Job Discussion Forums

[tim_watts]

I have several interviews this month with Heart and Interac[/b]

Heart and Interac have all told me that I need to be flexible with regard to where I am eventually placed. I don't know what Shane will require.

Could any one here kindly help answer some questions?

If one company gives me an offer after the interview and I accept, do they then proceed to get me to apply for a visa with them alone, without knowing where I will end up being located?

Do they wait until the visa application process is at a late stage and then tell me where I will work?

If after they tell me where I will work and it's in some boring rural location (IMO) in the middle of nowhere, can I then change my mind and decline the offer?

Can I then accept an offer of another job with a different company/school?

Will I be able to get visa sponsorship with someone else?

Thanks in advance.

[Glenski]

Stop any considerations with RCS and Heart. They have had far too many bad stories (and I mean horrible!) to even think about them.

As for locations, why be so picky? I mean, really! You are going to travel a few thousand miles to teach (right? teach, not party and get paid for it), and you will experience a new culture no matter where you are, urban or rural.

Furthermore, even the giant chain eikaiwas present and past have held off on telling people locations until 2 weeks prior to being put there, and things have not been awful. The bigger the employer, the more chance there is that he is having a devil of a time sorting out who is leaving a location (many foreigners bolt at the last minute), and who actually needs a new employee to add to the existing roster.

[tim_watts]

Thanks very much for your reply. I guess everyone has their own particular preferences. I absolutely love living in big cities and I hate living in rural areas. Just my personal preference. Some people might be the complete opposite.

Therefore, I want to be located fairly close to an urban centre. I would state that at interview.

I wouldn't decline lightly, I don't like letting people down. I would only decline their offer at a later stage, if they had told me it was very likely I would end up in a suburban/urban area and they later gave me a position in the middle of nowhere.

[Bread]

[seklarwia]

[Glenski]

[seklarwia]

[benshi]

I agree, for out of country March/April hires this is already on the late side. We completed our Spring hiring back in mid-November, and we'll start filling our summer openings in March and April.

[OneJoelFifty]

I've just spent the last very rewarding 9ish months working for Heart, they're not ideal (mainly due to the pay) but certainly don't count them out. If you want to ask me any questions drop me a PM, I'm actually also 29 and from London.

[mspxlation]

Even if you're sent to a rural area, you're bound to stay there only for a year, and that isn't such a long time. You will then possess "a proper visa" and can job hunt in areas that are more to your liking.

Furthermore, Japan's superb transportation network allows easy escapes to larger cities on your day off, and there are few cities in Japan that *don't* have an expat population.

An added benefit of a remote location is that it forces you to learn Japanese. While everyone under the age of about 70 has had at least three years of English instruction, many have not used their English since they left school.

[OneJoelFifty]

[inuzuki8605]

[tim_watts]

Thanks for all your helpful replies. I think accepting an offer in a rural area would be the very last option for me, even if just for a year. I would want to try everything I could to get a position in a city first. Like I said, just personal preference. I still plan on learning Japanese either way. I'm generally good at putting myself in situations where I'm forced to use the language, wherever I am.

Anyone know which companies or schools primarily have positions in cities?

Since it may end up being a bit of a lottery, I may as well increase my chances by applying to places where the majority of positions are in urban area.

Thanks again in advance.

[Glenski]

This should be an obvious given fact, but I'll throw it out anyway.

Come here, and you'll have to have lots of money to support yourself from landing to first paycheck. That's hard to judge how long, but you have to be safe, so plan on 2-4 months. A lot depends on the time of year you come, and on what your qualifications are, how you interview, and what type of job you are willing to accept.

Stay in your home country, and you face far fewer opportunities. Not that many places recruit by going abroad to your home country. Those that do have a limited number of countries where they send people, have their own schedule (some interview year round, but not all do), and you will still have to pay to attend the interviews (1-3 days long). So, if you live in Canada or the U.S., you may have to travel a long distance for that, and pay for it.

These are all facts that have been around for decades. Now, what are the advantages of taking a rural vs. urban position? Well, it may also depend on just how rural some are. I live in a city of about 150,000; my wife considers it a hick town. Hey, with only one department store, what can you say? You might find bigger or smaller places that are still considered rural. Also, how far you are from an urban city will vary, but most of the time transportation here is good. You just have to think about how often you will need to "get out" or how often you will even have the time to do so! There is a lot to be learned in either environment, so really think hard about why you don't want to be in a rural place. Do those reasons really outweigh the chance to fly thousands of miles from your home to start an adventure (as some see it), or to get your feet wet in a new career, or to explore a new culture? Seriously think about it.

Lots of entertainment in cities, yeah, but what do you really need/want/have time for when you start a new job in a foreign land?
Lots more opportunities to be immersed in Japanese language if you live in a rural place, yes, but you can still learn the language, meet people, and explore the culture in the city. (Big cities are inherently alike, too, with skyscrapers, shops, bars, museums, sporting events, etc., so bear in mind that Tokyo or Osaka may not appear outwardly that different from New York or London.)

You should keep in mind that you are coming here to do a job, not be paid to frolic, too. Too many people have that frame of mind. I won't harp on this, but it's a sad truth for some people.

[OneJoelFifty]