Job Discussion Forums

[dracotei]

Hi - I've never taught outside the US, but I have taught ESL at a community college for 2 years, part time. I have an "advanced tesol certificate" from Global Tesol and a BA in French/Italian, lived and studied in France and Italy. I am a US citizen, and I have been living in the US since I was 14 - I barely have an accent.

Any info you can give me in regards to the application process in the simplest possible way would be greatly appreciated. I would like to go to Japan with a contract, not go and look for a job there.

Also, how are they about bringing a pet cat with me?

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

I'll let others speak about the application process as my knowledge is dated and I'll never teach in North East Asia again. HOWEVER, a pet is something that I know about. Japanese landlords typically do NOT allow pets. Typically, pet owners own their own homes and, therefore, are the landlords, but to apartment-dwellers...not so much.

That's not to say that some people who aren't landlords don't have pets. I can imagine that people who live farther out of the cities have pets. I, myself, brought my cat to Japan and successfully kept a cat whilst working on my M. Ed,, BUT, my wife is a national AND she went before me and secured the flat before I arrived with the cat in tow. We brought him in late at night unobserved.

That being said, we had a cat that didn't have to be walked, so I suppose that it is easier to harbour a cat. But, again, I didn't have to show up with the noise maker at the realtor's office.

Good luck.

NCTBA

[dracotei]

I forgot to mention - I have 655.8 teaching hours in the USA - if that helps any. And I realize some people might have posted similar questions, but, things change... I would like some updated info.

[Glenski]

#1 - You said you have been living in the US since you were 14. Don't volunteer that information on an interview or resume. Just state you are a US citizen. Don't mention the slight accent, either. Everyone has one, and if you mention the above an employer may have second thoughts about you being truly a native English speaker.

#2 - "The" application process. There is no one process.

Apply to eikaiwas, and you may apply from abroad or after coming here.
Apply to international schools, and you might be applying directly or at job fairs.
Apply to ALT dispatch agencies, and you might apply directly.
Etc.

Just realize you need a resume and cover letter most of the time, and that you should customize them for each employer. Resumes here are often not much different from a US one in terms of content, but eventually you will be asked for a few more personal items that you would otherwise think are discriminatory (age, date and place of birth, marital status, nationality), so you might as well put them on the resume from the first. Many/Most employers will also want a picture of you on it. Also, don't expect a Japanese reviewer to have perfect command of English, so you should tone down your language on resumes and CL's, excluding buzzwords and jargon, and including bullet points instead of paragraphs.

With your degree and certificate, you are eligible for JET Programme (see www.jetprogramme.org ), dispatch ALT positions, and eikaiwa.

JET says you can apply from anywhere (even within Japan), but you must interview in your home country. They have a once-a-year application process with deadlines different for each country, after which you could advance to the interview stage (Feb.), and then wait until April or May to hear whether you were accepted, rejected, or put on the list of alternates. Then, if you are finally accepted, you come in late July or Aug.l

Eikaiwa advertise year round, but some have specific recruitment dates. The big places recruit overseas but not in all countries, and you are expected to pay for all expenses to get to the interview, even if it lasts 3 days and is far from your hometown. Generally, these interviews are held 2-3 months in advance to take into account the visa processing time and to let you prepare to leave your home country.

Some employers prefer people to be here already. Obviously, there are more opportunities here, but you will have to support yourself for 1-3 months before you get a paycheck. Still, applying from within Japan shows some commitment, and in this day and age of bloated marketplace for teachers, that may be necessary. You may want to line up interviews before you come; just tell them where you plan to stay and get a cell phone right away so they can contact you, or locate the nearest Internet cafe.

Cats. My advice is to leave them home. Not many people (including Japanese) are allowed to have cats in apartments. If you are, you will pay more for rent, and you will have the burdens of worrying about their safety and health aboard the flight here, plus dealing with a veterinarian who can't speak good English.

[mimimimi]

Here's an English website on how to import a cat into Japan.

http://www.maff.go.jp/aqs/english/index.html

As a fellow cat-person, I would advise against putting your cat through the possibly long quarantine process. I came to the personal decision to give my cats away to friends prior to coming to Japan. I visit them when I go home once in a while.

[G Cthulhu]

[Glenski]

Well, at least the degree alone makes one eligible on JET.

Is someone without any certification better off than someone with Global?

[G Cthulhu]

[Gypsy Rose Kim]

[BobbyBan]

From the archives:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=52082&highlight=cats

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=50133&highlight=cats