Job Discussion Forums

eIn0791207912 · Joined: 12 Jan 2009 Posts: 33

... im looking to work/teach in Hokkaido next year or so (i really love the cold).. was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this newsletter. some things ive read were good, some bad. u know how that goes though.

it just seems rather expensive to throw $50 at something that has just been copy and pasted from free sites (if thats the case).. plus, does anyone know if thats a one time fee or a renewable subscription? and, what r my chances of finding non-teaching work up there?.. ive been teaching in korea for 3 years, so im fully prepared to teach if i have to. it'd just be nice to do something else for a change.

thnx in advance
..ein...

ssjup81 · Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 2:25 am Post subject:

You pay the $50 and it lasts for one year. Also, it's not really a "copy and paste" thing, but more like companies submit the information there when in search of employees. I know this was all explained on the webpage.

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

It is not as easy as you might think to get job listings for Hokkaido. Essentially, you have to piece together the so-called cut & pasted items you referred to. That means visiting a fair number of sites yourself, most with different update schedules. The HI publishes the ads it gets (not cuts & pastes) the moment they are received, so there is no delay.

Suit yourself. Work your tail off trying to gather what someone else has already gathered. Besides, you can also get (for free) a heckuva lot more information from the HI.

Oh, and if you think spending $50 is expensive, you might want to reconsider coming here altogether.

eIn0791207912 · Joined: 12 Jan 2009 Posts: 33

jeez, lighten up guys. i never said all it was was cut and paste stuff, just that it might be the case. it is the internet. its not like there isnt a scam on every other web page. since ive never seen a copy of it, i would never make the judgement that is was.

second, yes, i know japan is expensive. duh, who doesnt? but $50 is a significant amount to throw at something that isnt worth it. i dont care who u r, nobody drops $50 on something and is like "meh, just money"... secondly, seoul is rather expensive as well. its not like ive been living in middle of no where thailand for 3 years.

and i never said my time teaching here should earn me a place higher up there. i expect to do eikaiwa or ALT work for a couple of years. its not completely out of the realm of possibility that there is some non teaching work. or that there is some non-traditional teaching work (i.e., teaching employees at a company or gov't workers). outside of the major urban centers is usually where foreigners have such luck.

Glenski, u sound rather angry. ive read ur stuff before, usually, no matter the question, u always end up throwing in a "the market is flooded right now". and then u make some quip about how its not so great to live there. combine that with these somewhat unwarranted and negative attacks on me, i'd say u r either A - really bitter about living there and r projecting this negative attitude out on everybody. or B - just trying to keep as many people out as possible. perhaps there r "too many foreigners" in japan for ur taste. of course, i guess if we asked, u'd consider urself to be the only welcome and worthy foreigner of the bunch, huh?

Cool Teacher · Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 10:07 am Post subject:

Hello sir or lady!

I dont have expericene in Hokkaido but I went there once and it was very nice (Sapporo and Otori). I just want to say dont fell down about the negative vibes. Cool

Good luck!

ssjup81 · Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 10:31 am Post subject:

Sorry, didn't mean to come across as negative. I was just telling it like it is. ^^

Never Ceased To Be Amazed · Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 6:59 pm Post subject:

Plus, SMS writing shortcuts sux...

NCTBA

Apsara · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 2142 Location: Tokyo, Japan

Non-teaching work for foreigners tends to require specific skills and experience. Outside teaching, the work you will find most foreigners doing in Japan would be in the fields of IT, finance and translation. Entry-level jobs in Japan in these fields for non-Japanese are pretty much non-existent, so you would need some prior experience.

Most of these jobs are in Tokyo and Osaka as you would expect- Hokkaido has a relatively small percentage of Japan's population, so very few foreign companies have offices there. For IT and finance jobs good Japanese skills are a definite plus, but it's possible to get a job without them (although far less now than it used to be). Translation obviously requires excellent Japanese skills.

There are also quite a number of foreign chefs in Japan- they usually require 10 years experience in their profession to get a visa here.

As for Glenski constantly saying "the market is flooded", I'm afraid that is because it is the truth, and it has been the case for the last year or more, which is why he keeps saying it, even if its not what you want to hear.

Japan is currently experiencing its highest unemployment rate in its post-war history- how can anyone say anything but "the market is flooded"? Saying "there are plenty of jobs, you'll find one in an instant" would be very misleading.

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

flyer · Joined: 16 May 2003 Posts: 539 Location: Sapporo Japan

I am in Hokkaido and have been here for quite a while. I have used Hokkaido Insider and have found it to be a good service.
IMO it is worth it

cvmurrieta · Joined: 10 Jul 2008 Posts: 209 Location: Sendai, Japan

I'm not living in Hokkaido. But when I was looking for a job prior to finding my current one, I did apply to a couple of positions through HI. I agree that it is worth the 5000 yen.

ssjup81 · Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 11:00 am Post subject:

I like the Hokkaido Insider. The only problem as far as I'm concerned, is that I don't have some of the qualifications for the jobs since some don't mind recruiting overseas applicants, but you have to be in Japan for the actual interview or need a TEFL/TESOL certification (which was something I wanted to do over there, since I want to teach over there).

Other positions seem to be those for like maybe tourist-oriented areas where one needs an advanced level of Japanese language ability (my Japanese is pretty basic since I don't have much of a use for it here or more of an opportunity to use it here).

Other employers, from what I've noticed, tend to want people who already have experience teaching in Japan, which I have none of since I've never been there. I'd love to apply to those jobs, but fear that I would get overlooked since I do lack that requirement, even if I have the rest of them.

One place I called up since I had a question since they never got back to me. They were nice, but said that they couldn't take anymore applicants, and apologized a lot, but said that they will keep my name and such for the spring since my e-mail was overlooked and seemed to appreciate the fact that I took the time to actually call. Even though I didn't get the interview/job, I'd still consider that a positive experience.