Job Discussion Forums

[MrWright]

I am a certified teacher in Arizona, with state endorsements in ESL and History, B.A. in Secondary Education. I know the market is flooded right now, but does everyone think that it would be that difficult to get that first job? Especially with no Japan, or overseas, experience? I see some job postings here on Dave's. What's up with that? Are those just the barrel jobs? Am considering starting my MA Tesol. Would that help? Am new to this, so be gentle. Thanks.

[Glenski]

[beach_lover]

Peppy Kids employ anyone if a foot in the door is all you are after

[MrWright]

I have 3 years experience, but not in ESL. I taught High School History. I will give the international schools a try, but I hear they are extremely competitive. I think my chances of teaching there are even lower than finding a ESL job in Japan. But I don't have any first hand experience of this. Once I get some kind of job there, is it easier to find a better job latter? From the sound of it, experience in other countries (Korea) don't count for much in getting hired in Japan. Am I wrong?

[Fina1]

For me it was either easy to get my foot in the door or I was just very lucky.

I had no teaching experience and no certification in teaching anything. I have about 4 years work experience in my life, 3 of which were in college. My degree is in Biology. I also had no experience living overseas.

I applied for a job with AEON because I wanted to teach and I wanted to live in Japan. I had actually been pursuing a teacher certification in college but graduated with my B.S. before the certification was complete and decided to work for a year or two and finish it as a part-time student.

I sent in my application to AEON and they asked for an interview. So I prepared everything carefully, flew out to the interview location, and after the group interview I was given a personal interview.
There were about 30 or so other people there (iirc), but I don't know how many had a personal interview.

Two weeks after the personal interview I was called and offered a position. The position also matched my preferences pretty closely, so I was very happy.
I've already signed my contract and bought my plane ticket to leave early next year.

My thoughts: Your experience as a teacher, with certification and state endorsements in ESL, may help you get a job, but (imo) the best thing will be a smile and a glowing personality. If you are energetic, personable, and confident, then you will have a much much higher chance of getting a job than someone who isn't but has 5 years ESL teaching experience and a CELTA.

There are a lot of posts on this forum on different companies and their interview techniques and how to prepare, and if you Google them you'll find out even more.
What eikaiwa (if you're looking for a job with one of these) are looking for is very different from what schools look for here in the states.

Do some research and see if you fit into their model. If you do then by all means, apply.
If you don't, my advice would be not to apply because chances are that you won't be happy being asked to be and act like someone you aren't.

[MrWright]

In a nutshell, what would you say the "model" is? Is it different for each school? Or is there a Japanese "model" teacher that they are looking for in general?

[Glenski]

The "model" foreign teacher? Many will tell you it is the person you see on the ads:

youthful
vibrant
stylish

In truth, they want the vibrant, and that will probably override youth itself, although having a youthFUL attitude will help. Style? Well, you can't really depict that in an interview; you should wear business suit attire. Be careful about piercings and overly colorful hair. Otherwise, depending on the chemistry of the staff and students, employers just want someone to mix well with them. For working with the wee kiddies, the personality will probably be far different than for business English types or universities. Know your audience.

Also, know when to talk and when to let/make the students talk.

[Apsara]

[Glenski]

Are they really that geeky on the ads (as I wrote) to you?

[Apsara]

Yes, it always strikes me that many of them are on the geeky side- I'm talking about the posters on trains and in stations- I don't recall seeing any ads for eikaiwa on TV in the last few years. As above, I believe that "non-threatening" is much higher on the check-list than "stylish" in most cases. A check of the current poster people for Aeon etc. online confirms my suspicions- or maybe our definitions of "stylish" are different.

[natsume]

As an American, I always think "Young Republican" when I see the ads. Borderline Mormon.

That is definitely not "stylish".

[Gaijinheadpothead]

Yeah, they just look like completely fake people really.
Very, plastic.
There is one ad that actually has a plastic doll teacher.
If you can see that, maybe that's what they reckon is ideal.

Masters degrees , qualifications , teaching experience,

I have none of that, and I got a job here last March as an ALT in a JHS.

I wore slick suit and tried to be very energetic in my interviews.
When I got the job , I was told it was because I had energy!
In my interview they were very concerned about how I would deal
with unruly students.

In saying all that, the company I work for are very dodgy.
Nothing has happened to me yet but I heard some bad stories
about other ALTs being screwed over.

But, I've been able to live here in Japan for awhile and I'm lovin it.
I love my job, not my company, my salary is 210,000 yen a month.

A low wage I know, but it is certainly a foot in that door.

[fat_chris]

Some more options:

Join JALT and start showing up at events and volunteering to do stuff.

Look into Master's degree programs at TC-Tokyo and Temple University-Japan as well as distance degree programs, i.e., Aston.

Just my one yen worth,
fat_chris

[Glenski]

[fat_chris]

That could actually be simple advice for anyone wishing to meet that catch-all umbrella term "getting one's foot in the door".

It could be advice for the OP once here in Japan in regards to getting one's foot in the door...and then keeping the door open.



Regards,
fat_chris