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Jazz1975
Joined: 14 Feb 2006
Posts: 301
Location: Zama, Kanagawa
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 Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 2:59 pm Post subject: |
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| PAULH wrote: |
| If you have a Masters you are probably overqualified for the type of teaching you will be doing but as long as you dont let that stand in the way of getting hired and are willing to do what ever they throw at you you should be OK. |
Nope, no Masters here. Just a BA and a college diploma. Initially, Osaka was my first choice, but that has now changed to Tokyo. Seems Tokyo has more of what I need than Osaka though both places sound great. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 3:02 pm Post subject: |
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| angrysoba wrote: |
| Jazz1975 wrote: |
I'm not so young (you can find my age on one of the other threads if you look hard enough  ). |
Is 1975 a clue? |
Your birthday or the year you graduated with a BA degree?
I see you are "Asian" too. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 3:06 pm Post subject: |
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| Jazz1975 wrote: |
| Nope, no Masters here. Just a BA and a college diploma. Initially, Osaka was my first choice, but that has now changed to Tokyo. Seems Tokyo has more of what I need than Osaka though both places sound great. |
Each to her own. I have spent nearly 20 years in kansai and now live in Kyoto. I wouldnt live in Tokyo if you paid me. |
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Jazz1975
Joined: 14 Feb 2006
Posts: 301
Location: Zama, Kanagawa
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| Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 3:18 pm Post subject: |
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| PAULH wrote: |
| angrysoba wrote: |
| Is 1975 a clue? |
Your birthday or the year you graduated with a BA degree?
I see you are "Asian" too. |
Birthday. And yes, 100% Asian. It'll be interesting to see how that dynamic plays out in Japan as I am clearly not Japanese. Can't even speak a lick of Japanese other than 'konichiwa', 'sayonara' and 'moshi moshi'  . |
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seamonkey
Joined: 18 Feb 2006
Posts: 29
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| Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 3:28 pm Post subject: |
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| what does moshi moshi mean? |
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sallycat
Joined: 11 Mar 2006
Posts: 303
Location: behind you. BOO!
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| Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 3:31 pm Post subject: |
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| it's what you say when you answer the phone. |
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DarkMagus
Joined: 21 Mar 2006
Posts: 30
Location: Manchester, NH
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| Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 6:05 pm Post subject: |
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Hmm ... this has gone somewhat off-topic...
I'm looking to hear from people who have JUST RECENTLY interviewed with or (better yet) have been hired by Nova.
The very specific question I have is:
What happened after you submitted the background check? Did they offer you the job? Did they make you jump through any more hoops (e.g. another interview, drug test, etc., etc.)? Please tell me what happened after you submitted the background check. THANKS! |
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angrysoba
Joined: 20 Jan 2006
Posts: 446
Location: Kansai, Japan
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| Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 6:13 pm Post subject: |
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| As far as the drug test is concerned I have never heard of it happening. It is something NOVA put into the rules and regulations to scare off 'the wrong crowd' and maybe something they can point to to put their more squeamish-about-gaijin students at ease. |
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DarkMagus
Joined: 21 Mar 2006
Posts: 30
Location: Manchester, NH
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| Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 6:18 pm Post subject: |
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Awesome, thanks for that intel!
I'm not worried about the drug test myself, I'm just wondering what's next in this whole process!
Just trying to ease my anxiety and restlessness about this whole thing! |
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wangtesol
Joined: 24 May 2005
Posts: 280
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| Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 12:11 am Post subject: recruiters and false representation of working conditions |
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By the way, Nova Group Boston are a separate legal entity from Nova Group (in Japan). So there is no legal recourse for you to sue the person who interviewed you if you have problems in Japan.
Even if he falsely represents the working conditions in Japan (pay, health insurance, hours, holidays etc..) you have no recourse since usually state or provincial laws governing overseas job recruitment do not apply. That is, they do not even exist.
One example of a common false representation....
Nova is required by Japanese Health Insurance Law to enroll you into shakai hoken (the Japanese governments national health scheme), but they don't even tell you about it. Instead they try to sell you their JMA travel insurance.
Nova also does not want candidates who appear to know about their rights as workers.
You can check the Nova teachers branch union website for more information on Labour Laws...
http://www.novaunion.com
or their parent union: National Union of General Workers Tokyo South
http://www.nambufwc.org |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 5:23 am Post subject: |
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| DarkMagus wrote: |
Awesome, thanks for that intel!
I'm not worried about the drug test myself, I'm just wondering what's next in this whole process!
Just trying to ease my anxiety and restlessness about this whole thing! |
No one has been tested for drugs in Japan since 1996. Its illegal to test only foreigners in Japan as Japanese are not made to pee in a cup as well.
America seems to be the only country where a drug test is required. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 5:27 am Post subject: |
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| Jazz1975 wrote: |
| PAULH wrote: |
| angrysoba wrote: |
| Is 1975 a clue? |
Your birthday or the year you graduated with a BA degree?
I see you are "Asian" too. |
Birthday. And yes, 100% Asian. It'll be interesting to see how that dynamic plays out in Japan as I am clearly not Japanese. Can't even speak a lick of Japanese other than 'konichiwa', 'sayonara' and 'moshi moshi' . |
Jazz, at NOVA you have Japanese-Americans, Hispanics, blacks, Asians, Filipino Americans as well as whites working there. NOVA is officially color-blind when it comes to race.
If you dont speak Japanese you are in good company, a majority of newbies dont speak it either, and its not a job requirement to get hired. You are being hired as an English-speaking American-born gaijin, not becuase you happen to look Asian. People can tell you are a foreigner as soon as you open your mouth. |
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Jazz1975
Joined: 14 Feb 2006
Posts: 301
Location: Zama, Kanagawa
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| Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:30 am Post subject: |
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| PAULH wrote: |
Jazz, at NOVA you have Japanese-Americans, Hispanics, blacks, Asians, Filipino Americans as well as whites working there. NOVA is officially color-blind when it comes to race.
If you dont speak Japanese you are in good company, a majority of newbies dont speak it either, and its not a job requirement to get hired. You are being hired as an English-speaking American-born gaijin, not becuase you happen to look Asian. People can tell you are a foreigner as soon as you open your mouth. |
That's good to know, especially since I think I'll have a better chance of getting into NOVA than the other three. I actually know about the 'color-blind' thing-my friend who told me about NOVA is Asian as well and she is currently teaching in Nara. Although, I'm not sure that I'll flog the fact that I don't speak Japanese on my application to NOVA. That's just a personal choice. Good thing it's not a job requirement-I was actually quite relieved when I first found out about it. They'll probably just see me as a "Canadian-born gaijin" despite my Asian features  . |
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scrying
Joined: 14 Nov 2004
Posts: 27
Location: Nagoya Japan
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| Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:34 am Post subject: re: background check |
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i do have to wonder a bit about this background check nonsense. I interviewed with NOVA back in 03 and worked for em til last march, there was never a mention of a background check, or of paying them for one. Unless it's something peculiar to your state ( i interviewed in San Fran). you might want to do a little more diggin. granted, it's a relatively small amount, but money IS money...especially if it's taken under false pretenses.
good luck to you, glad to see you're getting as informed as possible on what you're getting into... |
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Jazz1975
Joined: 14 Feb 2006
Posts: 301
Location: Zama, Kanagawa
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| Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:41 am Post subject: |
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| My friend works for NOVA and I'm applying there as well (to the Toronto branch) and this is the first time I've heard of anything about this background check business. Perhaps it's state specific as some of the people on here have mentioned. |
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