Job Discussion Forums

Yawarakaijin · Joined: 20 Jan 2006 Posts: 504 Location: Middle of Nagano

1.) This is NOT Canada, the US, the UK or AUSTRALIA! Attach a photo!

Sorry, that's it folks. I don't know how many resumes I have been sent this week but my god, it's unbelievable.

Fifty percent of applicants did not even attach a simple head shot. As someone in charge of hiring.... let me tell you that failing to provide a simple photo immediately dooms your resume to the deleted bin.

So you have attached a photo. Congratulations, you have just beat out 50% of the other applicants fighting it out for a job.

2.) Wear a shirt and tie or a simple blouse.

I'm not interested in learing who your favourite band is from your t-shirt. I do not care that you can snowboard or play basketball. I do not care that you have a six pack or a nice new pair of boobs.

You wore a shirt and tie and still didn't get the job you say?

Well keep fighting because the odds are you were just barely beat out by one or two individuals who happened to live a little closer or could come in for an interview at the drop of a hat.

Do not be discouraged about the current job market because let me tell you something. After having gone through this process 3 or 4 times..... 95% of applicants are simply and honestly.....brutal. I wouldn't trust the the most recent batch of applicants to watch my bike as I run in to pick up an onigiri.

bluetortilla · Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 815 Location: Henan

OK, 1 and 2 are straightforward. But could you tell us (and as someone in charge of hiring you can be sure I'm listening) why you feel that most applicants are 'brutal' and that you can't trust them?

That would be great to know. Thanks.
Philip

mspxlation · Joined: 13 Jul 2007 Posts: 44 Location: USA

I don't know about jobs in Japan, but I used to interview students for study abroad in Japan, and there were a few red flags that we watched for:

1. Being noticeably weird or emotionally unstable. When I asked one student if he had any questions, he asked if it was legal to take his pillow to Japan. He started going on and on about how his family were very attached to their pillows.

One young woman was most concerned about whether she and her boyfriend would be placed with host families that lived far apart. When I told her that assignment of host families was up to the staff of the Japanese university, she looked as if she was on the verge of tears and insisted that she HAD TO close enough to him to visit every day. (The boyfriend had expressed no such concerns.)

2. Being TOO honest about motives. One young man said that he was going to Japan to look for a wife because he'd heard that "Japanese girls [were] hot." Another said that he hoped to help "win Japan for Christ." Still another couldn't stop talking about the availability of beer in vending machines.

3. Making racist jokes about Japanese people.

4. Acting as if the study abroad program was lucky to the interviewee and should be willing to make concessions for the privilege of his/her presence. "I'll go only if you let me leave early." That sort of thing.

5. Refusing to fulfill some of the requirements. This study abroad program required a full weekend orientation before departure. One young woman missed about half the sessions because her sorority had an "important" social occasion.

6. Indications that you might cause trouble for the program. One student asked me in great detail about the drug laws in Japan. When I explained how strict they were, he kept asking, as if trying to find loopholes. We knew that any student caught using recreational drugs would create be a huge scandal, would cause legal complications, and might even start a chain of events leading to the cancellation of the study abroad program.

If I were interviewing people for a job teaching English, I'd want to make sure that they both spoke and wrote well according to the standard English of their country. I would rule out anyone whose application contained noticeable errors in spelling or grammar or who said things like, "I should have went" during the interview.

Imseriouslylost · Joined: 09 Nov 2009 Posts: 123 Location: Tokyo

genesis315 · Joined: 30 Mar 2010 Posts: 116 Location: Japan

Yeah, what does shooting shit have to do with interviewing for a teaching job anyway? Confused

It is all about taking pride in your work. Teaching young / impressionable minds is serious business.

maximmm · Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 59

OK. I can tell everyone reading this that the original post oversimplifies the hiring process by a great margin. The competition in Japan these days is fierce for even some of the least desirable teaching positions. Most employers these days will take anyone with teaching experience in Japan over someone that has none due to the lengthy and rather complicated process of processing work visa for newcomers (work visa renewal is substantially easier and faster). Then again, many employers nowadays seem to prefer part-time teachers that have arrived on work-holiday visa, so if you have that, you're golden.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

flyer · Joined: 16 May 2003 Posts: 539 Location: Sapporo Japan

interesting thread

Wink

maximmm · Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 59

bluetortilla · Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 815 Location: Henan

Hey, this thread went from having some manager (who never replied back and left me hanging anyway) to performing in the actual interview.
I know that's important too of course, but maybe I should start a new thread trying to get back to the resume screening process.
I've written a least several hundred resumes in my life, and although I don't think I'm a grand wizard at it I'd venture to say that my resumes are comprehensive, not goofy (yawaragaijin never did explain the 'trust' thing), and it's obvious that I have tons of vaulable and yes, impressive expeirience here in Japan in EFL.
In fact, I used to get jobs at the drop of the hat with resumes that weren't as good as mine are now. However, this last week I sent out about thirty resumes and have only gotten one reply (and that's still 'out there'). Granted, these are applications to the backwaters of Kyushu (though some would argue it's easier to get a job there).
So I figure it's probably not my resume. It either ageism (46), being 'over-qualified' (are highly qualified people any less reliable than people with little qualifications? 'Over-qualified' may just mean ageism.), employers swamped with applicants, I'm applying to jobs that don't exist (spam), or a combination of these elements.
I know it's not Japanese 'custom' to send out rejections but I used to send a brief notice to people whose resumes I rejected for whatever reason or another but letting them know I'd keep the resume on file, which I did.
Well anyway, if I were me I'd hire me! Cool

Philip

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Apsara · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 2142 Location: Tokyo, Japan

There are so many people here on spouse visas these days as well, and a lot of employers probably have those people in mind when advertising part time jobs. I went to an interview for a part time job a few years back before I switched to a spouse visa, and of 10 people I was the only one on a working visa- all the others were guys who were married to Japanese women.

flyer · Joined: 16 May 2003 Posts: 539 Location: Sapporo Japan

and the number of permanent resident visa teachers has increased too
I have met quite a few (I am one)

maximmm · Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 59

tokyo10 · Joined: 13 Apr 2010 Posts: 27

i have to say, since i attached a photo to my application I have received more interviews. I dont know entirely if this is the reason why, but it simply cant hurt.