Job Discussion Forums

ScruffyPete · Joined: 17 Apr 2010 Posts: 12

Hi,

I've looked around a little bit but I couldn't find anything on this so forgive me if its already been said, but I'm a second year uni student in the UK, I intend to begin learning the Japanese language this summer with a view to moving over and teaching next summer or later.

Obviously learning the language is a big undertaking for me and I don't want to end up spending the huge number of hours its going to take and find that I can't find a job in the end.

So what I'm asking is, if I graduate with a 2/1 or first from a good university in the UK (Sussex) in Politics and am prepared to do a TEFL course and teach anyone except primary school kids, what would you say the likelyhood is that I won't be able to find a decent job within, say, 6 months?

I'd probably apply for EEC and AEON, as these are the options I've heard good things about, but others once I've done more research, I think JET could be an option as well, but I want to either be in a big or middle sized city or within a short journey to one - especially for going out at night.

Thanks a lot to anyone who can advise, obviously I'm not looking for anything too exact,

Pete.

projectrook · Joined: 08 Jan 2010 Posts: 45

That is hard to say, in fact may be impossible. Some people are hired after their first application and interview while others wait much longer if at all. Not everyone who is looking will find a job in Japan. Especially with how flooded the market is. Gone are the days where there were 10 jobs for every 1 applicant. Especially if you are looking for a job where you won't have to teach primary students. You are really slicing your options down.
There are many factors that go into finding a job in the ESL market.

1) Can you write a good enough resume/CV? This is what gets your foot in the door. If you can sell yourself well enough as someone who is of value as well as can be easily molded into what the school is looking for, then an interview is possible. However, if the resume is lacking and/or shows a lack of flexability, then one's odds drop to single digits.

2) How well do you interview? Can you seem relaxed, open, and engaging? For ECC, AEON, and JET it is at least a full day interview and one must be on point the entire time. Also during the interview you must be able to do a mock lesson. For the most part, they don't give you a step-by-step plan on how to do so, rather they want to see how you will approach the lesson. If you get stage fright, stumble over words, look down, cannot control your volume, these will hurt your chances.

3) How flexabile are you? Are you willing to work just about anywhere in Japan? Are you willing to go to Japan when they want you to go? If not, then you are competing with others who are, and if the only deciding factor between canidate A and B is their flexability in location and time, well then obviously you know who will get the job.

4) Many many of the potential students will be primary students. Can you change your mind about this? If you come into an interview saying "I'd rather not teach young kids", then especially for ECC you might as well not even go to the interview. If you plan on teaching at any eikaiwa, you must know that it is a school AND a business. And nobody is going to want to hire someone who has no desire to work with 40% of the customers. Now if you want to do something in the field of ALT, you will have a little more of a chance of not having to teach primary students, but again you are limiting your options. And, asking the interviewer "Do I have to teach young kids?" is not going to score any points anyways.

5) When will you start sending out your resume and applications. Some schools hiring all year round while others have specific windows for accpeting applications and will only do things on their terms. ECC just happens to be one of the ones you mentioned that does all year hiring, but again your desire to not teach young kids pretty much dismisses any chances of working for them.

These are just a few that come to me right away. Before starting the interview process, you might want to reflect on these questions as well as your own reasons for wanting to do this. If you are looking for the easiest job with the closest locations to major cities for night life fun, then you need to know you are going to be competing with others who are looking to work hard and really dont have off-time fun on the top of their lists. And if this is the case and if you are really looking for some kind of number, then I'd give you a 5% chance of finding anything in the 6 month window you asked about, and to be honest I dont think you will ever peak above 15% at all.

Bread · Joined: 24 May 2009 Posts: 318

To add to that, the stuff about your degree is fairly meaningless. I had to Google to find out what 2/1 and first whatever meant, and I'm sure most Japanese companies won't even do that much. The only thing you especially have going for you is that you're a UK citizen, so you can get a working holiday visa and probably find some part-time work.

ScruffyPete · Joined: 17 Apr 2010 Posts: 12

Thanks for the reply,

I think I'm fine with fine with 1) and 2), these are in fact the things which I'm least worried about.

When it comes to 3), I am very flexible except I don't want to be waiting a very long time (like over half a year, is that likely? If it is I'm sure I can change my mind.)

4) Okay, I'm going to look a bit fickle now, I would teach kids, even little ones, at least if the job does involve older kids / adults as well. I just don't want to be teaching them exclusively.

on 5), this is a bit complicated, as I implied earlier, I'm not sure how long the gap between applying and actually going out is going to be, how long would you say? A couple of months? I finish university in April / May and I need a few months to earn enough money to pay for the flight (and I want to always have enough for a return ticket), and a few other things, so I'd say July / August would be the earliest I could leave.

p.s. I dont plan on even going out a huge amount, I will work hard, I can just imagine needing to get a bit of time off as well.

Any more thoughts would be appreciated.

projectrook · Joined: 08 Jan 2010 Posts: 45

ScruffyPete · Joined: 17 Apr 2010 Posts: 12

Right,

The first thing is to say, I should be able to save up enough money, and absolutely that will be fine if I'm most likely to be hanging around until after the new year.

Well, if you say I'm unlikely to find work in a big city, soon I'll have to do some research about more rural areas in Japan and decide if I would be happy there. I'm probably going to say yes.

I'm assuming most of the face to face interviews would be conducted in London then, for UK citizens, is that fair? Luckily that's where I live.

I really do appreciate your honestly, projectrook. I do see myself making a lot of compromises here, but I'd rather get a job over there than pass up opportunities because I'm being unrealistic.

Thanks Bread, but how much difference do you think a good ESL specific qualification makes then? As in the difference between a very long respected course and a shorter, cheaper one?

ScruffyPete · Joined: 17 Apr 2010 Posts: 12

Sorry to "double-post" but I want to clarify my last post.

I'm thinking about doing a CELTA course, this will cost me about �1,350 (that's about $2000 if you're American, isn't it?), so again, it is a big decision for me, do you think it would be a significant asset when looking for a job in Japan?

Never Ceased To Be Amazed · Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 7:20 pm Post subject:

Most English "teachers" go to Japan to find work not even knowing the basics of English grammar. Do you have blond hair and blue eyes? If so, then yer in like Flynn. Or, is that an unused phrase anymore?

NCBTA

projectrook · Joined: 08 Jan 2010 Posts: 45

ScruffyPete · Joined: 17 Apr 2010 Posts: 12

I think I will then, but the question still remains, would a CELTA course be best?

Even if I am applying for jobs which are mostly teaching children? - Bearing in mind the name of the course is "Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults"

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

projectrook · Joined: 08 Jan 2010 Posts: 45

ScruffyPete · Joined: 17 Apr 2010 Posts: 12

I'm not sure how much I can add to the discussion now, but nor any newbies in a similar position to me, I'll say how I feel after hearing your replies and give a couple of clarifications.

@ Glenski, thanks for your post, I'd apply a few months after, once I have enough money I'd go through a CELTA or TESOL course (if I decide it's worth it)

I will keep my mind open and compromise about locations and teaching kids.

I also think I will wait and look for longer, and sorry if I mislead you, but I will definitely look for all kinds of jobs, I was just mentioning a couple.

Again, thank you for your time (and opening my mind up to these difficult decisions I'll have to make), it will be a year at least until I really begin looking for jobs, and it's possible things may have changed a bit since today.