Job Discussion Forums

ssphinx · Joined: 14 Oct 2005 Posts: 20

After reading many informative posts by taikibansei, glenski, abufletcher, gordon and PAULH, and the links that they provided, I have some questions to ask about the university hiring process, but first I will give you my background.

I have a MEd in TESOL and a CELTA. I have been teaching EFL/ESL for 10 years now and I taught at a Korean university for 4 years. I have also taught in Vietnam and Australia.

As for academic publications, I have one article that is in press now. (This probably is limiting me at the moment.)

Thus far, I have had interviews at two universities around Tokyo. One was a full time position, which gave me a polite rejection letter. The other is for part time work. This selection process is still ongoing and I am waiting to hear an answer.

My questions are how much do referees play a part in the selection committees process and do they actually contact your referees?

Both jobs asked for two referees and the one that rejected me didn't contact my referees. It seems odd to me to ask for them and then not contact them.

My next question is should I be prepared to do a PhD to make myself more attractive in the Japanese university system or will more peer reviewed publications be more attractive?

It seems having a master degree in TESOL has allowed me to sit at the table, but has not allowed me to eat. Will a PhD allow me to eat? (Pardon the bad analogy.)

wabisabi365 · Joined: 04 Feb 2007 Posts: 111 Location: japan

My significant other was on the hiring committee searching to fill in a full-time position for next year. They didn't even consider the applicants who only had MAs. They narrowed down the Phd applicants by weeding out those who had little or no Japanese ability. As for publications, three seems to be the magical minimum.

All this info isn't meant to be disheartening... it does appear, however, that some unis are indeed tightening the restrictions (while there are others who are outsourcing to get their employees. These unis lower the standard of instructors IMHO, but it certainly does allow for those with less experience and credentials to get into the university system. I'm not a fan.)

In any case, good luck with the search. With your credentials and experience, you are certain to get your foot in somewhere as a start, and build up your contacts and in-Japan experience from there.

ws365

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

As you yourself have shown, referees may play absolutely zero role in the hiring process, or they may play a role. It's all case by case.

The fact that you have an MEd but only one publication to your name is a big deficit. I strongly suggest you work on beefing that up. There are 20-100 applicants per uni position on average. Who do you think they are going to look at? Plenty of people here have 10 years experience at Japanese universities, too, so the competition is pretty steep.

Will a PhD make you more attractive than publications? Tough call, but I'd say if you go the PhD route, get more publications along the way before you graduate anyway. A PhD with 10 years experience and only 1 publication looks even stranger than your current situation.

Best of luck.

ssphinx · Joined: 14 Oct 2005 Posts: 20

Thanks for your replies.

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

I'm aware of the barriers in publishing. All I can say is patience is a virtue, and persistence in job applications might pay off. Might. You should't expect an immediate job offer to fall into your lap. Many of us with similar or better qualifications send out 20, 30, or more resumes just to get one bite.

Are you here in Japan now? What is your visa status. I ask because applying for PT positions won't get you a work visa.

Smooth Operator · Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Posts: 140 Location: Japan

If you want the perks of a uni job apply to smaller, less well-known cities. Uni jobs in Tokyo or Kyoto can get 100 people apply, with many holding doctorates. That is certainly not the case in more rural areas and smaller cities.

Two things to check beforehand however:

1) Salary. Most don't mention it in the job adverts and some are not much better than Eikaiwa. Find a way to discreetly bring it up. If posssible, ask another foreigner already working there.

2) Duties outside of term time. Some unis require you to turn up to the office throughout the year, others allow you complete freedom outside of term time, whilst still others hover somewhere in between. Of course, it depends on your priorities but I wouldn't accept a job that requires one to turn up to the office throughout the year, especially when so many of your peers in other universities won't be. Again, ask another foreigner already working there for the lowdown.

ssphinx · Joined: 14 Oct 2005 Posts: 20

Glenski, thanks for the information. I was not aware that a part time job would not sponsor a visa. I am currently on a tourist visa, which kind of hinders me.

Your are correct to say be patient. I knew getting a job at a Japanese university would be more difficult than in Korea, but I was not prepared for the fierce competition. Now, I know.

I guess I should feel lucky getting two interviews out of nine CVs sent out, and I hope I don't appear to be impatient. This process is new to me and it is something that I have to get used to.

ontoit · Joined: 18 Jun 2006 Posts: 99

Here's my experience, both being hired and sitting on selection committees:

Someone in the department usually has someone in mind and they work backwards from there.

If, for example, the individual has an MA when the other applicants have PhDs, they will emphasize that having lived in Japan for 10 or 15 minutes longer than the applicants with the PhDs makes the MA more able to understand students.

If the MA has no publications, they'll emphasize that this indicates a dedication to teaching.

If the individual's MA is in Chinese History, they will emphasize that this makes the individual fresh and more willing to talk with students.

Other faculty rarely question the department's candidate because they don't want resistance when they push their own guy through down the road.

Salary is one of the first questions you want to ask. As stated, they can be humorously low and benefit-light.

Class load is the second question on the list. Some of these places have the foreign teachers teaching 9 classes to the Japanese staff's 4 or 5.

Contract term is the third question on the list. It's the rare exception that foreign hires aren't placed on a one, two or three-year contract. They are often renewable, but usually they fall uncomfortably into one of the following status boxes:

1. Renewable once only (This saves money by not letting the teacher work long enough to qualify for any of the goodies).

2. Renewable one-year contract indefinately. The problem with this one is that you are technically a first-year hire no matter how long you work at the school. This means no retirement bonus and usually no pay raises.

One last consideration is what I call the terminal contract. Most schools have an age limit, usually around 35. At one point you finish a contract too old to apply for the next one. They throw you a nice party, though, and may let you transition to a part time position.

If you are motivated and really enjoy teaching, then I would suggest private teaching: private income can easily climb to three times school salaries, it can be used to sponsor a visa, and it's much more rewarding to teach people who are learning for a reason.

taikibansei · Joined: 14 Sep 2004 Posts: 811 Location: Japan

I've pretty much stopped posting to this board, but as I've been named--heck, complimented Shocked

--by the OP in this thread, let me correct the following:

ontoit · Joined: 18 Jun 2006 Posts: 99

Taikiban,

As I said, this is my experience. Additionally, this new kid should benefit from both the positive and negative perspectives that this forum provides. Awareness, right?

I would say that it would be irresponsible to deny that many hires are decided long before the application process begins here in Japan.

Salary is an issue. For public institutions (the old national schools), the salaries are set for full time slots, but there are many technicalities. For example, the position may be full time, but not one that actually belongs to the department that is hiring. In other words, the position may be on loan from the faculty to the department, making it full time and the salary equal to other full time slots only until the faculty asks for it to be returned or altered.

A recent trend is the creation of 3-year "visiting lecturer" positions at the old national schools. The salary and conditions for these positions are determined differently from the other "full time" slots.

Private schools determine salaries with Tarot cards. I learned to ask early after going through the process the Japanese way only to be offered a cock and bull story about how the school's policy was to follow the National scale (though they didn't mention that the national scale they followed was for high school graduates going into civil service rather than MAs!) and to start everyone, regardless of experience or publications at the bottom of that scale.

Examples are easy to come by, and we could easily counter each other all day long; but our purpose here is to give the OP as much info as we can so he can be aware of the opportunities and pitfalls. Thus, I believe that my experience is every bit as valid as yours. I'm not making it up, after all.

taikibansei · Joined: 14 Sep 2004 Posts: 811 Location: Japan

ssphinx · Joined: 14 Oct 2005 Posts: 20

Thanks for the varied opinions. I received an offer to teach part time at a prominent university in Tokyo, but now I need to get a work visa.

I have a foot in the door so to speak, but now I need to get a work visa to keep it in. Any ideas?

ontoit · Joined: 18 Jun 2006 Posts: 99

I'm not sure this is current, but I think you can self-sponsor if your combined income is somewhere in the neighborhood of 250,000 per month.

Good luck.