Job Discussion Forums

[coiol]

I'm planning on taking out a working holiday visa for Japan and going over in October to study Japanese for a bit and then look around for work. I understand that the eikaiwa conversation companies hire year-round, so I may end up there at some point during the year.

However, I would much prefer to work in the public school system if possible (I'm currently working at a public school in Seoul), and it looks like they have two start periods: April and October. If I take the working holiday from October and get it extended, that gives me until the end of September 2010 to stay in Japan. As a Canadian I can only extend once for a total of 12 months. I'm not sure what I want to do after that period is over but I'd like to keep my options open, so how would things work if I were to take a public school position starting in October? If the work visa were to start after my working holiday visa expired, would I have to go back to Canada (or another country) for a few weeks? Would I be able to bridge the gap with a tourist visa?

I'm not sure that I'd take a public school position but I'd like to make things as easy as possible just in case that situation comes up, so when would be the best time to start the working holiday visa?

Last, how many public school companies will hire from within Japan? I know JET doesn't, but how about Interac and Heart? I would probably be most interested in a position in or near Tokyo if possible, although I realize that this may mean lower pay.

[Glenski]

1. If you want a WHV, you have to return to Canada to apply.

2. If you want a public school job, you will be an ALT. Those jobs are hired either by the JET programme or dispatch agencies. The school year begins in April, so most ALTs from dispatch are hired before then.

3. Check with your country to be sure that you can change from WHV to work visa without having to leave Japan. Some require it, I think.

[coiol]

Yeah, I'll return to Canada in August to get the working holiday visa and then sit around for a month doing nothing before going to Japan. I'd like to start the working holiday thing as soon as possible to reduce the downtime, but I was hoping to be able to cover my bases and avoid doing a visa run back to Canada if I find a public school job starting October 2010. Since it looks like they usually don't cover the airplane ticket, it's a lot better for me if I'm able to stay in Japan the whole time.

Do the 1-year work visas for Interac/Heart/anywhere else typically start right on the 1st of the month?

[Glenski]

[seklarwia]

I've seen many an advertisement for direct hirer but only from applicants within Japan. And yes, dispatch companies do recruit from within as well. Our Interac interviewer told us that most of their Tokyo positions are filled with internal recruits (she also mentioned that their Tokyo schools often ask for quite a bit more than the minimum requirements for their ALTs, such as Japan public school experience and Japanese language knowlegde, which you should bear in mind)

Problem is that by starting in October you are not only limiting yourself to a much smaller selection of jobs, but you could also be limiting yourself to positions that may have been abandoned for various reasons. Maybe the old ALT left because they got home sick or had a emergency back home. Equally they might have left because the school was a nightmare.

Maybe you should get the WHV, see if you can change it in Japan to a work visa, then start job hunting for school positions at the end of this year (as in December-ish onwards, not academic year). If you see a job you are particularly interested in, maybe you should think about cutting short the working holiday and just start the ALT job next April.

[Glenski]

[coiol]

So the public school jobs mostly begin in April? In Korea it seems like there's two rounds of hiring for public school jobs so a lot of people start halfway through the school year. Is this not the case with the Japanese schools?

If I were to start in April when would be the best time to look for a public school position?

[Glenski]

There is a small surge of hiring for October start dates, too, but by far the greatest number of jobs start in April. You will see a lot of ads in March, but the ALT dispatch companies may hire a few months earlier.

The JET Programme puts ALTs in public schools, too. Check their once-a-year application deadline, depending on your nationality.
www.jetprogramme.org