Job Discussion Forums

[aSt]

Hello All,

I'm a 26-year old American woman putting together my CV to Teach English in Japan.

I double majored with a BS in Business Management and a BA in Communications. I am also TEFL certified through UK-TEFL, a program I attending whilst living in England (I am a dual citizen with the UK).

While I meet the requirements employers look for in terms of holding a Bachelor's degree and being TEFL certified, I lack actual TEFL work experience. I've been in the restaurant/bar industry my whole life. It's what I did to put myself through college and also to supplement an income whilst traveling.

As a result, all I have to list on my CV in terms of work experience is bartender or server with a few business internships from University.

I'm hoping to be in Japan, with a job, by the New Year.

My question is, when it comes to putting down work experience on my CV, how far back should I go since I don't have actual TEFL experience? Should I list my business internships as well? I know CVs are more straight and to the point than American resumes so I don't want to waste the employers time.

Thank you so much for your interest and I'd appreciate any advice you can give.

[G Cthulhu]

Given the background, go back ~5 years. Address the job types in the cover letter: "I want to put my training to use and expand my career" or some such bollocks. Remember, with your qualifications you're going for entry level work, so no one will be looking at the work history too closely. If anything, it's a potential plus in that if you've been working for a few years (& can make it look steady) then you are one up on the 20-something fresh out of college.

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

I think you should list your internships.

If all your experience is in restaurant/ bar then I would list employers from the time you finished your degree, and for the ones you had while in university, maybe a single line of part time employment while in school. You could flesh out your resume by putting in a 'personal interests' section and emphasizing travelling and different countries that you've been to, assuming that the travelling involved going to different countries.

I've heard that the eikaiwas are being very, very slow when it comes to new hires these days (or at least placing them in positions), and other than eikaiwas you won't find many jobs starting before April in Japan (which means that between now and then, you could start teaching ESL in the States, even if it's just voluntary and then be able to put it on your resume).

[Glenski]

You have the minimum requirements that most newbies have:

a bachelor's degree
little to no teaching experience

The fact that you want to start work in January is not going to work in your favor. Nov to early Feb is a dead time for hiring.

Either get a working holiday visa and scramble like heck to find work during that period, hoping it will lead to something FT, or look at other options.

[aSt]

Great, thank you for all the input. I'll go back about five years. The travel came in between or during jobs so I can list that amongst any gaps to explain. I'll also list the business internships briefly and touch up on them in the cover letter. Thanks for all the help!