Job Discussion Forums

tuff gong · Joined: 23 May 2006 Posts: 5 Location: Toronto

Hello all, I hope everybody is enjoying their holiday season.

We are currently getting about 35 cm of snow in southern Ontario. Shocked

I recently completed a TESL course with Oxford seminars and I am presently looking for a teaching position in Japan. I have 2 degrees, an honours in History and a recently completed Economics degree. I am also hoping to find a job in the financial area after teaching for a year or so.

I am aware that there is a flood of teachers in Japan right now and I'm wondering what the best way of securing a decent job would be, short of going there myself and looking (I worry about Visa regulations).

Would it be prudent to teach for 6 months in Korea or China first, then move there? Is it better to look in big cities or smaller cetnres? I was in Japan a couple of times and I'm familiar with the culture.

I have a decent resume and cover letter.
Any advice would be appreciated.

Sincerely, James

G Cthulhu · Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 7:14 pm Post subject: Re: looking for work in Japan

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

If for some reason you are afraid of coming here and looking around, your options are limited to about a dozen places that come to you, or to some rare phone interviews (which I consider risky). If you can come here, be prepared to support yourself for 3 months or so (roughly US$4000).

With fresh degrees in history and economics, do you have any work experience for that desired goal of financial job? Personally, I don't think you stand much of a chance unless you have quite good Japanese language fluency. If your goal is working in finance here in Japan, learn as much Japanese as you can, and see about trying to get your foot in the door by getting a job in Canada or the USA first, with an outfit that has a branch office here. Visa regs say that you have to work there a year or more just to qualify for the intracompany transfer visa. Common sense says few companies will hire an inexperienced person and trust them to work abroad right off the bat.

Take a gander at the FAQ stickies and ask more questions if you like. I also suggest looking at www.daijob.com/en for advice on non-teaching jobs. You could also go to www.gaijinpot.com and ask around, but there are a lot of flamers there, so beware!

G Cthulhu · Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 1:20 am Post subject: Re: looking for work in Japan

From: tuff gong
To: G Cthulhu
Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 7:22 pm
Subject: get a life
>>>I'm guessing you are jaded and never really found life very interesting. Your sarcasm is not needed. Why don't you harass somebody else. Yes I would like to teach for one year or maybe 2, so what? Don't bother me anymore.<<<

Dear James,

Thank you for your PM to my in box. I always find it entertaining to get passive-aggressive email from people that can't cope with even the mildest of what they mistakenly think is criticism. I'm sorry that you can't see the humour in my post and assumed I was being anything other than helpful. I'm sure that you'll figure out the difference between harassment and actual advice about where to find an answer to your questions one day. In the meantime, I suggest you continue to read the boards more often and concentrate more on figuring out why some people post certain ways when they're asked the same question 500 times a year by tourist teachers too lazy to read the FAQs or do even a modicum of their own research.

Good luck with your teaching holiday. Confused

Love & hugs,
G Cool

Quibby84 · Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 643 Location: Japan

I just found out about this really cool thing. Ok, so you know JET right? They are probably the best way to come to Japan, honest, good money, etc. Welll...a lot of big cities in America have sister cities in Japan. Many of those cities send teachers back and forth, they use the same contract and pay as JET.
For example, I think my town's sister city is springfield, ill (or maybe that is because I watched the Simpons recently) BUT anyways...check in to it.
Find out if your city has a sister city in Japan, it may be your ticket to a coveted job in Japan.
Dont give up trying to find a job...the next few months is probably the best time to look...so get on it!
good luck.
Wink

By the way, never feed fire with fire...it only makes the fire bigger...you understand? Best to feed fire with water or one of those spray thingies... Wink

AndyH · Joined: 30 Sep 2004 Posts: 417

I agree with Quibby. It might be worth your while to apply for JET, especially if you don't mind waiting a while.
There are a few eikaiwas that hire people in North America via phone interviews, etc., and now might be a good time to apply for positions that will open in March/April.

And Quibby's right about the feeding fire thing. Even if GCthulhu was kind of a dick, it's best just to ignore him (or her), just like he/she could have ignored you. Life's too short to get caught up in these types of quarrels.

Good luck!

chan_konabe · Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 2:41 pm Post subject:

I agree with AndyH and Quibby84, the JET Programme is the best for someone in your situation. However, I'm sure that the application deadline for the 2008-2009 year has recently passed. It's usually sometime in the mid to late fall for the following summer intake. Spend your time now building up your English language teaching experience so that you'll stand out among the crowd when applications for 2009-2010 start late next year.