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illflip
Joined: 29 Aug 2005
Posts: 16
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 Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2005 7:16 am Post subject: Areas in Japan with the most employment opportunities? |
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| Wassup guys. I'm planning on landing in Japan with a Working Holiday Visa in November of this year. I plan on staying mainly as a holiday, but I do want to find work to supplement my adventures without having to wait too long. I have a Global TESOL certificate so English teaching jobs would be preferred, but I will not be picky at first, as long as the pay is reasonable. I look to find a job as soon as possible when I arrive at my destination so my question is what area of Japan would you all recommend in terms of finding the most employment opportunities? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. |
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Mark
Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Posts: 500
Location: Tokyo, Japan
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| Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2005 7:25 am Post subject: |
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Tokyo is usually considered the place with the best employment prospects.
You could also try going somewhere with few, if any, foreigners, like Wakayama or Akita. |
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ava77
Joined: 03 Jun 2005
Posts: 100
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| Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2005 10:21 am Post subject: Short term employment |
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| Sorry to burst your bubble byt..........I don't think your chances will be good at finding temp work. Most companies want you to sign a one year contract and will hold you to it. |
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guest of Japan
Joined: 28 Feb 2003
Posts: 1601
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2005 12:10 pm Post subject: |
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| I agree with Aya77. You can find some conversation lounge work in Tokyo, but the pay is horrid. In Japan the working holiday is more work than holiday. Schools want teachers who make a commitment. If you ever pay for a newspaper add you'll understand why. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2005 12:48 pm Post subject: |
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| Need I add more negativity to the above comments by saying that November is a terrible time of year to look for work. Only December is worse. |
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illflip
Joined: 29 Aug 2005
Posts: 16
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| Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2005 6:30 pm Post subject: |
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| I think I phrased this wrong. Committment to me is not a problem. I do not mind working full time hours. Why is November such a terrible time to go? Do you mean in terms of the peaks of hiring? I was thinking Tokyo is such a large city, how can you not find a job there? I'm not so bent on just a teaching job at the moment either. Maybe I can work a temp job, for looking for a higher paying English teaching job at the same time? |
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Henry_Cowell
Joined: 27 May 2005
Posts: 3352
Location: Berkeley
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| Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2005 6:36 pm Post subject: |
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| What are your levels of proficiency in spoken and written Japanese? |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2005 8:41 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Why is November such a terrible time to go? Do you mean in terms of the peaks of hiring? I was thinking Tokyo is such a large city, how can you not find a job there? |
Mainstream schools and lots of eikaiwas hire for April start dates. There is a minor surge of hiring for October start dates. After that, the number of jobs available decreased significantly. November is bad simply because it follows the October start dates, so not much is left, and December is the worst time (not long after November, but I'm sure you can read a calendar) because schools and companies are preparing to shut down for New Year vacation.
Temp jobs for teaching are just not that common here. Places prefer contracts, and they are usually a year long.
What sort of non-teaching temp job did you have in mind? Don't know anything about your background. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 12:27 am Post subject: |
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| illflip wrote: |
| I think I phrased this wrong. Committment to me is not a problem. I do not mind working full time hours. Why is November such a terrible time to go? Do you mean in terms of the peaks of hiring? I was thinking Tokyo is such a large city, how can you not find a job there? I'm not so bent on just a teaching job at the moment either. Maybe I can work a temp job, for looking for a higher paying English teaching job at the same time? |
You dont actually say what skills you have for a 'temp' job, how you would find such a job (through an employment agency but all the ads are in Japanese) but I would say Japanese proficiency and a valid work visa would be at the top of the list. People on working holiday visas are working tourists, and as such are not considered for regular jobs and the WHV is not a work visa.
Here is a link to the Working Holiday Makers association website which helps holidaymakers find jobs in Tokyo.
http://www.jawhm.or.jp/
Many of the types of jobs that people do on a WHV are low paying, low-skill menial type jobs that dont really require Japanese language skills: English teaching, ski instructor, working on farms, bar work (generally allowed but you cant work in night clubs and dance halls) not part time clerical office work.
Tokyo is a big metropolitan city with up to 14 million people. Im sure there are jobs around but its a huge city, very expensive to live in and to move around. You have 23 wards and 12 self-contained cities in the Tokyo metropolitan area.
You will need to spend money on a mobile phone so employers can contact you, costs for travelling around on trains, postage or Internet, as well as related living expenses such as meals etc. This is even before you find a job.
You would need to have sufficient funds to live on for several months until you find a job and get a paycheck. even if it takes you a week to find a job you wont see a paycheck for up to 6-8 weeks, and WHV holders pay 20% in taxation. There are a lot of foreigners living in Tokyo and you are competing with people who have teaching experience degrees and working visas. A few low paying jobs exist like G@B@ that its possible to work at, but I wouldnt really expect to live on it or get a fair shake from your employer and I know that G@BA teachers get a fairly raw deal. People with very few choices will take those low paying entry level jobs which is why employers offer less and less in salary these days.
One last point:
Immigration is now very strict on people doing different jobs outside their visa status. Thought its technically possible to "temp" (which really means you are a non-permanent dispatch worker at a non-school japanese company e.g. clerical work) on a working holiday visa on most full time working visas you will not be able to do non-teaching or other unrelated jobs if you have an Instructor visa. Immigration will make you change your work status. Be sure that your visa allows you to do certain jobs before you go for an interview. |
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