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Akatsuka123
Joined: 09 May 2010
Posts: 21
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 Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 10:19 pm Post subject: |
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| seklarwia wrote: |
| Akatsuka123 wrote: |
| If you mean the online CV, then I wouldn't worry either. They use the CV to gain your placement/schools. Until they have secured somewhere in Japan for you to work, I doubt you'll hear anything back. Placements will probably not come until around mid-June to late July. |
Not quite.
You'll be hearing quite a bit from them about things other than and even long before placements. And remember, not everyone gets a placement or even told what branch they'll be in before arrival: Be prepared for that too. A tentative offer means very little and even definate offers are not set in stone. Don't get too excited about any placement until you arrive and sign the contract.
You'll be hearing about insurance (do not ignore this email otherwise you may get a nasty surprise when you first get paid). We heard about a dodgy mobile company. You'll get sent a lot of stuff to read. We even had to complete a mini assignment and send it back to the head trainer to prove that we had read the crazy-long 'Safety in Japan' PDF.
And have you done the TB test yet? If not, you might want research that now. I don't know where you are coming from, but in the UK, it's not the easiest thing to arrange short notice and can be very costly if your GP and local TB authority are anal retentive.
The TB test is not a visa requirement and you will have a medical test done for your COE after you arrive which will include a chest x-ray. But we still have to do the TB test and send our results before placements are allocated. |
Thanks once again for the info! I'll wait til I get the email about Interac Insurance, but I think I'm already decided I want to go with National Health if thats an option. I'll see what the email says when it comes.
I have an appointment with my GP about the TB testing next week. On the patient.co.uk website it says that all TB testing and treatment is free, even if you are not a UK resident. However I'll be prepared for the worst... thanks! One problem is, I've already had my mantoux test and BCG at school. I'm not hopeful that they'll be willing to test again seeing as I'm already apparently immune, but hey - I'll see what my GP says! |
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seklarwia
Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 1546
Location: Monkey onsen, Nagano
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| Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 11:43 pm Post subject: |
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There is an email that you have to respond to if you don't want the InterGlobal insurance. If you don't they will automatically enroll you and if not cancelled before a certain point you are tied in for almost 6 months.
And that's what I meant about anal retentive. Yes, TB testing is free on the NHS, but you need to try and convince them to give you the appointment first. Otherwise it means heading to a travel clinic which isn't cheap. |
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ILoveCov
Joined: 24 Jan 2010
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Sat May 29, 2010 1:11 pm Post subject: |
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I had trouble getting sent for the TB testing in the UK, so Interac told me just to get a letter from my GP saying I'd had the TB jab when at school and that was fine.
However, when we all got to training (the main training session) - we weren't required to hand in anything regarding TB and were all given chest x-rays. Needless to say, those who had paid for x-rays (my friend paid about �80) weren't impressed! |
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Akatsuka123
Joined: 09 May 2010
Posts: 21
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| Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2010 10:48 pm Post subject: |
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Yup, my GP is frustrating... She likes to talk about anything other than what I actually went there for. Anyway, she has defered me to the local nurse there, which means I'll have to wait until next week to get any answers about my TB test.
I was wondering - when do you know for certain you have a job in Japan? At the moment I know I don't really have a job yet - only an offer of employment. I need to know this as I need to give 6 weeks notice to my current job and am unsure and uneasy about handing in my notice until I am 100% sure I am going...!
As I understand it, I'll hopefully be going to Japan mid-late August 2010, meaning the latest I'll have to hand my notice in is early-mid July. Are placements usually out by then? This is something I will probably ask Interac directly, just wanted opinions on here first.
Also... where is everyone!? I noticed on the Interac August 2009 post on eslcafe, there were a number of people discussing Interac offers etc... Now in 2010, there seems to be only a couple.... (come out come out wherever you are..!) |
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stefanreynolds
Joined: 12 Mar 2010
Posts: 34
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| Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 7:11 pm Post subject: inching forward! |
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got a referral letter from my doctor, so will have an xray on th nhs! awesome!
and have submitted my online resume, and been told to basically "watch this space"...
Im a little concerned as I read in another forum that, people were not taken this summer because interac lost some contracts.... hmmm.... |
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seaoftwilight
Joined: 30 Jul 2009
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 9:34 pm Post subject: |
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Recently, I interviewed for Interac at a recruitment agency called Teach Away for a September position. I won't know the results for another couple of weeks. I'm very anxious!
My demonstration went well, however I'm concerned with one of my answers in the interview. In response to the question "What do you think Interac expects of you besides just teaching?", I said something along the lines "To be a cultural ambassador". I'm worried that this may be too much like a JET answer. Afterward, I thought of all the other things that I could have said such as having professional behavior at all times, making regular trips to the regional office, etc.
I'm going to be worried until the results come.  |
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Akatsuka123
Joined: 09 May 2010
Posts: 21
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| Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2010 8:32 pm Post subject: |
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| seaoftwilight wrote: |
Recently, I interviewed for Interac at a recruitment agency called Teach Away for a September position. I won't know the results for another couple of weeks. I'm very anxious!
My demonstration went well, however I'm concerned with one of my answers in the interview. In response to the question "What do you think Interac expects of you besides just teaching?", I said something along the lines "To be a cultural ambassador". I'm worried that this may be too much like a JET answer. Afterward, I thought of all the other things that I could have said such as having professional behavior at all times, making regular trips to the regional office, etc.
I'm going to be worried until the results come. |
I wouldn't worry, I gave a very similar answer and I managed to get in 
However - I thought Interac had stopped taking any more people for the August/September intake unless they were already residing in Japan and had all the correct paperwork (visa etc all done). I hope you manage to get a place for September, if not, you might have to wait until March. Good luck -let us know the result of your interview! |
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stefanreynolds
Joined: 12 Mar 2010
Posts: 34
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| Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 7:24 pm Post subject: any news..? |
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| Has anyone received their placement yet...? I have to book my flights as I am planning to fly to Japan from Bangkok after a holiday with my friends. So everyday I wait, will increase my flight costs. When can I realistically expect my placement date? |
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seklarwia
Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 1546
Location: Monkey onsen, Nagano
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| Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 9:26 pm Post subject: |
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You can expect an arrival date no more than a month in advance you will not be getting it before next month at the earliest. It says so in the faqs.
You may be told about placements anywhere from a few weeks in advance to not until you arrive. It also says this in the faqs.
Perhaps you should read the faqs. |
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Akatsuka123
Joined: 09 May 2010
Posts: 21
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| Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 10:05 pm Post subject: Re: any news..? |
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| stefanreynolds wrote: |
| Has anyone received their placement yet...? I have to book my flights as I am planning to fly to Japan from Bangkok after a holiday with my friends. So everyday I wait, will increase my flight costs. When can I realistically expect my placement date? |
Yes, they do say on the Interac website that placement can happen anytime between 1 month before arrival, and in some cases, you might not know for sure until you actually get there. Interac will ask you to buy a ticket for Japan 1 month before - I guess around mid-July.
The Interac 2009 post might help you too -
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=71825&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=60 .
Its last years details, but you can see a couple of people found out their placement in mid-June, whereas most others found out mid-late July. Most of the time, buying a plane ticket came before finding out your placement. -- Good news I guess for your travel plans |
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seaoftwilight
Joined: 30 Jul 2009
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 5:27 am Post subject: |
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| Akatsuka123 wrote: |
| seaoftwilight wrote: |
Recently, I interviewed for Interac at a recruitment agency called Teach Away for a September position. I won't know the results for another couple of weeks. I'm very anxious!
My demonstration went well, however I'm concerned with one of my answers in the interview. In response to the question "What do you think Interac expects of you besides just teaching?", I said something along the lines "To be a cultural ambassador". I'm worried that this may be too much like a JET answer. Afterward, I thought of all the other things that I could have said such as having professional behavior at all times, making regular trips to the regional office, etc.
I'm going to be worried until the results come. |
I wouldn't worry, I gave a very similar answer and I managed to get in
However - I thought Interac had stopped taking any more people for the August/September intake unless they were already residing in Japan and had all the correct paperwork (visa etc all done). I hope you manage to get a place for September, if not, you might have to wait until March. Good luck -let us know the result of your interview! |
I got the job! I just found out this morning. 
I know that Interac finished recruiting directly for the fall, but I think that they reserved 10 spots for Teach Away to recruit for, all of which may start anytime between September and November. I hope they let me know when I'm going next month... |
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stefanreynolds
Joined: 12 Mar 2010
Posts: 34
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| Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 3:57 pm Post subject: travel expenses |
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| on another note, i am told that travel costs are paid for by interac. do you keep the receipts and claim it back? |
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seklarwia
Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 1546
Location: Monkey onsen, Nagano
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| Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 9:09 pm Post subject: Re: travel expenses |
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| stefanreynolds wrote: |
| on another note, i am told that travel costs are paid for by interac. do you keep the receipts and claim it back? |
If by travel costs, you mean work-related travel costs after you arrive at the hotel for training then the answer is; yes they do, but the procedure can vary.
If you are taking public transport for work related travel, you normally keep the receipts and submit them at the end of month. Work related travel includes going from the initial training session and to and from any additional training sessions and will include any hotel costs that are essential. But Interac will choose the hotel if one is required and they will often only reimburse the cheapest option for regular JR or bus travel unless you are specifically given permission to take the shikansen or any express services. The cheapest possible option, may include a travel card which you might be able to use for personal travel at weekends.
There may be some cases where you will have work related travel expenses paid up front, like for the hotel at and the travel from your intial training session where your branch manager will have already covered these costs and will hand you your tickets for travel to your placement. I've also been in the right place at the right time and had managers pay for my travel expenses on the spot because they were with me when I was about to pay.
Petrol money is also reimbursed but works slightly differently. But the cost of hiring a car and home parking is not covered by Interac.
Some branches have different arrangements for aquiring a car. For example, last year in the Hiroshima branch, drivers were made to take out a loan of about 200,000 from Interac and were bought a car (the car was actually in their name, not Interac's). If they completed their initial year contract the loan was written off.
You will be told about car details at training by your branch staff directly if it is applicable to you.
Although, you are normally responsible for any travel costs in Japan (if any) aquired before arrival at the hotel for the initial training session, in some cases Interac will reimburse or even cover these costs up front. These are normally during extreme circumstances. We arrrived the morning of the Narita plane crash last year (my plane was due to land only 2 hours after it happened) and we redirected to airports all over Japan. I was lucky and only got redirected to Haneda where we then had to sit on our plane for an hour whilst they tried to find stairs big enough for our plane to allow us to disembark. New recruits arriving through Haneda were met by Interac reps who bought our tickets and were brought to the training hotel.
But many planes were redirected to crazy places like Osaka or up in Hokkaido. These people were going to have shinkansen journeys costing a lot to get to training and because nobody knew where planes were going to land until often too late, most of these people didn't have Interac reps waiting for them. They paid for the cost to get the hotel but got the money reimbursed at training.
And annual health checks including any travel costs getting to and from these are work related costs covered by Interac.[/u] |
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stefanreynolds
Joined: 12 Mar 2010
Posts: 34
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| Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 7:25 pm Post subject: update |
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| Jus got Interac email number 9, with general information about visa, placements etc.. hows everyone else doing? |
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naruru-chan
Joined: 05 Jun 2010
Posts: 8
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| Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 7:49 pm Post subject: Re: update |
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| stefanreynolds wrote: |
| Jus got Interac email number 9, with general information about visa, placements etc.. hows everyone else doing? |
I got an e-mail saying their interview sessions are full until Oct/Nov/Dec for Spring 2010 :S
And I live an hour away from their branch in the US  |
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