Job Discussion Forums

guest of Japan · Joined: 28 Feb 2003 Posts: 1601 Location: Japan

I'm sorry for all of you from Nova. The previous poster (NOW MOD DELETED) has some serious displaced anger issues. It was not your fault that the Japanese cannot recognize experience, training and quality and pay top dollar for it. You came for the experience and a steady paycheck and didn't get what you came for.

I must warn you, the flood on the market is going to make job hunting really tough, and the jobs you get will likey be terrible.

I hope you all land on your feet.

chollimaspeed · Joined: 11 Sep 2007 Posts: 120

Hoser · Joined: 19 Mar 2005 Posts: 694 Location: Toronto, Canada

I really feel for some of Nova workers. We met some girls who were looking at the house nextdoor who had only been in Japan for 4 weeks! Imagine that. Four weeks a new, strange country. You have no money, no job, no apartment and you just worked for a month for free. Fortunately I am not one of those people. I just got to experience a beautiful Sunday morning and saw something that looked like it might be an airshow (either that or Japan is at war). I was planning on quitting anyways so I'm not too put out. Even if we don't get paid, (which is a real possibility) I'm willing to trade a month and a half of non paid work for 3 or 4 months of sitting on my butt collecting unemployment insurance. I was going to do that anyways for free so getting paid to do it will make it even more enjoyable Very Happy

Wintermute · Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 79

I think this 'flood' will be extremely short. Most people are going to want to return home, particularly those who just arrived in the country. Even more so now that airlines are offering cheap flights home for their people (read QANTAS courtesy of the Australian embassy). I think in about 3-4 months the number of teachers in Japan will contract significantly and the job market will open up for those that remained behind.

There is a lot of hate on the net at the moment about Nova and the instructors that worked there. Some of it justified, others not so (more the ravings of people with low emotional control). For many who came over with Nova it was a great way to pay back student loans and see the country, it was only a small (and unfortunately visible) percentage that gave Nova instructors a bad name. As a friend of mine said at work, how are Nova teachers that different from other eikaiwa teachers? The whole situation is a mess and extremely disappointing.

drifter13 · Joined: 27 Mar 2007 Posts: 124 Location: Fujisawa

The majority of the people that came with me a month ago are now gone, or going. And some of the older Nova staff are deciding that it's time to call it a day and return home. I agree it'll be a few months for things to shake out, not to mention the Nova situation is still draging on. In the end there are still gonna be people who want conversational english and therefore people are gonna be needed to teach it.

Vince · Joined: 05 May 2003 Posts: 559 Location: U.S.

This is poster material for why foreigners going to a new country should have at least a few hundred thousand yen in the cookie jar in case something like this happens. Looking from abroad, who would have guessed that a company of NOVA's stature (jokes about quality of service aside) would collapse so quickly?