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mikeffd
Joined: 02 Jun 2005
Posts: 25
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 Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 9:15 pm Post subject: How do I get a job in Tokyo?? |
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Hello all
I want to get a job (teaching english) specifically in Tokyo. How do I secure a job there, while still in Canada??
It seems only the big corporations like GEOS, NOVA, etc are able to get you all the incentives (accomadation, reimbersement of transportation, etc), BUT they can't ensure that you are placed at the destination that you request.
What would you guys advise me to do??
I'll have an undergraduate degree soon - in sociology of all things - and I have lots of experience teaching children. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 10:26 pm Post subject: Re: How do I get a job in Tokyo?? |
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| mikeffd wrote: |
Hello all
I want to get a job (teaching english) specifically in Tokyo. How do I secure a job there, while still in Canada??
It seems only the big corporations like GEOS, NOVA, etc are able to get you all the incentives (accomadation, reimbersement of transportation, etc), BUT they can't ensure that you are placed at the destination that you request.
What would you guys advise me to do??
I'll have an undergraduate degree soon - in sociology of all things - and I have lots of experience teaching children. |
Just a heads up here:
You pay your own airfare to Japan from Canada but you get a small bonus at the completion of your contract that will cover your airfare. Quit mid-contract you get nothing
Transportation covers the costs to get to and from work within Japan, not your airfare.
You can ask for a placement but there are no guarantees. people are now waiting up to 7 monhs for a placement with NOVA so a lot depends on availability and openings. They will not guarantee you get Tokyo (which is huge by the way, there are 12 cities within its boundaries and 23 wards of inner Tokyo).
You have to decide whether to come over on your own and look while you are here or take your chances with the big boys and get hired from Canada. Getting to where you want to go is nothing but a lottery. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 10:56 pm Post subject: Re: How do I get a job in Tokyo?? |
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| mikeffd wrote: |
| HI'll have an undergraduate degree soon - in sociology of all things - and I have lots of experience teaching children. |
Worse things have happened, some people come with no degree at all and are on spouse visas. The degree is for your visa and as long as you have graduated and can get a work visa, any bachelors degree is acceptable. Most companies provide some basic training once you arrive in the country and start work. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 10:59 pm Post subject: |
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mike,
In addition to what Paul has written, let me say that there are very few guarantees to finding work here, despite what people may say about needing only a pulse.
To get visa sponsorship while you are still in Canada, you have only about a dozen schools that will recruit from abroad.
NOVA
GEOS
ECC
AEON
Altia
James English School
Peppy Kids Club
Language House (no web site, but they occasionally post here)
Westgate Corporation (offering 3-month stints only, but with full visa sponsorship)
Earlham College (similar to the JET programme, below)
and the ever-popular JET programme (not a school, but a government sponsored program)
You are at the mercy of their recruiting schedules and locations.
Being Canadian, you have an option of the working holiday visa. Get it (without sponsorship, mind you) in a couple of weeks, then pack your bags and come here to look for work. Yeah, it's more expensive to support yourself while you look for a job, but you open more doors simply by being here. The choice is yours. If you can't afford this option, you'll have to rely on the above schools. There is really no other choice. |
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mikeffd
Joined: 02 Jun 2005
Posts: 25
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| Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 11:20 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the help everyone.
What about applying for a job posted on websites like gaijinpot.com or ohayosensei? I know most of them won't pay for accomadation, but at least I'll be able to work where I want. Are these places legit? |
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JimDunlop2
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Posts: 2286
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 11:29 pm Post subject: |
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Impossible to generalize. (Regarding jobs posted on gaijinpot and ohayosensei). Legit as in actualy English schools? Yes. Legit as in, will pay you on time, what they're supposed to and adhere to their respective contracts? Results may vary.
The only generalization I can make is, most jobs on gaijinpot require you to be in Japan/already have a visa (i.e. will not sponsor) though they may renew.
The other generalization I can make is that you can expect not to hear back from 99% of the places you apply to -- especially from overseas. Even though they may not explicitly say they won't hire/call you unless you are in Japan, many do implicitly mean that. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2005 1:10 am Post subject: |
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To add to Jim's post, if you have any questions or doubts about the employers posted anywhere, bring your questions here, and we'll try to answer them. The biggest red flags are...
1. They want you immediately, visa or no visa in hand. Sometimes this happens when a teacher bails out on them suddenly, but the employer still has to realize what it takes for a foreigner to leave his home country, as well as to get a visa.
2. Lengthy contracts and/or contract clauses laced with legalese. This often suggests that the employer has had problems before with foreign teachers (whose fault it is, is unclear), and is just trying to protect himself from recurrences.
3. Weird clauses in the contract. Take these case by case. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2005 1:18 am Post subject: |
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| mikeffd wrote: |
Thanks for the help everyone.
What about applying for a job posted on websites like gaijinpot.com or ohayosensei? I know most of them won't pay for accomadation, but at least I'll be able to work where I want. Are these places legit? |
To add to what Jim wrote, most want you to be resident in Japan, have a vaild work visa and if you call them, they will suggest you send a CV and contact them when you arrive in the country. They will not take a chance on sponsoring someone who is 5,000 miles away and still at university, with no hope of getting sponsorship. Get your degree, and then start contacting schools.
One other point: apart from the big schools, there are estimated to be about 16,000 language teachers in Japan, including those on the JET program and working at NOVA etc. That means there are thousands of mom and pop schools with staff rolls from only one or two teachers to those in the dozens.
Most are above board, but keep in mind that employers here are required to abide by labour laws here, and illegal clauses in the work contract are still illegal. They are counting on you not to know what your rights are, what you are entitled to and what is a fair contract. People like Glenski and I who are long termers here have have a lot of people decipher and 'translate' their contracts for them to see if they are legitimate and above board.
The only advice I can give is not sign the first thing you come across, dont sound desperate, and give us an indication of what they are offering you. it is easy to spot red flags if you know what you are looking for, but I would guess in your case you would have no idea.
Most of the big schools are above board, they have to obey the laws here, but most new teachers who have never held a full time job before, let alone in a non-English speaking country, often have an unrealistic or rose-tinted view of what they can expect, or worse, they view it through the prism of what they think a job is like back in Canada. This is a foreign country with different laws and different work culture. There is probably not much getting around what ever they offer you and haggling over terms or salary is not done here. The best you can do is have an idea of what you are looking for e.g. location, area, salary, conditions, accomodation, holidays etc, and see what each school offers. You wont find any school that offers all of what you want but you will likely have to compromise.
As a university graduate you dont get to call the shots to your boss, so the best idea is to come with a big school, dont be too choosey and get some experience. Learn about teaching and learn the ropes.Once you are here and have taught a while then you can shop around.
Firing off emails to far off places and expecting to get hired sight unseen when employers can not even offer you sponsorship and you are still in Canada is an exercise in futility IMO. They will simply tell you to come to Japan first. Would you apply for a job in Japan without meeting your boss or seeing where you will work? they take as much of a risk on you as you do on them, at least in the beginning until you have earnt your wings here.
PS I just saw Glenskis last post. the kinds of things that employers put incontracts are too numerous to mention, but as he says sometimes employers have problems with employees (there are a LOT of flakey and irresponsible, immature people who get jobs here too, its not just employers at fault) so they put clauses in there to keep workers on a short leash. Some of the more common ones:
Clauses banning teaching of privates or having second jobs while sponsored. Teaching privates is legal in japan, as is moonlighting.
Clauses that include fines and penalties. It simply means the employer doesnt trust his own employees, and whats more such clauses are illegal under the law.
Excessive control over your private life and who you can meet or associate with outside work. Meeting with Japanese staff members and/or students in your free time are outside your employers control. Once you knock of work you are free to do what you like and meet with who you like. I would advise keeping contact wit students on a professional level as some use their students to make dating partners. the student is your bosses customer, not your private property and they can fire you for unseemly conduct.
Transportation is usually provided though its not Japanese law. Avoid companies that do not pay transportation to get to work. This can add up to several hundred dollars a month out of an already small salary.
Very few companies will fly you to Japan and JET is the only one I know of that does this, and this is at taxpayer expense.
Read the fine print on medical insurance cover. Hospitals are very expensive here if you get sick and medical insurance is a necessity. Most language schools will wiggle out of giving adequate cover though they are legally obligated to pay 50% of your monthly premiums if you are full time. Moves are afoot by the unions here to change employer thinking. |
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