Job Discussion Forums

[RollingStone]

Ack! this is pathetic but went for a demo session (their version of an interview?) and was not offered employment. I thought just getting that far was an indication of getting in. I didnt suck (for someone with no prior experience), so was very disappointed and suspicious about the process. Likely there was slim to zero chance of getting hired, but the office has to keep busy. I assume that this is because the market is flooded. This was in March. A friend suggested that I would have no problem simply going to Japan and getting a job there in ESL. My friend however has been out of the ESL game for several years, so am curious as to what the climate is (likely dire).

[Glenski]

[RollingStone]

[Vince]

The teaching demo isn't just about how well you teach, but your classroom presence and how likely you are to attract prospective students and retain current ones. There could have been something that didn't quite spark for them. It happens. I interviewed at Aeon in the US and was turned down, then was accepted by NOVA and went on to six productive years in TEFL.

[cornishmuppet]

If you're flexible about where you teach, post your resume on this site. You'll likely get a a bunch of offers from Korea or Taiwan even if you have no experience.

[Inflames]

Don't worry about it as it happens to everyone.

If you have no experience, it's hard to find a job. If you have some experience and are willing to relocate, you can find things. A friend who recently came back to Japan without a work visa found employment and is waiting on his visa (he has 2 years of experience and he had to move to the middle of nowhere).

If you really want to teach, going to Korea or Taiwan isn't that bad of an option. It's easy to get a job there which then makes you a much better applicant if you want to go to Japan.

[RollingStone]

A day or after the demo with Aeon I received an inquiry from a Korean company that set teachers up with schools. I checked them out but it appeared that Korean schools are geared at teaching kids unless one has a MA. Since my MA was not then completed I didnt follow up. Apparently with an MA you can teach at universities, which is what I would prefer.

[RollingStone]

[Canuck2112]

I interviewed and was offered a position with AEON several years ago.

I found their selection criteria to be pretty suspect. I delivered an inexcusably bad demo lesson and was called back. Any semblance of logic or flow was thrown out the window as I nervously mumbled and stammered through 5 agonizing minutes. Quite honestly, you could have put a Bobblehead doll of Jose Canseco at the front of the room, and it would have delivered a more effective lesson than I did.

The two "stars" of the group were both highly personable, recent university grads with no teaching experience. Actually, save one guy, nobody in the group had any experience. The lessons these two individuals delivered were very impressive. They impressed me at the time, and thinking back on them now with several years of teaching experience, they were just excellent.

Three people didn't get invited back from the group...the guy with experience and the two who delivered the best presentations.

One of them was an overweight black guy with some sort of problem in one of his eyes...I guess "lazy eye" might be the term. The other was a very bright, genki woman...who happened to be quite obese.

After the presentations, there was a short washroom break. There was an area between the male and female washrooms with some vending machines, and the two AEON spokespeople were chatting in a hushed tone, entirely in Japanese. As I was nearing the exit to the washroom I distinctly remember one of the spokespeople (Japanese) saying "Kokujin....chotto...." and the other (Canadian) making that rush of air through the teeth sound that Japanese make when encountering a difficult situation, similar to when you touch something hot or get stung by something. I think it stuck in my head because it sounded vaguely like "Cocoa". I walked out the door and they seemed really surprised to see me...I think they thought all the applicants were back in the board room. I don't know why, but I wrote down "cocoa jinn cho to" on my notepad, next to the Japanese words they taught us at the start of the presentation like "Ohayo gozaimasu". I was meaning to ask them what it meant but forgot.

This was 6 years ago, in one isolated branch of AEON, and its entirely possible that they were talking about a completely unrelated "kokujin", although I somewhat doubt it. What I am certain of is that the "best and the brightest" of the group did not get called back, which struck me as very odd.

If you got rejected from AEON, don't feel too bad. You CAN do better.

[Mosley]

Rolling Stone: Despite what some veteran apologists say here, Canuck is probably right: if you're not "Hollywood" material, and offer any kind of hint that BS is not you're style, you won't be hired by an outfit like AEON...esp. if you actually offer merit....

[Symphany]

Rollingstone, it could just very well be a flooded market coupled with a smaller company only having X number of spots. I taught in Japan a few years ago and left before things started to get worse. When I applied to companies a few years ago, I didn't even make it to the interview stage with Aeon, went to an interview with GEOS and got rejected and interviewed with Nova and got through the interview. Its too bad Nova isn't open anymore because as bad a reputation as they got they were a company that was generally easier to get into and contrary to popular belief they always paid on time until things got really bad. Glenski and the other vets would probably know more, but you may want to go with some of the other old standbys, like JET, Interac or Berlitz.

[spidr245]

Like the others above said, it's more or less if you can adapt (and also how much are they in need of you).

When I interviewed, I was sure I had the best demo, and I did make it back to the 2nd interview. I did the 2nd interview just fine as well. For example, I did the 1-on-1 teaching the way I do teaching, and did it the eikawa way as the interviewer so put it. I did exactly as he did and didn't sound like a drone. Yet somehow, I didn't get the offer.

Sometimes things don't work, no big deal. There are plenty of other opportunities out there.

[Miyazaki]

[RollingStone]

Yes, I would agree with the sentiment that it apparently does not hinge on quality. As I said, I think it was simply a matter of giving the office something to do. Not sure what `hollywood material` would be, the image of effeminate males comes to my mind, but I am tall, considered good looking, and am *built*, so if they are looking for a cheerleader dude, yea, that isnt my style. Throughout the day the sense did really start growing on me that I was reaching down, not up, and would never apply for such a position were it local; Japan is the deal maker. Its possible that came across. So, will have to investigate other possibilities. May go with posting the resume here.

[Glenski]