Job Discussion Forums

[ebond007]

Their FAQ suggests pretty strongly that men should be clean shaven and have short hair. I have long hair and a goatee. Both are kept very clean and groomed. The goatee is short and the hair is always gelled back into a nice, neat ponytail. I'm open to cutting them, but the idea of a complete overhaul of my appearance (the hair has some personal significance) for an interview before even being offered a job is pretty daunting. Anyone have experience with the issue and how it's handled in actual practice?

[seklarwia]

You have to realise that your will do the dreaded recorded demo class in the interview. That recording is then viewed back in Japan. I was surprised that when I met the big cheese from the BoE that even he had seen my demo lesson (which I'm not sure is normally the case). It definately caught me off guard when the first time he met me he asked whether I had grown my hair since January (I've only been in Japan since March and in the school for a few weeks so I was like )

The goatee itself may not be a proplem if it really is carefully maintained. I've met many ALTs that have facial hair and there doesn't seem to be an issue there. It seems that stubble is the real problem. So either have facial hair, or not, but never have stubble.

Having a goatee may not be an issue in the interview but I have also met one former ALT who was asked by his school to remove his facial hair, so be prepared for that too.

The hair... I'm not too sure about. I haven't met any male ALTs with long hair. Japan is a country where appearence is everything. Stubble means lazy and unprofessional, long hair... I'm not sure what that could mean but it probably isn't good. If you can find a way to conceal it just for the interview (don't know if thats at all possible) then at least you won't have to lose it prior to receiving a job offer.

[fat-elvis]

Do they really have such a cow over a little stubble or 5'oclock shadow? I always use a beard trimmer at the closest setting on my face instead of shaving because I have extremely difficult facial hair and shaving my neck/adam's apple area always looks ugly. I even have a little visible stubble after I wet shave. What exactly would they do if I worked at a school in japan and never showed up with a close shave?

[ebond007]

Honestly, I've had long hair for the better part of ten years, now. I began growing it out in high school because my hair is VERY wavy and curly and hard to tame, and every haircut I ever had would end up getting horribly messy and out of place by the middle of the day. I found that by growing it out, gelling it, and putting it into a ponytail I could keep it neater and more clean-cut looking than with any other way short of completely shaving my head, and my head is NOT shaped for that.

Might be kind of hard to explain that to a recruiter/employer, though.

[Apsara]

[Atlas*]

My hair length fluctuates in length but I have never had any problems with it working at schools in Japan. Although at longest it has only been a bit more than half way down my neck. My hair is definitely on the longer side compared to the other teachers I see here. Short hair, clean shaven does appear the norm, but sometimes the norm isn't what we want to be or what suits us.
As long as it is kept well, neat and clean you may be fine with it.
Also for the facial hair, I have seen many teachers with a beard of some sort, including Japanese teachers. I have a small goatee myself.

Sounds like I am describing myself as some sort of hairy bear or something but I promise I'm really not.
In my past I could have had 3 strikes against me, longish hair, beard and colored streaks, but I'm still here. I even got compliments from the Japanese staff I work with. My students seem to find my appearance ok too.
There can be hope for you too.

If you take care in your personal appearance it will not be a problem. The best thing is to be just who you are, if you are changing to fit into a job then you will probably not be happy when you get it, and what if you don't? You would have changed for nothing.
I think it is much more important that you are happy, confident and able to teach.

[lisa111082]

One of the guys in my interview group had longer hair and a goatee. Interac told him that he had to cut his hair and shave his face clean before the interview because the BOE wouldn't like it.

If you've sent them your photo with long hair and a goatee and they haven't said anything, see if they do at the interview itself.

[ebond007]

[seklarwia]

Actually that isn't so bad. Of course I highly doubt they made him do it there and then. And at least he wouldn't get a shock like if he arrives in Japan and gets told there.

If you get told at the interview then at least you know that your appearence isn't acceptable. If you then get a job offer you can decide whether you are willing to accept and lose the locks or that your appearence is more important to you.

If you accept the offer you will have to do it though, because you are then asked to do this profile thing which does require you to submit a photo and is going to be seen by the BOEs.

But turning up with an unacceptable appearence to the job interview could reflect badly since you clearly have read the brief. One of the guys at our interview got told to go retake his passport photos because they looked too casual... I didn't see him at our arrival...

EDIT: Just re-read what lisa wrote. That may seem harsh but we were made perfectly aware of how we should present ourselves for the interview before hand. You should be yourself, but within reason. You are going to another country that has different customs and as the saying goes: When in Rome...
If you are allowed to keep your appearence, then you should count yourself lucky, but I believe in most cases, many of us are going to have to make some sacrifices if we want to be here. Even I am dressing in a way that isn't what I'm comfortable with because too much skin and clevage is an absolute no-no.

[ebond007]

You know, I'm honestly not that adverse to changing my appearance. Certainly I'd rather stay the way I am, but IF I was offered a job, I'd be relatively open to it. It's just doing it for an interview that bothers me.

The real problem is that they want short hair to present a "clean and conservative" appearance, but long hair is the best way for me to look clean and conservative, because otherwise my hair curls out every which way no matter how I style it.

[seklarwia]

How long is the ponytail? Just out of interest.

I really haven't seen any ponytails on male ALTs, JTEs or JTs for that matter. Amongst the JTs in my school there is pretty much everything else though. (Don't believe that all Japanese have that perfect sleek Asian hair, they don't and many girls are best friends with their straightners) We've got curly hair, uncontrollable hair, a couple even have those orangish kurosaki ichigo or pale FFVII's Cloud spiked kind of affairs that seem quite popular amongst the students (sports teachers but teachers nevertheless). There aren't any skinnies, but one has maybe a grade 1.5 buzz cut. A couple of the JTEs have big hair. They have shaved the sides short and have the rest in a scooped back puff (excuse my lack of decriptive ability) on top. I have to stop myself from laughing when I see one in particular puffing the thing up during his fag breaks. So unless your short hair is likely to assault someone who passes too close by I seriously doubt it would be bad enough for them to penalise you for it.

Dye and ponytail seems to be the easiest way to give the characters of those highschool turf wars dramas I'm always watching the deliquent feel.

Even walking down the streets there just aren't any ponytails on men.

In the interview they will film you. They send the vid back to head office in Japan where they decide whether they think they will be able to place you. If the people in Japan say no, then you don't get the job. Because some of the people in Japan will indeed be Japanese, they are going to apply Japanese appearence customs when they assess you. You may be able to convince the interviewer, but there is a chance the viewer back in Japan is going to see the ponytail and put your application in the bin.

Or you could turn up with the ponytail. They might give you an offer then ask you to remove it which from what you said is the way you'd prefer it. You could tuck it in and during the private interview emphasise the fact you are perfectly willing to lose it if you get an offer. If you have a nice interviewer, they might be reasonable and even put in a note for you about it.