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Crab
Joined: 19 Apr 2005
Posts: 40
Location: Canada
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 Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 2:39 pm Post subject: |
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Quite understandably, this topic comes up every year or so on this forum and it is very valuable to share insights on how best to return to gainful employment in one's home country.
Here's what I posted in a May, 2007 thread titled "To those who moved back"
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=51153&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=
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I left Japan for good in 2004 after having spent 6 of the previous 8 years there. As I mentioned in the "Who We Are All" thread, I did JET for 3 years and then did 3 years at university. I completed my MA in Applied Linguistics in the two years I wasn't in Japan.
Currently, I work for a Canadian university doing international student recruitment and admission, the negotiation of exchange agreements, and a few other "international" type duties. I couldn't be happier with my job.
Obviously, the question of successfully repatriating - for those who spend more than a couple of years in Japan - is an important one. Ultimately, my return to Canada went as smoothly as I could have hoped. That said, it took 18 months of careful and often tedious planning to ensure it all worked out - took a few cans of Yebisu too at times!
IMO those who end up frustrated, lost and depressed when they return home end up that way because they don't plan ahead.
Here's my advice as I've previously offered it in other threads (apologies to those who have heard this tired old record before):
1. If you are not interested in teaching when you head back home, add to your experiences and skills beyond English language teaching. For me, this included published research, textbook writing, work with my university's student recruitment office, as well as work identifying and building study abroad relationships for students.
You could just as easily substitute language study, website design, writing, or expertise in Japanese lacquer for the stuff I did. The important thing is that you pick up demonstrable skills/experience/expertise in areas beyond TEFL and apply them to a field in which you'd be happy working.
2. Plan ahead as much as possible. One positive thing about working in ELT (though it also has much discussed negative aspects) is that the vast majority are under contract. As a result, you know exactly when your current job will be finished.
I made the decision to go home 15 months before I left. I spent those 15 months laying the groundwork for a job in Canada. This included the obvious: determining where I wanted to live, what job I wanted to do, researching the possibilities, updating my resume, etc. In the end, I decided that I wanted to work for a university in a Canada in a TEFL-related or international student recruitment role.
I was ultimately successful in getting a job within my chosen field. Beyond my related experience, networking was the key. My duties in organizing study abroad opportunities at my Japanese university provided me with contacts in the field in which I wanted to work; contacts who had experience working with me and knew what they could expect.
I approached the ones for whom I was interested in working 6 months before I left Japan and was fortunate to be told by one of them that an opportunity was available. I completed the hiring process from Japan and had no lay off between jobs.
3. Work hard. Sounds silly and obvious, but your ability to show that you are willing to work and be productive is especially important when you are working in a foreign culture in a field with a reputation for being a "junket" to non-TEFLers. It's also important because the checking of references abroad is difficult for employers back home.
It's one thing to work hard, but it's another thing to show it. To address this, I put together a portfolio of my time in Japan that I brought to interview. It included all of my academic articles, my degrees, my textbook, student evaluations, teaching awards, a very nice thank you letter from the President of my Japanese university, official abstracts of presentations I'd given at JALT and elsewhere, letters of reference and a few other bits and pieces that I can't recall at the moment.
I also used this portfolio (updated of course) to land my current job.
4. Define goals and objectives. Don't drift. Think about your career post-Japan and how you can get there.
Altogether I spent 6 years doing TEFL in Japan with 2 years in between doing ESL work and study in Canada. I don't regret any of it. I had a successful career which provided me with skills and experience to get my current job, which I adore. Although no longer directly involved in the TEFL field, I wouldn't have my current job without my experiences in Japan.
In a nutshell, your transition back home can be made vastly easier if you plan ahead. The other thing is to stay positive and recognize that success won't be instantaneous. Value the time you lived and worked in Japan and don't fall into the trap of thinking that it was all a waste of time or a "cop out". It certainly wasn't for me... |
I realize that this doesn't do much to help those of you who are already back, but I hope that it will provide some insights on what has worked for me and may help you to re-assess your time spent abroad and better ways to view and package it.
Good luck!
Crab |
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gonzarelli
Joined: 20 Jun 2007
Posts: 151
Location: trouble in the henhouse
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womblingfree
Joined: 04 Mar 2006
Posts: 826
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| Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 6:57 pm Post subject: Re: Life After Japan |
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| misoji_blue wrote: |
My question is, what did you do after you left Japan? |
I did my UK teaching license and am now a college lecturer.
The best thing to do before leaving Japan, especially if you've been there for a few years, is to have something concrete lined up when you return. A job or study preferably.
No matter what teaching experience you have in Japan it's completely irrelevant (as far as teaching goes) without a teaching qualification, a CELTA at the very least.
Japan's full of people that went back to their country, found they couldn't get a job that provided the lifestyle they had in Japan, and so went back to Japan. |
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Zzonkmiles
Joined: 05 Apr 2003
Posts: 309
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| Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:48 am Post subject: |
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I returned to the US after living in Japan from 2003-07. I am a PhD student now, so I'm very busy. I enjoy what I'm studying, but there are many days when I truly miss Japan.
Here's my advice:
1. Make sure it's your time to leave Japan, and make sure you leave Japan for the right reasons. When I landed in Osaka in 2003, I expected to stay there for 3-5 years. But the longer I lived there, the more comfortable I became and the more I entertained the thought of staying there long term. Many of my friends there were veterans who had lived in Japan for about 8-10 years, and I thought about joining them as a lifer. But I had some thoughts in the back of my head that I couldn't silence. I had a master's degree, but I knew I wanted to go back to school. I also knew that I couldn't really pursue my primary career interest in Japan.
So I accomplished a lot while I was there. I got married. I learned Japanese. I made a lot of friends. I traveled. I paid down some loans. And I had a wonderful time. But I eventually reached a point where I felt like I was running in place professionally, and I wasn't content with that. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed living there, I knew it was time for me to move on. So when I got back on that plane, even though I was sad, I was content. If I left Japan after only 2 years instead of 4, I know I would have been going crazy back in the US.
2. Make sure you have a job lined up or some sort of plan when you return home. You most likely had a job waiting for you when you arrived in Japan, so why should it be any different when you return to your home country? For me, I went back to school. I got a graduate level certificate in TESOL and started my PhD studies. I also had a job teaching ESL. This was a good match for me because I was genuinely interested in English-teaching. But for others, ESL/EFL is more of a means to an end and they may not enjoy doing this back home. But you really need a plan because if you are sitting around idly, you will get bored and wonder why you even came back in the first place.
This gets me to another very important point.
3. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME WHILE YOU ARE IN JAPAN. Yes, we all know that Japan is a fun place. Most of us are English teachers in Japan, and these jobs are usually not labor-intensive. Good food, good times, beautiful women, safe neighborhoods, clean trains, and a simple life. It's so easy to settle into a routine and not think about the future while you're living there. This is not to say that you have to accomplish X, Y, and Z while you're living there. But if you know you will make a return to your home country in the future, it would be a travesty to have nothing to show for your time while you were living in Japan. Learn the language. Learn a skill. Gain a connection. Network. Do something--anything. The last thing you want to do is go into an interview back home and have to explain a four-year long black hole to the hiring manager. For me, I passed 2-kyu of the JLPT while I was living in Japan. I was able to use this certification to satisfy the foreign language requirement of my PhD program, so my time in Japan was of professional use to me, and not just a source of good memories. Use your time in Japan wisely.
4. Keep your connections to Japan, be they language, friends, or visiting. There are many communities on sites like Facebook that are related to Japan. You could also open a Mixi account before you leave. Keep practicing your Japanese, and hit up your local university's ESL department and see if there are any Japanese ryugakusei (study abroad students) you could befriend. Being in touch with people who can relate to you will be quite refreshing and can let you briefly "escape" back to Japan without actually doing so.
5. Accept the fact that life went on while you were gone. Many people make the mistake of thinking that nothing changed while they were in Japan. Their best friends will still be just as interesting, just as funny, and just as close. Their favorite hangout place will still sell the same food and have the same Wednesday night special. And you will be the center of attention when you come back home because you had an amazing experience in Japan and everyone wants to know about it.
Wrong.
You'll find that you may have less in common with your old friends than you thought. You'll find that it's more difficult for you to relate to people or that they are now less interesting than they were before you left. They had children, got married, got jobs, or moved on. They created new realities after you left, and it will take awhile for all of you to reintegrate yourselves back into each other's realities, if that even happens at all.
6. Do NOT make the rash decision to fly back to Japan to live without giving life back home a chance first. Reverse culture shock is probably harder to deal with than regular culture shock because you are not a stranger in a strange land--you are a stranger in what is supposed to be your homeland. It will take weeks, or even months before you finally get into your new routine and can live your life effectively. But after giving your new life an honest try, if you really feel you "belong" in Japan, then go back. Just keep in mind that this means you have to shell out more money for a plane ticket, more money for key money/gift money/deposits, and more money for furniture. Trans-oceanic moves aren't cheap, so you want to make sure you get it right the first time.
7. Remember that JAPAN WILL ALWAYS BE THERE. Even though I miss Japan, I am content living in the US. After I graduate, I will consider returning to Japan long term. My wife would be very happy if I do this, and I think I would be too. But there are some goals that I can more easily satisfy in the US than in Japan, so I want to take care of those first. I know there are people hoisting chuhais and wolfing down edamame in raucous izakayas even as I type, but I also know that Japan will still be there tomorrow. And next week. And next month. I think of my time in the US as a pit stop, rather than a permanent time out. Even if I do ultimately decide to stay in the US, I'll at least make it a point to visit every now and then.
I really think the decision to leave Japan and the decision to go back later on all comes down to knowing what you want to get out of life. And if you are married or have children, you have to take their needs into consideration as well. Japan is a wonderful place, but it entails a lot of responsibilities and has several long term implications. Failing to live responsibly could potentially force you to stay there longer than you'd like if you find that you did not plan wisely while you were living there in the first place. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 9:33 am Post subject: |
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Zzonk,
Thanks for the great post. It only served to support my shorter one with similar points. |
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markle
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Posts: 1316
Location: Out of Japan
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| Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 4:11 pm Post subject: |
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Aye
Zzonks you've written the book on it.
Actually you could just about substitute any other ESL country for Japan and it's still relevant.
Point 3 is something I was pretty lax about but it does bring me to another aspect that might apply to some. I came here with my wife, who loves Japan but didn't work so is happy to be getting back and getting her work life back on track. She did make a concerted effort to improve her skills set in preparation for the return.
So I do think it is important that significant others also have a return (or if they are Japanese, a emigrating) strategy, so they are not the ones regretting leaving Japan. |
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steki47
Joined: 20 Apr 2008
Posts: 1029
Location: BFE Inaka
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| Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 2:40 pm Post subject: |
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Zzonks, a truly great post. As I look back on my 5 years in Japan, I can see mistakes I made. And great things I experienced. Now, as I prepare to go back, I have promised myself to accomplish more and be focused on things like online classes, studying Japanese and saving money.
I am going back mostly because I miss teaching and miss Japan. But also I didn't prepare for my return home very well (professionally and financially). 5 years of eikaiwa+lousy job market=sad, frustrated me.
I wasn't ready to leave Japan and now I can't wait to get back. Besides loving the country, it is a good lifestyle for saving money and studying online. So I shall, once again, fly west to live in the Far East. |
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