Job Discussion Forums

[larryp]

Good afternoon,
I'm looking for some input as to what/where I should be looking for teaching/working in Japan. Any help would be much appreciated!!!
My priorities in living in Japan are to learn Japanese and enjoy life. Money is not necessarily a draw as long as I'm comfortable. I've lived all around, and I'm not too picky, as long as the beer is cold and the people are friendly.

Following is a sample cover letter that goes over my desires and experiences.

Phoenix, Sumikin and Simul were some of the places that I picked on via Dave's. But these places seem to be a little too serious?...

Thanks to all....


START OF SAMPLE COVER LETTER
Ref: xxxxx

I am currently looking for a position that will apply my experiences as a semiconductor development engineer to helping adult students communicate in technical English. I have had experience in overseas manufacturing environments where I have released manufacturing systems as the onsite contact.

I have worked in the 'Silicone Valley'/ San Francisco Bay Area for over ten years where it is not uncommon to be in the minority as a native English speaker. The projects based in the USA with overseas engineers in Europe and Asia all speaking in English as a common language. It was common to have Europe conference calls in the morning and Asia conference calls in the evening. These experiences made me realize that verbal communications is extremely important; and clear, concise and nonambiguous written communications are paramount.

Following is my 'technical' resume; please understand that my recent formal education has included a Certificate of Completion Teaching English As A Foreign Language (TEFL) with Honors at the UNIVERSITY CALIFORNIA EXTENSION, SANTA CRUZ. I would like to teach/assist adult level technical English communications.

I look forward to talking to you about the opportunities in your company, as well as how I can contribute.

Please feel free to contact me.

Larry xxxxx
xxxxxxx
xxxx
END OF SAMPLE COVER LETTER

[Glenski]

You are looking for a job teaching ESP/EST yet you think the companies that recruit for those sorts of teachers are "too serious"? You should probably rethink things. They want someone who can actually teach the English for technical types. You have not shown you can do that. Just by having a background in IT, you don't automatically become an ESP/EST teacher for that sort of crowd. Your newly minted TEFL certificate is too new (I would think). You are unproven.

Your cover letter is too much of a form letter, IMO, and should be customized for each employer and his specific needs. People can spot form letters a mile away. I realize you probably have no experience teaching, but reading your cover letter doesn't give any confidence that you can actually teach. It looks, to me, more like you are looking for another IT job. Only in your last paragraph do you even make a sentence as to what you want to do, and that is far too weak.

I strongly suggest you rewrite it to somehow emphasize some teaching skills or abilities or interests. (And, I believe it is spelled "Silicon Valley".)

I also think sending a technical resume is nearly pointless. If you are going to list all the programming languages you know and use, only someone in your field is going to understand their value (or lack thereof), for example. Water it down so that an English school recruiter can understand it, and put in as much other stuff as you can to focus on any teaching/tutoring/training experiences you may have had (even if they are not related to teaching/tutoring English). You can be the best IT person around, but it you can't give them a hint as to some ability to teach English, it doesn't give them much of a reason to hire you. You won't be teaching the science/technical side of things anyway. Your clients will probably already know that.

Realistically, if you can't get bites from this sort of crowd (Sumikin, et al), you should consider applying for entry level work first, perhaps simultaneously just to get your foot in the door.

[Are they the lemmings]

[TokyoLiz]

Phoenix, Sumikin, Simul need qualified people. That means you either come from an ELT background with specific teaching experience in Business English, or you come the other way from an industry in which you coached skills (negotiation tactics, cross cultural communication, etc.).

An IT background is helpful, but not the deciding factor when applying to these companies. The HR staff I met at one of these companies looked at professional attitude, experience and longevity in Japan to detrmine who they would hire.

[larryp]

Good afternoon,

Thank you for your input. I agree with many points that were mentioned. Your comments have made me think of where I should focus.. can't have your cake and eat it, too.

To better focus, maybe I should give more background. But, I think I know the outcome.

Specifically, I am a hardware engineer that deals with numbers, formulas and complex engineering situations. The companies that would hire for my 'engineering' abilities would be Analog Devices, Texas Instruments....Intel or NEC on the far reach. As stated, I'm not specifically looking for a job with these companies in an engineering function; but would rather work as a liaison btwn. English speaking development groups and Japanese development groups(i.e. helping technical requirements/objectives(English) to adult Japanese technical staff. )

Are there employers in Japan that contract/temp. work for these situations?
Maybe, I should look at the above mentioned companies and go from there.?

I am not an IT person. I actually complain to the IT person about not being able to print emails... If I was I probably would have an easier time doing what I'm doing...

Again thank you for your time,
larryp

[groothewanderer]

[Glenski]

See what www.daijob.com has to offer. Many (Most?) jobs there are for bilinguals or highly fluent people. Ask Terrie Lloyd there (and read his articles there).

Also, you might want to ask this question on gaijinpot.com, but beware that that site has a lot of flamers. Just ignore them.

Also, see what you can salvage from www.jobsinjapan.com .