Job Discussion Forums

[darkcity]

The job hunt has been frustrating, at best.

About me:
26 years old
USA
1.5 years experience in Korea
CELTA
Willing to travel to Japan first and job hunt after (fortunately I have a few Japanese friends there). Ideal situation is to have something pre-arranged.

What I want:
In or around Tokyo/Osaka
Adults only
Money is not important, but enough to live

ECC sounded like the easiest option, but I'm not in SF at the moment, and it sounds like they've already done interviews.

I'm sure this question has been posed a few dozen times, but it's been quite difficult to find something suitable; if I'm being too picky, please slap some sense into me.

[Shonai Ben]

adults only is probably not possible.......most eikaiwas have kid's classes so unless you're willing to include them in your search you are going to have a harder time finding work.......it sucks but that's the way it is......

[ssjup81]

I'm not an expert on this subject, but maybe as far as location is concerned, you might be being a bit picky.

[shoegazer]

Yeah, you just missed the ECC San Francisco interviews, which were last week, but you can still apply to their Toronto office any time of year, though you'd have to go out there to interview. Not to mention if you're not looking to work with kids, don't bother, even their interview entails a demo lesson geared toward very young children. However, there is a 2 in 3 chance that you'd get your location preference considering that they only do business in the greater regions of Tokyo/Osaka/Nagoya.

[Glenski]

You've decided that only Osaka and Tokyo are where you want to work. That's restrictive (not demanding) even though these are the biggest cities in Japan.

You only want to teach adults. Even more restrictive, and probably the only way you can do that is to have a business English agency hire you, or get on with a company (Toyota, Sony, etc.) that wants an in-house English teacher.

Salary will not be much of a problem as long as you turn down anything under 220,000 yen/month.

ECC does interviews in Japan, I believe. Kanto and Kansai area office are not hiring at the moment, but Nagoya office is. You can still leave a resume.
http://recruiting.ecc.co.jp/apply/index.html

[darkcity]

Thanks for the input guys, that's what I needed to know.

Korea, here I come (again)!

[Glenski]

Why are you not willing to open up a bit more?

[darkcity]

Glenski --

Kids are out of the question. I know my capabilities, and managing kids is not one of them. Until now, I've socialized with someone under 10 a total of once. I'm the only child in a really small family and have never been exposed to children, quite frankly.

As for location, by "around" Tokyo, I meant Chiba, Yokohama, etc. I am not willing to work in the countryside, for starters, and I already have a solid group of Japanese friends in Saitama. I may consider other large cities if I become desperate, but it sounds like my unwillingness to work with children has already cut down 99% of the jobs I'm qualified for.

[Glenski]

[ssjup81]

In some cases, aren't rural areas cheaper as far as housing is concerned?

[jcook77]

If by "some," you mean "all," then yes. Anything outside of central Tokyo is cheaper by a long shot. I keep this in mind every time I visit Osaka and see apartments in a money location with no key money/deposit starting at 40,000 yen. Rural towns and whatnot are dirt-cheap and often quite large.

[darkcity]

[sigh] I think I will just bite the bullet. Either learn to like kids or live in the countryside.

Glenski is right that the countryside is a more immersive cultural experience. But I also met teachers who felt quite lonely and miserable.

Thanks for the input guys!

[Cool Teacher]

[benshi]

[darkcity]