Job Discussion Forums

[the4th2001]

[scratchpiece27]

The4th2001, thanks... and take care of yourself up there in Tokyo

[the4th2001]

[teachaus]

[Shimokitazawa]

[mspxlation]

I am one of those people who would take a job for which I was underqualified, but I'm unlikely even to get an offer.

You see, I'm older, and I've been doing something else for many years, but I've lived in Japan before and would love to live there again as a kind of retirement adventure. I won't have a lot of bills to worry about, so I can easily live on 250,000 a month, especially if housing is provided.

However, because of my age, it is unlikely that a company in Japan would hire me. Hell, it's unlikely that a company in the U.S. would hire me--for the same reason.

That's despite the fact that I speak Japanese at a professional level, have teaching experience, know a lot of people over there, and have a proven ability to live at a modest level without requiring a lot of handholding.

So don't prejudge your "overqualified" applicants. Talk to them. Find out their motivations for wanting the job. Who knows? The job market in the U.S. currently has five jobseekers for every opening. Inevitably, some highly qualified people are going to be unemployed for a long time and would welcome a job teaching English in Japan.

[Glenski]

[Rooster_2006]

Funny, for all the doom and gloom in these forums, I landed a 250K yen gig within 12 days of entering Japan, with relatively little effort (I sent out 34 resumes and attended three interviews out of the four offered; #2 was the successful one).

Not saying that this is a typical scenario, but it is also not the doom and gloom "you might not even find a job in three months" scenario that certain other posters claimed I might have.

I came prepared with a bachelor's degree, a CELTA, and over a year of experience (despite the claims of other posters in this thread that VIRTUALLY ALL Japanese employers disregard experience in other countries, my boss was impressed with my experience in Taiwan and said it was why she wanted to proceed with hiring me). I showed up to the interviews on time in a suit and tie with a game and lesson already prepared. I got the job for Interview #2. Interviews #1 and #3, although both unsuccessful, both sent me very kind e-mails saying that they had enjoyed my interview/demo, so I knew I was on the right track.

Quite frankly, it was much easier to find a gig in Japan than it was to find a gig in Taiwan in '09 and '10. In Taiwan, I had to do a demo for nearly every interview. In Japan, I only needed to do a demo for one school, and even then, it wasn't in front of live children. I also didn't need to attend nearly as many interviews before getting hired.

Things are off to a good start.

[mspxlation]

[Mr_Monkey]

[Shimokitazawa]

[Dark Machine]

[rxk22]

[wiganer]

[rxk22]