Job Discussion Forums

bluetortilla · Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 815 Location: Henan

Hi.
I will be moving to Tokyo from January, and although I've heard it's difficult to secure a job before going, I'd like to start the process now.
I've lived in Japan (mainly Fukuoka) for twenty years, have as much teaching experience, and I have the JLPT 1. I have a permanent residency visa, was an exchange student at Sophia University, and ran my own eikaiwa business for over ten years. Besides teaching, I am interested in business, trade, proofreading, and translation.
My question is how to best utilize the net to job hunt now. What are some good online agencies, forums, government employment sites, etc. Japanese is no problem.
Any help is greatly appreciated as always.
Philip

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

Kind of hard to imagine why you don't already know the answers, considering your background.

Have you looked at the FAQ stickies for links? Exactly what sort of teaching job does a 20-year veteran with JLPT1 want?

If it's only the type of work you listed at the end, then ESL Cafe is not exactly the site you need. I can tell you that proofreading/editing is fiercely competitive, as is translation work.

bluetortilla · Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 815 Location: Henan

Yes, I understand what you mean.
Where I'm looking for help is in the possibility of securing work before I go back to Japan. I've never tried that before. Most employers require you to be present in the country before they will hire you. I thought perhaps because of my experience, visa, etc., I might have an advantage in securing work before my departure. For example, I wouldn't mind at all an ALT position for starters, but could I be considered while here in the States? Is Interac a good organization to approach?
I know that JET hires from overseas, but the process takes way too long for me. I also know some of the big chain schools hire from over here, but frankly I would rather not work for most (but not all) of them; no offense to anyone.
I have spent the last ten years running my own little eikaiwa school in Fukuoka, enjoying my independence and proofreading/translating on the side. That's gone, alas, and I needed to come back home for some months for personal reasons. There's a lot going on in the field now that I don't about. And so I'm looking for recommendations to good agencies, resume databases, schools, etc. For example, is J-REC any good?
To finish rambling, I know that the ESL Cafe is not the right place to look for work in the business field, but I thought perhaps someone here might know of a good link that would be.
In the meantime I'll explore those stickies' links. Thanks for the help.

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

bluetortilla · Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 815 Location: Henan

I'm 45, by the way. As regards my residency status, I have been out of Japan for six months. You are allowed 3 years and I have my re-entry permit.
That's the thing, I really don't know, other than running a school, what kind of positions might be available to me in the field of eikaiwa. I know that once in Japan more lucrative positions can be found through networking, but in Fukuoka at least many people seem to be stringing jobs together.
I don't have a Master's but I know that it is at least possible to get a university job without one (I've done it), but you usually apply and interview way in advance.
As a small business owner, I dealt with many people (staff, service people, salespeople, advertisers, etc.), and I learned many skills useful in marketing and promotion. I wrote my own ad copy in Japanese and must have handled over a hundred or more sales closures. I'd like to put these skills to use, if not right away then later, but I'm not sure how to get started other than throwing my resume out there. Thanks for the leads though.

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

bluetortilla · Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 815 Location: Henan

Yes! Career Cross and Daijob are great starts. It looks like I have enough links now to start a hunt in earnest. I'll post how it's going in a few weeks. Thanks for the help and encouragement Glenski.
I closed my business, by the way, for many complicated reasons which I don't need to go into here. I will say this though: the school down the block suddenly began to seriously out-compete us. For two years i fought back with every marketing strategy in the book. From a business prospective, we could have weathered and done well once again. There were other factors though that precluded that from ever happening and had nothing to do with business.
You are right in your assessment of not being able to get a decent job in universities without a master's. I won't even try (though I would pick a part time gig if it just happened to come my way). I do know of at least one man though who does not have a master's, is not bilingual, and has a wonderful full time position at one of the universities in Fukuoka. So you never know.
Finally, no, I have no desire to be trying to eke out a career in eikaiwa or any similar EFL positions. That sounds mighty depressing. I just have to reconcile myself to the fact that I might HAVE to do that kind of work for a while. Truthfully, I'm most interested in trade between Japan, other Asian countries, and North America. And the more independently I can operate the better. But to break into any business environment, instructor or otherwise, would be my most realistic hope for right now.
Now to throw my credentials around!

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