with a few month�s pay. She decided to move on to international schools.
The teacher recommends the recruiter because they admitted they had made a mistake taking on this particular school. Their other teachers are confident and happy in their school placements.
If the teacher had been hired directly, she would have been in a much more unpleasant situation - she does not speak Japanese, and would have had to negotiate her way out of the situation alone. At least she had someone who knows the culture and who could speak for her.
Good luck. |
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southofreality
Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Posts: 579
Location: Tokyo
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| Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 2:31 am Post subject: |
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There's a really good company called 'Livedoor'. They'll hire you even if you show up in Japan without a job in hand. Just go to the Mori tower in Roppongi Hills and ask for a Mr. Horie.
Good luck with your endeavours. |
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fluffyhamster
Joined: 13 Mar 2005
Posts: 3292
Location: UK > China > Japan > UK again
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| Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2007 9:34 am Post subject: |
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| For those who have QTS, it would make little sense to teach in the public or even private school system through recruiters (dispatchers) in Japan when their talents would be actually utilized and better rewarded with a direct hire at an international school; the NET scheme in Hong Kong could be an option also worth considering (or failing that, JET). For everyone else though (which includes, I suspect, the OP), be warned: dispatchers seem to view their AETs as inconveniences rather than their breadwinners, and will have the shirt off your back. It would probably work out better initially to get recruited from overseas by one of the big eikaiwa in one of their drives, and do a stint in an environment where there will be a bit more support and/or less chance of things going too pear-shaped. |
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