In Japan/Job Search/Job Offers

Okay, okay, it's been a long time and I'm done neglecting this blog-ready to let everyone know how AWESOME it's been since I've gotten to Japan!

Arrival: December 2nd
The first thing that I had to do before I could do anything else is go through about 5 days of horrid jet-lag (wherein I woke up at 1-3 AM every day), and then get a pretty nasty cold (transferred to Paul). That all lasted about a week.
...Did I say I had to do that BEFORE I could do anything else? My bad. Though I was dog-tired and a little sick, it didn't stop Paul and me from running around Kyoto and seeing a lot of amazing things. That first weekend we were downtown checking out temples and retail areas. Paul's friend Pablo (otherwise known as "Paul") stayed the night with his friend Ibuki - with whom I made fast friends. Ibuki took me out in Kyoto with her friend Eriko and I got to see Pontocho Dori (where the Geisha/super powerful business men do their meetings), Nishiki Market (a famous and very Japanese market), and Yasaka Shrine. They were truly invaluable tour guides!

Down to business: December 10th-ish
After the initial sighting-seeing fun-time, I started spending my days finishing my TEFL certificate, studying Japanese, and getting accustomed to my new surroundings. I applied for several jobs through gaijinpot.com and got some interviews! Then I got some second interviews!

I was only invited to interview at two schools, both private schools for children and both fantastic companies. They both offered me a job (about which I was honestly surprised)!! I really, really hate turning down a job offer - but what choice did I have? I chose to work with Kyoshin Company-Universal Campus. It is more of a corporate type of school, but I felt at home when I interviewed and when I sat in during a lesson. I would have been very happy with the other company, but not AS happy :). I'm relieved, excited, and eager to get started. I will be teaching children aged 0-10 in groups of 4 to 5. I will have two months of training, very good benefits, and I get to go school trips!! I can't wait to share my experiences with this school with you all.

So to the people who've seen my blog by searching for how to find a job in Japan, here are my tips:

1) If you, like me, will be in Japan and able to interview in person, set up interviews before you arrive, telling recruiters you're in the area. If you let them know you're in the area, they usually contact you within a day to set up an interview.

2) Figure out which industry you really want to work for (Children's English, Cram School, Business English, etc) and make a killer cover letter for it.

3) Put a really spectacular profile on gaijinpot.com, with a unique title like "Enthusiastic and friendly native teacher with 2 years experience" - make sure you vamp up ANY experience you have with children, teaching, and training - no matter how small the experience

4) If you're in Japan already, get a phone number. Whether that means getting a phone or buying a Japanese phone number through Skype ($18), both recruiters called me directly (on Skype) and didn't email me.

5) If you're going to be in Kansai area (Kyoto, Kobe, Osaka, Shiga) there are some other good places to look for job listings such as Kansai Flea Market (kfm.to) and KansaiFreeAds.com. Also look at Ohayo Sensai (google search it, it's a really valuable newsletter). I know there are tons of other resources, but these are the ones I used. Gaijinpot.com is how I got my job.

I know there's lots of other tips - these are just the ones that helped me personally. I don't know what made it so difficult for me while I was abroad, maybe I just don't look so good on paper. When you interview, make sure you have a super friendly and concise but excited personality.

More posts to come, I'm going to try and get my photo stream working so you can see what I've been up to!

Ciao for now!

Gaba Rejection

I got my application decision email from Gaba Corporation yesterday informing me that I was unsuccessful.

It was disappointing and definitely discouraging - as I did get the impression from other ESLers that getting a job with Gaba is like getting a job with McDonalds. Paul said that he sees advertisements for Gaba all over Kyoto, and they're all over the web...so it really looks like they're vamping up their recruitment and their business.

I can only hope the rejection is due to lack of positions in my very specific placement request (I wasn't very flexible with that), and not something about me personally as an applicant.

What I will learn from this interview process (though they didn't say anything to me about it) is I NEED to learn not to talk too much. I am a fast talker and I say a lot more than I need to get my point across. That's probably not too admirable in an ESL teacher...though I don't think it's detrimental to my abilities in getting a job.

Hopefully once I get to Japan I will be able to have much more successful job hunt. I will keep on applying to jobs while I'm here, but I have only TWO MONTHS!

I'm so excited!! Wish me luck in my future job search endeavoring!!

Gaba Corporation - 2nd Interview

The first interview with Gaba went quite well, though I know I gaffed once and I was a little worried about it for a while. She had asked me "Why choose Gaba (1-on-1 lessons) as opposed to a more traditional classroom setting as your career?" and I responded that since I was not formally trained as a teacher, I felt I would be more at ease in private lessons (way to point out your faults, Sarah!). She sent me an email nonetheless with an "interview task" which is basically a written assessment of my teaching and English skills.

I was then invited to a 2nd interview, which will be tonight. It is expected to last 40 minutes to an hour. My 1st interview was expected to last 20-30 minutes and it lasted 40 minutes...so I am not sure what to expect tonight.

Tonight is more of a formal assessment, and I'm terrified of what they will ask me to "put me on the spot". I have determined to rest well, eat well, and breath deeply all day...so all I can hope for tonight is that I am pleasant and have my wits about me.

Wish me luck!

Gaba Corporation - 1st Interview

I have been sending in resumes to different companies and finally got a response to one. I already know quite a bit about Gaba, and have considered all of the warnings against working there. The thing is, if they're going to sponsor my Visa, then I'll take it. Right now my prospect is going to Japan without a job and hitting the pavement. OR I can take a job with Gaba, have the Visa, and have something of an income. Here's how Gaba works:

-You are an independent contractor - meaning they don't pay any insurance or benefits. They won't even pay for your transportation (virtually unheard of in Japan).
-You submit your availability every month and then their "clients" (your students) will book lessons with you. If you don't get booked, you don't get paid. So basically the income is not guaranteed.
-They pay you so little that many consider it below their dignity: 1500 yen/lesson. Unpaid mandatory training, unpaid vacation, unpaid overtime.

Okay, so negatives aside, I see two shining beautiful opportunities:
1. Visa Sponsorship!!
2. Flexible Scheduling!!

So I might not get a lot (any) benefits and my pay is scraps. The good news is, if they hire me, I'll be legally able to work in Japan. That means I can use that visa to apply for part-time kindergarten jobs at small schools (the kind of job I really have a hankering for!). If a school hires me, I simply tell Gaba I cannot work during the hours the school needs me. I still fulfill my obligation to Gaba, and I have supplemental income.

People also complain about unpaid training. I'll just call it FREE training. I have paid for a TEFL certificate, which I am still working on and very grateful for it...but at least with Gaba I'll have additional training that I don't have to pay for, experience in a field of which I have a measly 3 months (in Chile), and it's a way to get to Japan.

I would, of course, like to hear from Epion, Kohgakusha, or Interac. It hasn't happened yet and I have turned in resumes a week ago. I want to "weigh my options", but I'm a beggar...not about to be a chooser!

So I have my first interview via Skype with Gaba tomorrow night. I plan on preparing but as this is my first interview for a job of this kind I'm kind of lost. I plan on having my notes from when I taught in Chile handy, studying my resume and cover letter, and perhaps journaling some answers to questions they might ask. I've heard that almost all of them ask "why Japan?" and "why this company/methodology?", two questions I've kept myself up at night thinking about. I really have faith in myself and hope they will see some potential in me.

Well, wish me luck!

Kyoto!

Paul got his official placement, and we're officially going to Kyoto, Japan! He leaves July 23, and I will be arriving December 1st. I'm spending all of November with family in St. Louis, Springfield, and Santa Cruz, and then I'm off! I'm hugely excited (albeit a little sad that I'll have to say goodbye to my baby for 4 months), and cannot wait to adventurize Japan.

We're going to be in the city of Kyoto (we're guessing), and Paul might be teaching throughout the prefecture-which means he might be teaching different classes at different schools. He will hear from his predecessor after June 20th and find out more about what his position entails. Once he knows for sure where he will be living and teaching, I can start getting serious about my job search. The great news about Kyoto is that the whole area is full of positions for English native teachers. ALSO, Kyoto is beautiful!! The whole prefecture (county) is full of amazing architecture and landscapes. Here's the city:
Click this here link!

And here's a country scape:

Now click THIS here link!

Just google search "Kyoto" and look at the images-I'm going to be up to my eyeballs in Japanese culture and beauty!

Here I come!

Placement Coming Tomorrow!

Paul just heard from his JET coordinator who informed all of the Colorado JETS that she has just received their placement information, and she will send them all emails by close of business tomorrow! I'm extremely anxious now and I know that tomorrow will be a very long day.

After we know his placement, we will look at the location and see if it's acceptable to us. The best case scenario would be if Paul were placed on Kyushu, which is the south island, for many reasons. One-there's no ambiguity as to whether we feel Kyushu is safe, Two-Uncle Brian was born on Kyushu (Okinawa) and it would give us more leverage to get him as a visitor, and Three-it's so nice and warm there! The ONLY drawback is that it might be buggy...well and it's kind of far away from Tokyo. However, Kyushu has a lot of great cities and beautiful buildings and spiritual sites, so my fingers are crossed.

You will be seeing another post from me very, very soon!

Tuberculosis

Paul just passed his tuberculosis test! Good thing, he studied so hard.

Anyway, that was the last thing he needed to get for the JET program so they could process his paperwork and now we just wait to hear back about his placement.

As an update, Paul got upgraded in the JET program and is now a participant. Provided his placement is what we have considered safe (and the safe parameter for us is much larger than the official Japanese government parameter), we are going to Japan this fall!

The only sad thing for both of us is that, if he goes, it will be on July 23 (yup, one day before my birthday) and I won't be leaving until November. From what I know, strong couples who dream big have to deal with these types of times apart as they pursue great big plans-so I don't consider Paul and I to be the exception.

If all goes according to plan, Paul's leaving in TWO months, and I am leaving in SIX!

I am very excited as I embark on the next phase of life, and experience these things that I'd only dreamed of before.

More info is on the way!

Tsunamis and Earthquakes

Poor Japan. What an extremely unfortunate week this has been. According to JapanToday.com, the death/missing person tolls are above 10,000. Whoa. The nuclear reactors are now releasing 4,000 millisierverts of radiation within a 20 mile radius, and 1,000 millisierverts are said to increase the likelihood of deadly cancer by 5%.

I looked up South Korea's radiation levels, and it seems like (because of the direction of the winds) they are unaffected thus far. Here is a news article to help ease your mind. I am going to have a serious discussion with Paul tonight about the possibility that Japan is just not going to work. I want to be with him for a long, long time...and not die of cancer in our forties!

Right now, I would love to either go to South Korea now, or go to Chile first and then go to Asia when things calm down. Either way, we are both set on traveling and living abroad by the time 2012 rolls around!

My thoughts and prayers are with Japan. I really hope they will recover from this tragedy soon. MUCH LOVE NIPPON!

Waiting...

Paul had his JET interview on the 17th of February. This isn't his first time getting an interview. Last time he was put on the "alternate" list which basically means "you're good, but not AS good as the peeps we want to employ". He feels a lot better about this interview so our fingers are crossed!

I must be a lot more nervous than he about the outcome, because I had a moving dream the other night where we both rented uHauls, left our apartments, and realized we had no where to stay. I'm sure the actual transition to a foreign country will be organized and exciting, and won't involve uHauls (can't drive one of them to Japan!).

I'm most likely going to wait until October or November before I move, regardless of whether Paul gets JET or not. If he gets JET, he will be leaving July 23rd (yes, that is one day before my 25th birthday....*tear*).

I'm just sitting and waiting right now, and very antsy to know what our next move is. I can't wait to actually get there and make this blog VERY exciting for all of you. I know it's fun reading about my nervous uHaul dreams and plans for applying for jobs and all...but won't pictures of Japan and stories of karaoke outings be just a little better??

Ciao for now!

One down, a million to go!

The JET office decided to forego the opportunity to interview me for their program this year. I shed a couple tears out of disappointment, stood up purposefully and declared "Well then, if they think I'm not a good fit for them, perhaps I am not! The company that I will work for is out there somewhere!", and I moved on.

I have been researching a lot of JET alternatives, and there are plenty of exciting ones in Japan. A couple really important perks of JET that I no longer have access to (in 2011 anyway)are:
1) Interview in Denver
2) Free round-trip flight to Japan
3) 300,000 yen/month salary

That's why JET is so competitive, they SET YOU UP! But another company that I think sounds fantastic is called Kohgakusha. They pay 260,000~280,000 yen/month, they subsidize part of your apartment (which, I might add, is generally twice as big as the JET apartments) and they place ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers) in the metro areas! We're talking Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka!! JET is mostly rural, but not as a rule. I think I would love a rural setting, but I'm not about to say no to urban!! Especially Japanese urban!

I need an interview. I'm alright on paper, but this thespian would blow an interview committee away! Give me a chance, people!

Much love, all!