Job Discussion Forums

[worldwidealive]

Glenski (and others interested):

Nova doesn't offer any type of bonus - for anything. They do not pay for you to come to Japan or to get you home. You collect your pay for the work that you do and that's it.

If you complete your first year-long contract and are offered another contract, you should see some sort of raise. 20,000 Yen is not going to happen, so that's laughable. Most of the people around me are seeing 5,000 Yen a month more. I have heard of one guy who received 10,000 because he wears suits everyday, smiles at every command, and never complains about taking out the garbage (at least that is all I can see that makes him different from the others). On the other hand, I know one person that recieved a new contract with NO raise.

In my opinion, Nova is pushing the envelope here - trying to see what they can get away with. It is purely economical really. "You don't like your 5,000 Yen raise? Ok, sorry. We'll hire someone to replace you. Then we can pay them a probation salary for at least two months, and won't have to pay a raise at all for 12 months."

I'm not complaining. Frankly, I see Nova as an easy job and decent pay considering I had no real qualifications to teach English other than being born in an English speaking country. That said, I have built up a nice list of privates while I have been riding Nova's back. They pay me twice an hour what Nova pays. The moral of the story? Nova is as expendable to me as I am to them.

WWA

[Glenski]

worldwidealive,

Thanks for that enlightenment.

Just to add to your laughs, here is exactly what NOVA has in its web site regarding salary increases:

As you complete your first year, having made consistent progress in your career with Nova, a salary increment of up to 20,000 yen monthly is available in acknowledgement of the valuable role you have taken as part of the teaching team. As there is no limit to the length of employment in Nova with a sponsored visa, every year can bring further increases in recognition of your contribution to ensuring Nova's standard of excellence is maintained.

I guess what they deem as "consistent progress in your career" or how "valuable role" you play is up to them to decide in order to give you some of that raise.

Moreover, here is what NOVA had to say in response to a survey question from www.teachinginjapan.com :

14. Do you offer an end-of-contract bonus? If so, how much is the bonus?

There is no lump sum end-of-contract bonus. If the contract is renewed, a salary increment (up to JY 20,000/month) is awarded based on performance throughout the year.

So, how do they measure such "performance"?

[melirae]

Hi there!

Newbie at the NOVA MM Center in Osaka, here.

No one can accurately describe the `performance` criteria to you. It`s something you have to see to believe. Not to knock any of my coworkers, but some of the people that work for NOVA are total idiots. So to get the promotions, seems to me you have to start out by not being a total idiot and being serious about your job, not just think of it as a vacation in Japan that you get a salary for. There are people on both ends of the spectrum here, and those like myself who are somewhere in the middle. I don`t think of it as a career choice- I`d rather get a Master`s and teach university level somewhere, but I also don`t think of my job as a total jole, even though it is very easy.

As far as the length of time to process paperwork, it took me from March to September to get here. I sent all of my paper work right back to NOVA after I had filled it out, so there was no delay from my end. They are a company and have needs to meet and I think they may work people around based on those needs. And depending on how fast you get your info back to them, that puts you at the front of the line for the jobs they have available.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to pm or ask here. I am happy to answer and I feel like I can give a pretty accurate answer since I am a current employee.

Good luck!
Melirae

[stillnosheep]

Melirae rocks!

[melirae]

Yeah I do!!!

heeheehee!!!

[SEndrigo]