Job Discussion Forums

[employee]

Hello there all. My friend and I would like to be placed in Tokyo come this January. From what I've been reading it seems like tuff work to get places in Tokyo as is. Would you recommend going through an agency and applying together? Any info on this is greatly appreciated.

We both have BA's and each a year and a half of ESL experience abroad from our home countries.

[Bread]

What's "an agency"?

Honestly, the best way to be placed together is to be willing to work out in the countryside where nobody wants to go. It's hard enough to get a job in Tokyo to begin with, let alone two jobs from the same company for people with no experience in Japan.

[Glenski]

You want to start work in January? Pretty dead time of year for any eikaiwa, and no ALT will start then. Those are your options.

Starting in January means getting an interview and hired around Oct/Nov, and those are also pretty dead advertising times, so you should rethink your timeline first.

As for being placed in the same area, I'm not so sure about Bread's assessment. If you are placed in a rural area, you might not even be sent to the same rural area (where there are obviously fewer opportunities). Yes, I agree with Bread in that many/most people have preferences to be placed in a big city, but I think if you just focus on finding work, that's the best you can do.

Think about it. The market is so flooded with teachers right now that you don't have much of a luxury of choosing where to work, let alone where two of you work.

Why do you want to work in the same city/area anyway?

[Apsara]

[LadyK]

There are many factors involved that we don't know, but you can always tell your recruiter/interviewer that you want to be placed together. I asked to be placed near a certain city because one of my good friends lived there, and they told me that I could be placed elsewhere or wait 3 months. I decided to wait, and got what I wanted and am very pleased. It depends very much on your company and situation, however. Good luck.

[employee]

Thanks for the replies all. It sounds like January isn't the time for us to go and if that's the case what are the best hiring months you'd recommend? We'd be doing this from America. Would our best bet be to go through a larger company like AEON or ECC? Thanks again for the input

[Glenski]

If you get hired from the U.S., you'll have to deal only with large employers who have the money to do the overseas recruiting and who have a large number of offices in Japan.

By that number alone, there is no guarantee at all that you will wind up together. Employers can only promise to take your request into consideration, but in the end you go where they have the vacancies.

Peak hiring months for most entry level jobs are Feb & March for the April start dates. You might look a little earlier for ALT jobs; can't say when dispatch agencies advertise, but JET asks for applications at the end of the year (Nov/Dec is the deadline for Americans).

[seklarwia]

[Glenski]

[OneJoelFifty]

The only way to guarentee you can work together would be to head to Tokyo together and look for work. Save loads of money, book yourselves into the same guesthouse or share an apartment owned by a landlord that doesn't require a Japanese guarentour, and try your luck.

[seklarwia]

[Glenski]

[saloc]

[seklarwia]

[employee]

could someone tell me what BOEs, ALTs and COEs are and they're differences?