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Aelric
Joined: 16 Dec 2009
Posts: 75
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 Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 2:10 pm Post subject: Little confused on ECC application plus Interac question |
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So, I filled out an application for ECC on their website, submitted it and they said they would contact me and invite me to a recruitment event in Toronto. Thing is, I live in Thailand where I currently work and am looking to transition directly from here to Japan, so is this event required or do they offer phone/skype interviews?
Also, I finalized my application to Interac, two days ago and have had complete radio silence, not even an email saying the usual "Thank you for applying" Spiel. No clue as to when or if they might contact me. Is corporate silence their way of doing things until they need you or am I just being nervous?
Anyway, thanks a lot, especially to Glenski who seems to be the rock star in the neck of the forums and helped me out earlier. |
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wayne432
Joined: 05 Jun 2008
Posts: 255
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| Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 2:31 pm Post subject: |
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| I think you should have gotten an automatic email on application from Interac, but I could be wrong... check your spam folder? |
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Aelric
Joined: 16 Dec 2009
Posts: 75
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| Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 2:41 pm Post subject: |
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Nope. Just the username and password to access my application and edit it.
Sidebar (I know, I'm needy). JET program: Would I able to apply from Thailand or would I have to return home and apply at the Japanese embassy?
Finally, My girlfriend is Filipina. I notice the Jet Program list the Philippines as a participant nation. Anyone know of Filipino's working in Japan as teachers? Because having her there with me, especially if we coordinate jobs into the same city and share an apartment, would make a year in Japan that much better instead of leaving her here to work piss poor salary like she is now in Thailand. Hell, she is teacher certified as well, if that would help. |
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Aelric
Joined: 16 Dec 2009
Posts: 75
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| Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 2:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Blah, never mind about the JET question for myself, a year long application process, regardless of where I live, is too long. Though please let me know if a Filipina teacher can find work there. She claims the only Filipinos she knows in Japan work as "entertainers" and nurses. |
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seklarwia
Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 1546
Location: Monkey onsen, Nagano
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| Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 3:34 pm Post subject: |
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I believe you will need to attend an in-person interview for both of them... you certainly will for Interac. But unlike for JET, where you will have to fly back to interview in your home country should you get past the initial screening stage, Interac will allow you to attend your nearest interview seminar session and I don't see why ECC would be any different.
The problem is that means you will need to fly to another country to interview since it would never be a viable option for any ESL company looking for "native" speakers to hold sessions in Thailand.
As for your girlfriend: If she is a native English speaking Filipino, has a full degree and has a personality that can get people to look past her Asian appearance (unfortunately there are still a few ignorant employers out there who either don't trust the authenticity of English coming from someone who looks Asian or believe that their customers will not be happy if their foreign teacher doesn't look foreign) then there is no reason that she can't get a job over here. I personally know a couple of newer Filipino ALTs and a couple from Singapore; one of whom even managed to score one of the gold dust direct hire positions with my last BOE.
If she has an internationally recognised teaching license/certification and has experience using it, she may be qualified for a rung up from entry level employment. |
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rxk22
Joined: 19 May 2010
Posts: 1629
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| Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 3:55 pm Post subject: |
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| seklarwia wrote: |
I believe you will need to attend an in-person interview for both of them... you certainly will for Interac. But unlike for JET, where you will have to fly back to interview in your home country should you get past the initial screening stage, Interac will allow you to attend your nearest interview seminar session and I don't see why ECC would be any different.
The problem is that means you will need to fly to another country to interview since it would never be a viable option for any ESL company looking for "native" speakers to hold sessions in Thailand.
As for your girlfriend: If she is a native English speaking Filipino, has a full degree and has a personality that can get people to look past her Asian appearance (unfortunately there are still a few ignorant employers out there who either don't trust the authenticity of English coming from someone who looks Asian or believe that their customers will not be happy if their foreign teacher doesn't look foreign) then there is no reason that she can't get a job over here. I personally know a couple of newer Filipino ALTs and a couple from Singapore; one of whom even managed to score one of the gold dust direct hire positions with my last BOE.
If she has an internationally recognised teaching license/certification and has experience using it, she may be qualified for a rung up from entry level employment. |
I have met some Filipino's at Interac, many are fluent or so. I fact I think half the ALTs are now Filipino at my branch. Well not half, but a huge % now. So, the GF in question shouldn't have any trouble getting a job here. |
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seklarwia
Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 1546
Location: Monkey onsen, Nagano
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| Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 5:03 pm Post subject: |
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| rxk22 wrote: |
| I have met some Filipino's at Interac, many are fluent or so. I fact I think half the ALTs are now Filipino at my branch. Well not half, but a huge % now. So, the GF in question shouldn't have any trouble getting a job here. |
I know of many Filipino ALTs. I only pointed out the ones who I personally know, as luck would have it, they were in one of my Interac meeting last year which means they made up approximately 10% of the group 
But I have Asian appearing friends here who still complain about some of the smaller employers. A good friend, an ex-JET CIR, was having a crappy time just finding eikawa work in my last "city" (as in a city in name). She'd been offered work in Tokyo, but like me, she'd grown attached to our "city" and was willing to take a pay cut if it meant she could stay. She is Canadian (born and raised) but has Chinese ancestory (Hong Kongese; so the truth is even her ancestors were English speakers. Not that it would make a difference). She told me of a particularly cringe-worthy interview where the boss was obviously shocked by her appearance and then started interrogating her as if trying to get her "true" nationality and to expose her as not being a real English native.
I've had similar awkward conversations with a few Japanese people; mostly police officers who seem convinced that my ARC info was wrong (and far more insulting ones with more than a few older Australians!... but that's an unrelated rant). I could have sworn that once an officer was trying to catch me out, even asking me things like whether I was from America despite him looking at my card which clearly states 英国.
And I felt myself shifting uncomfortably in my seat when some of my old PTA members came to greet me whilst I having dinner with her and even after she told them that she was Canadian, they then went on to guess where she was from.
So after experiencing and witnessing some of the ignorance and stereotyping that exists here, I am inclined to believe that she was not exaggerating in her description of the interview. I don't think it's a huge problem (certainly things have probably improved a lot in recent years) but nor do I think that it is so uncommon that it should be ruled out completely.
BTW, no, she didn't get the job... not that she wanted it after the interview. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 9:36 pm Post subject: |
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I don't have more to add except to back earlier remarks.
JET program:
You can apply from anywhere, but you will have to return to your home country for the interview. I believe that is in their FAQs.
ECC:
Don't know why they mentioned a Toronto interview (which will probably, yes, be required simply because they explain certain aspects of the business, not just ask you questions, plus they require a panel style interview and a demo lesson). Perhaps the reply you got was an automated one. Perhaps they thought for some reason you live in Canada. Hard to say without knowing what was on the information you sent them. Send them a follow-up mail to explain your whereabouts, but don't expect them to accommodate you more than to invite you to a Japanese office. I have no idea if they do online interviews, but I suspect not. Very few outfits do.
Interac:
Be patient. Two days for any employer is not necessarily long enough to get a response, especially from the largest ALT dispatch agency in Japan. I would also imagine that this is the time of year that they get their most applications for spring of next year.
As for your girlfriend, I wouldn't get my hopes up about working in the same city. The market is just too crowded nowadays to guarantee anything. Just tell her to apply, and both of you can choose the same cities where you request to work, but that's about as far as your control over the situation goes. I also wouldn't put all her eggs in one basket (JET), and I would forewarn her that many times Filipinos are looked at by employers and immigration with suspicion due to the human trafficking trade.
Best of luck. |
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Aelric
Joined: 16 Dec 2009
Posts: 75
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| Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 12:02 am Post subject: |
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Ok, wait, I'm gonna need to return to the states or fly to Japan before I am actually hired? With my wage in Thailand that is literally impossible unless I flew to Japan, was hired and could start all on the same trip. There are no companies that offer phone or skype interviews?
This is bad, bad, bad news. It takes two months on my salary just to buy able a round trip ticket to Japan and also pay the monthly bills. |
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seklarwia
Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 1546
Location: Monkey onsen, Nagano
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| Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 1:37 am Post subject: |
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| Aelric wrote: |
| Ok, wait, I'm gonna need to return to the states or fly to Japan before I am actually hired? |
Or possibly Australia, New Zealand or any other country where interviews are being held.
Why are you so surprised? It's just like any in-person job interview in any western country; you go to the employer, not the other the way round.
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With my wage in Thailand that is literally impossible unless I flew to Japan, was hired and could start all on the same trip...
... This is bad, bad, bad news. It takes two months on my salary just to buy able a round trip ticket to Japan and also pay the monthly bills. |
That's your problem, not the employer's. You may not be able to afford it but there are plenty of others who will manage to find the funds to attend interview seminars; why should the employers choose you over them?
Besides if you can't even afford the cost if attending an interview, how do you plan to pay for the often high set up costs to get established over here should you get hired.
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| There are no companies that offer phone or skype interviews? |
There are a few small companies that do. But try to look at it at the employers point of view:
The visa process, though relatively straight forward, is a lengthy one. Hiring somebody from abroad is not only time consuming but comes with potential risks especially for smaller employers since some foreigners have been known to use employers purely to score a visa then disappear as soon as they get their stamp, leaving their employer up the creek.
Plus, although in the major cities it might be easy to hire a new foreigner at short notice should the one they hire turn out to be one of the many uni-fresher types that think that ESL is the perfect way to fund their year of partying, out in more rural areas the smaller employers will likely be stuck with their foreigner for longer and will therefore want to make every attempt to make sure they are hiring a good fit for them. And the best way to make an estimation is with an in-person interview.
Very few companies hire without in-person interviews in our home countries... not even super markets. The same holds true here. |
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Aelric
Joined: 16 Dec 2009
Posts: 75
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| Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 2:08 am Post subject: |
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| I'm just reacting to the news. I thought the process was like Korea's where things are done remotely. My best bet is to fly to Japan and interview there, I suppose. By all account, visa sponsorship is a long process. If I flew over in December, got hired, would things likely be ready for me to start work in March/April? One thing is certain, returning to the states is impossible. Flying to Japan might work, but it'll take living on rice and salt for a few months to afford the ticket, hotel and other expenses. |
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seklarwia
Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 1546
Location: Monkey onsen, Nagano
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| Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 3:10 am Post subject: |
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| Aelric wrote: |
| If I flew over in December, got hired, would things likely be ready for me to start work in March/April/ |
Yes. Once you have found an employer, it shouldn't take more than 2 months for them to apply for and receive your COE assuming the paperwork is all sorted out properly. You can interview in late Jan/early Feb and still have enough time to get your visa sorted before work starts in April (the beginning of the tax year, and acedemic year so when most jobs start).
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| One thing is certain, returning to the states is impossible. Flying to Japan might work, but it'll take living on rice and salt for a few months to afford the ticket, hotel and other expenses. |
Again, I will stress the point of start up costs here.
Moving to Japan is often not a cheap affair. Many entry level employers will give you little/no financial assistance towards starting upover here. Some of the bigger employers might offer you a partial loan, but that's about the best you can hope for.
The JET motto: ESID (every situation is different), has become common place amongst most people in ESL because it is so very true.
Some eikawas might have an apartment that they can supply to their foreigner which may be furnished with furniture, appliances and utensils left by previous teachers and that will alleviate the issue of key money (a monetary "gift" to the landlord for accepting you as a tenant which is often 1-2 months rent) amongst others.
The insecure nature of contracts between dispatch companies and BOEs and the fact that BOEs like to change things up every year (including the schools that its ALTs are assigned to) ultimately results in many ALTs being moved into new rentals and having to foot all the possible moving in costs associated with that: key money. up to 2 months rent payment up front, security deposits, housing insurance, the fee and deposit paid to the gas man when he comes to hook up your supply, funishing (places like Leopalace will come with enough basic furnishings, but regular rentals will be an empty shell containing little more than a functioning bathroom, toilet and sinks with working faucets; you will have have completely furnish it right down to light fixtures.) Just moving into and making an apartment livable can set you back hundreds of thousands of yen. I moved into a new apartment in Jan and it set me back the best part of 400,000 yen. I moved again 2 months later but luckily my company foot most of the moving costs and I had all the new appliances already otherwise it would have cost me only slightly less.
And then everything here has sign up/start up fees: Mobile services, internet, landline (if you want one), etc.
And once housing and essentials are aside, you will still need to have enough money to live until you first get paid (including enough to cover travel expenses since most companies reimburse these costs with your pay). Employers here pay in arrears (they pay for the month's work on the pay day of the following month). If you start at the beginning of April but your company pays on the last working day of the month then you will get paid for April's work at the end of May... that means you need to have enough money in your pocket to cover living and travel expenses for upto two months before you receive your first pay cheque.
And no, this isn't some scam on foreigners. The majority of employers here (in all markets, not simply ESL) pay in arrears; it's standard practice in Japan.
Basically, you should touch down in Japan with at least 500,000 yen in your pocket to ensure you have enough to support yourself until your first payday. But even with this amount many people who end up with the higher end start up living and travel costs still struggle in those first couple of months. |
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Aelric
Joined: 16 Dec 2009
Posts: 75
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| Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 5:32 am Post subject: |
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| Well, that tears is. Unless some heavenly company falls out of the sky, I can't do Japan. I really don't wanna go to China and Korea has a stick up it's bum about my arrest without conviction. It's either stay in the Thailand trap or go home come March. I think I'm done in ESL if I just keep hitting these walls. Shame too, since I do love the work, but if it costs be literally half my yearly Thai salary to move to to a place where I make enough money to save anything significant, all on a 'maybe' at best of employment, plus costs of a job scouting trip, than it's just not possible. Thanks anyway, everyone. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 5:36 am Post subject: |
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If you flew over here in December, you'd better have an interview already lined up, because that is the deadest time of year for job hunting here.
Will you have things lined up visa-wise by April? Perhaps. Several weeks over New Year will have immigration offices closed. Plus, depending on the employer, who is to say when they will put in the application for your visa? They might wait until they have a bunch and then process them all at once. You're not even going to know where you're placed until 2 weeks before you start working anyway. That's because BOE's don't give them enough info.
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| I thought the process was like Korea's where things are done remotely. |
Read more of the FAQ stickies or elsewhere on the Internet. The process is pretty widely known.
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| I'm gonna need to return to the states or fly to Japan before I am actually hired? |
For JET, yes. As for the others, I will echo what seklarwia wrote. You are in no position to bargain.
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| It takes two months on my salary just to buy able a round trip ticket to Japan and also pay the monthly bills. |
I don't know how much you make, but this statement suggests that you are living from paycheck to paycheck, not a good situation anywhere in the world, but certainly bad if you are not in your home country. |
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