Job Discussion Forums

[feathers]

Has anyone heard any information about couples working for Westgate Corporation?

My husband and I have applied and we have completed stage 3. We are hoping for the best.

At the last minute, they asked us a question that they apparently ask all couples: if one of you were hired, but the other couldn't be, would you be prepared for just one person of the couple to come for the job? We explained that we are not in that position.

Anyway, our application has been forwarded to the supervisor and it is supposed to take about 1-2 weeks for us to hear a decision about interviews.

I'm just wondering what others have heard about couples working at Westgate. Is the company really open to it? Have you heard good things?

[Glenski]

I have not heard of any couples being hired by them. Have you asked what housing is like?

[feathers]

Thanks, Glenski

They brought up the subject of housing early on in the application and asked us if living in a small studio apartment would be okay (we would basically share the housing fee). Although it would be small, we would still be okay with that. Because of our reply, it went to the next stage of the application.

Actually, they do say that they are open to couples applying as you read through the website and application form.

It just turned out that they brought up another obstacle type question regarding couples nearing the end of the application. Its gone to a supervisor, and we are waiting a week or two. It is frustrating waiting. Hoping for a positive answer.

[Glenski]

Well, it's nice to know they will accept couples even if one doesn't work for them. The term studio apartment is not a Japanese one, so you should be very cognizant of how small it is. Ceilings are likely to be low, too, which means you would feel it is even smaller. Have they provided a floor plan with dimensions, or given you another name for the place (1DK, for example)? There is information on that in FAQ sticky part 1 (item 4) in case you need it.

[feathers]

Thanks again, Glenski,

Regarding your questions, yes, they gave us the dimensions. Honestly, I'll live in a shoe box that is simply clean for a basically decent job. I'm just stewing away waiting for this supervisor to go through our application and set up an interview. I suppose patience is a virtue. And I'd love to hear about what other couples might have to say about living overseas. I like the idea of Westgate because of the short term contracts for one of a few reasons.

BTW, I've been doing quite alot of research online here at Dave's and other places to investigate the international overseas jobs, too. i noticed that you've posted advice to others regarding that, too, in the past on other discussion strings. My husband and I are secondary school teachers with LOTS of educ credentials (you know basically that package of MA's, BA's and TESOL diplomas, etc) and we've taught in 3 countries. So I've got over 20 yrs teaching experience, and he's got over 5. If you've got some ideas on this, advice is welcome!

I'm spending my Saturday here reading and researching this. Interesting what you find out. I'm currently looking to find some HONEST recruiters - noticed some people posted about joyjobs.com and other places. I've posted at the Indonesian job discussion board too, and someone is writing to me over there. What I wonder is if it is best to hire consultants, go the job fair route (but I do not like Search Associate's lack of any responsibility toward the teacher from what I've been reading), or put together the best darned CV package you can and start posting to the schools directly. I thought I'd send a message to Naturegirl at Dave's because she seems to be posting alot of good information about this topic. I notice that you post often, too.

Interested in your opinions. BTW, have you found any good avenues for researching good jobs in Japan? We've done the private language route already (it was fun in S. Korea, and how we met, actually), but we really do want to get some more "career" jobs going overseas. After all, we're ready to leave Australia for this if we can do it.

Thanks in advance, Glenski.

[HLJHLJ]

If you are looking for International School jobs. I.e. content teaching at secondary school, hit the job fairs. Some places preferentially recruit couples, and some won't take them at all. But you almost always get a better package overall as a foreign hire than a local hire, which is where the job fairs come in.

I had a fairly lengthy conversation with Westgate about working for them as a couple. The short version is they said they would try to place us both in the same area, but there was no guarantees. If we were placed close enough to live together we'd have the choice of sharing a Leo's Palace room, and splitting the costs, or having one each, in which case they would try to house us in the same block. We didn't apply to them in the end, so I don't know how it would have panned out in the end.

[feathers]

Thanks HLJHLJ,

That's about the same conversation that Westgate has had with us, too. So what did you two do in terms of both working in Japan? Any suggestions for other teaching couples?

[HLJHLJ]

My husband got a job first, I came out with him on a dependent visa, I got permission to work when I arrived and have picked up a couple of part time jobs pretty quickly once we were settled. Hopefully I'll get something a bit more steady in September/October when the new semester starts, otherwise I'll have to keep patching bits together until next March/April. We've always tended to move around for work, and generally one of us gets a decent job and the other follows and makes the best of it, so it's not any great change for us.

[feathers]

HLJHLJ,

Does that mean that in Japan, your husband's school sponsored your husband's Visa, and your dependent's visa? Does it also mean that in Japan that you are allowed to work on a dependent's visa? I'm also wondering, did your husband's company sponsor the apartment and allow both of you to live in it? Or did you two do things a little differently?

Thanks in advance for any response.

[HLJHLJ]

He teaches at a university and the apartment is subsidized and comes with his job. There was no issue with me living here as well, and he doesn't have to pay any more for that. (But he is responsible for utilities, possibly it would be different if his employer paid the utilities). His employer sponsored his work visa and my dependent visa. I am also covered by his health insurance.

The permission to work is officially called 'Permission to Engage in Activity Other Than That Permitted by the Status of Residence Previously Granted'. In my case it seemed to be just a formality. I went down to immigration filled in a form (in English) with something vague about teaching English in schools, universities, eikaiwa and private students, to cover all bases! Then I estimated hours and wage and that was it. I had to go back a week or so later and get the actual stamp in my passport.

I can work 28hrs a week, but if I earn more than 2.2 million yen a year it starts to cause tax problems, and I think I will have to register for health care in my own right. Hopefully by the time that happens I will have a full time job and will be able to get my own work visa anyway.

[Glenski]

Dependent visa holders are sponsored by their foreign spouses, not the spouse's employer.

DV holders are permitted to work only part-time and only with permission from immigration:
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/tetuduki/zairyuu/shikakugai.html
An employer may help out in the sense that they hire the spouse and MIGHT hand in the paperwork for both parties' visa app, but they do not sponsor the dependent for a DV.

I was under the impression that you cannot apply for the special permission to work unless you actually had a PT employer lined up. That is what is required on the application, anyway, not just an estimate of hours.
http://www.moj.go.jp/content/000050355.pdf
Tax problems may arise, yes, but I believe that comes if you make 1.3 million or more, not beginning at 2.2 million. I do not have that link at hand on my iPad.

Feathers,
Go to the FAQ stickies to see links for international schools and the recruiting fairs. You could also try directly applying; I do not know which is a better way. As far as I know most intl schools start their academic years in fall, so they probably recruit 4-6 months earlier.

I would guess that you might also be interested in teaching as solo teachers in a private JHS/HS. Those jobs are not widely advertised. I found mine in The Japan Times (paper edition, which has different ads from the online version of the classifieds). Word of mouth or ads in Japanese papers/websites are the more common routes. Feel free to PM me for the details of my 4 years as a solo teacher in one of those.

If you want university or jr college work, you have the degree minimum, but do you also have the publications? Most unis will not interview outside Japan, and competition is very high! See the FAQ stickies for more info.

The stickies have a plethora of ad sites, too. Start there. Nuff said.

[HLJHLJ]

Ah sorry Glenski, I thought it was the university that sponsored me, as they did all my paperwork and sent me my COE.

[pnksweater]

They may do all the paperwork, but the legal responsibility is the spouse�s. When you do the paperwork yourself, one of the necessary documents is a letter of guarantee. Basically it states that the working spouse is responsible for making sure that the dependent(s) act legally and aren�t a financial drain on Japanese society.

When I applied through JET, this letter was not necessary. I just handed in passports, marriage licenses and birth/marriage certificates. I have no idea how some organizations side step this process, but apparently there is a way to stream line the application.