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Kaizer7
Joined: 07 May 2014
Posts: 8
Location: Japan
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 Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 6:05 am Post subject: Currently in Japan. |
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So I have a dilemma...
I have overall 5 years of experience teaching English abroad. 2 years teqching in a primary and secondary public school in Bulgaria and 3 years with an International Kindergarten in a Taiwan cram school. I also have an ITTT online TEFL certificate.
Right now I am in Japan with a tourist visa trying to find a job (preferably in a kindergarten) to switch my visa to a working one. The problem is I know I need to have the Certificate of Eligibility in order to apply but I need a company to sponsor me first... And most companies already want you to have a working visa... Is there an easier way around what seems like a catch 22?
Based on my work history am I on a lower bracket of standard in Japan? Cause I've applied to schools like Shane and Interac and they said, "The pool of candidates who applied are all of a high calibre". Is this true?
Thank you for your suggestions and comments in advance. |
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Big_H
Joined: 21 Dec 2013
Posts: 115
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| Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 7:00 am Post subject: |
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Greetings,
I'll assume that you are a native Bulgarian, so you've got a few disadvantages, one being that you are from a non native English speaking country, second is that you never had any teaching experience in Japan. But you have a good advantage of being already in the country and a TEFL so some schools might offer you visa sponsorship if you prove to be a worthy applicant and keep an open mind towards your options, one of those options is to apply for entry level positions and be willing to relocate to smaller cities if need be.
good luck |
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Kaizer7
Joined: 07 May 2014
Posts: 8
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 7:43 am Post subject: |
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| Sorry BigH, I didn't state that I am Asian American. Born in Taiwan but an American citizen. Do you think looking Asian is a big disadvantage for me? I know I can teach but I'm just looking to get my feet in the door cause in a year I can always switch to a better company. |
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jtea
Joined: 22 Apr 2014
Posts: 69
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| Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 3:33 pm Post subject: |
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| Kaizer7 wrote: |
| Sorry BigH, I didn't state that I am Asian American. Born in Taiwan but an American citizen. Do you think looking Asian is a big disadvantage for me? I know I can teach but I'm just looking to get my feet in the door cause in a year I can always switch to a better company. |
I've heard that looking Asian can be a disadvantage because many schools want people who look like they speak English to teach English to their students for obvious reasons. However, I can't say if this is true or not. I'm Chinese American and got a job offer in Japan only 3 applications later. I've lived in the US for pretty much the majority of my life so I have no accent.
Schools like Shane and Interac will get a lot of applications, especially from overseas. If you have a TESL certificate and teaching experience, you should have quite a leg up on the candidate pool. There are a lot more jobs that you can apply for if you're in Japan versus if you're overseas so I would say your chances are pretty high. Look for jobs on gaijinpot or ohayou sensei since a lot of those hire applicants in Japan.
The only issue I'm worried about is your tourist visa. You're not supposed to be looking for a job while on a tourist visa so I can't say if that will hurt your chances in trying to obtain a work visa. Not very knowledgeable in this area unfortunately. |
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nightsintodreams
Joined: 18 May 2010
Posts: 558
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| Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 1:34 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| "The pool of candidates who applied are all of a high calibre". |
Hahahaha! Ahem...yes, I'm sure that's true. |
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Kaizer7
Joined: 07 May 2014
Posts: 8
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 1:42 am Post subject: |
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Yeah right? I'm sure they hire a bunch of people that just graduated University and has no experience what so ever.
It is true that there are a lot of jobs on GaijinPot and some that will sponsor but from my experience they want you to have a valid working visa already... This is where the frustration sets in. |
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jtea
Joined: 22 Apr 2014
Posts: 69
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| Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 1:53 am Post subject: |
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| Kaizer7 wrote: |
| Yeah right? I'm sure they hire a bunch of people that just graduated University and has no experience what so ever. |
This is JET in a nutshell and it's so frustrating :/ (although now I'm glad I wasn't accepted into JET)
| Kaizer7 wrote: |
| It is true that there are a lot of jobs on GaijinPot and some that will sponsor but from my experience they want you to have a valid working visa already... This is where the frustration sets in. |
Keep checking Dave's and Ohayou Sensei. Over the last few months, I saw a lot of jobs that were willing to sponsor a visa if needed, but they required you to already be in Japan. |
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