Aeon fail, ECC is next

[mzamike]

Hey all,
So I had my Aeon interview a few weeks ago and sadly was not offered a position. The envelope at the end is a pretty dramatic way to end things...haha. but after i cried my way home and drank my sorrows away I applied to ECC. I couldn't find much on JF about their interviews but i know it's almost the same deal but with a lengthier grammar test. Luckily i won't have to fly all the way to Toronto but a nice, short flight to San Francisco! So is there anyone here that currently/previously worked for ECC that can give me some tips for success, or their interview experience so i can prepare myself a little? Any help is much appreciated. Thx.

[GTJ]

Originally Posted by mzamike

Hey all,
So I had my Aeon interview a few weeks ago and sadly was not offered a position. The envelope at the end is a pretty dramatic way to end things...haha. but after i cried my way home and drank my sorrows away I applied to ECC. I couldn't find much on JF about their interviews but i know it's almost the same deal but with a lengthier grammar test. Luckily i won't have to fly all the way to Toronto but a nice, short flight to San Francisco! So is there anyone here that currently/previously worked for ECC that can give me some tips for success, or their interview experience so i can prepare myself a little? Any help is much appreciated. Thx.

Last I heard, ECC had frozen hiring. This was back in the spring, so it might have changed.

There are tons and tons of unemployed foreigners floating around here looking for work so, like ravenous fish in a small tank, when the tiniest of morsels floats down into their midst, it is almost instantly devoured.

So... good luck!

[mzamike]

um thanks, haha. yea i know the competition is fierce. i honestly thought i nailed the aeon interview so i was surprised when i didn't get it. just goes to show that not everything is for sure. and at least i learned something from it.

[GTJ]

Originally Posted by mzamike

um thanks, haha. yea i know the competition is fierce. i honestly thought i nailed the aeon interview so i was surprised when i didn't get it. just goes to show that not everything is for sure. and at least i learned something from it.

Did they tell you WHY you didn't get it?
I dunno about you but I'm really highly qualified and from what I've seen of most of the English teachers here, a lot of them are poor excuses for human beings. So why I keep getting turned down for positions, I will NEVER figure out. The competition is "fierce", all right, but more than anything I would love to see who these companies are hiring, because the only other foreigners I've met here that are really decent, qualified people with good hearts and good heads, also can not find work.

It's crazy, man. It's a backwards world.

Are you applying from your home country or are you in Japan? If you're actually here it boosts your chances greatly.

[Sangetsu]

English conversation schools are rather strange places, though they have gotten a little better since Nova went under.

Firstly, appearance is important. Conversation schools want attractive people, the kinds of foreigners which Japanese people see on television. You want your hair cut shortly and neatly, and you want to dress as well as possible. Be bright and energetic, smile a lot, like a Sunday school teacher for kindergartners.

Next, too much experience is a bad thing. Conversation schools like to hire younger people who are just out of university. Younger, less experienced people will be less likely to want to jump ship after they arrive in Japan. Too many people go through the process of getting hired at a conversation school just so they can get their foot into Japan with a work visa.

It's too bad your interview with AEON didn't work out. Many businesses in Japan are operating in "survival mode" at the moment, and are hiring only when absolutely necessary. AEON has a decent reputation among teachers, though I hear ECC is a better place to work.

Good luck with your ECC interview, let us know what happens there.

[GTJ]

Originally Posted by Sangetsu

Too many people go through the process of getting hired at a conversation school just so they can get their foot into Japan with a work visa.

It doesn't work any more. I've applied to over 80 schools and companies and not a single one of them is willing to sponsor a work visa. Most of them cite that it's because it takes too long and they want someone now, but, well... yeah.

[Nathan]

Eikaiwas also don't like experienced/qualified teachers, because they are less likely to put up with shady managers.

A couple sites you should take a look at before trying to get into one:
Let's Japan.org | Debunking Eikaiwa and Ramblings in Japan
Dave's ESL Cafe

GTJ - What sort of visa do you have now / can you get a hold of a working holiday visa? I think they are quicker to obtain, although you can only work part-time on them.

You could always, you know, have a shotgun wedding and get a spousal visa

[GTJ]

Originally Posted by Nathan

GTJ - What sort of visa do you have now / can you get a hold of a working holiday visa? I think they are quicker to obtain, although you can only work part-time on them.

I'm American, we don't get working visas

Currently on the 90 landing permit, just submitted all the paperwork for a Certificate of Eligibility (which precedes a visa, if any of you don't know) since one place was kind enough to help me out, but if it actually gets accepted remains to be seen. Immigration officers have a horrible reputation of being extremely moody.

You could always, you know, have a shotgun wedding and get a spousal visa

Now, because I know you mean that in an innocent, joking way, I can't get mad at ya, but it's worth pointing out that I came close to punching some employers in the throat for saying this to me. I'm currently dating a Japanese girl, we live together, and have been together almost a year now. However, it's a real, honest relationship that we want to go at the pace at which it will go; we've discussed marriage for visa purposes, and we've both decided it's a bad idea. So when employers tell me (this has actually happened), "well, you're a fantastic candidate and we'd love to hire you, but we don't want to/can't sponsor your visa. Why don't you just marry your girlfriend?", and I'm hearing it for the twentieth or thirtieth time, I'm sure you understand my desire to react violently. First off, isn't getting married without even having a job just a little irresponsible? Second, who the f(*&^ are you to talk to me about my personal life (to the employer, not you)?

Sorry if it sounds like I just flipped out... I haven't really gotten to vent about it, and when youv'e been rejected for jobs as many times as me, it starts to wear thin on ya.

Er, so the point is, if you don't have any particular aversion to it, getting married for a visa is a viable option. However, there are requirements... you can't just get married to someone on paper and say "see ya later".

[Sangetsu]

As far as I can tell, your main problem in getting a job is an issue with timing. Schools (including conversation schools) begin classes in the late summer, early spring. Hiring for the spring semester starts as early as December, hiring for the late summer/fall begins in June. The times outside these periods are hiring "dead zones", where new people are hired only when a current teacher quits unexpectedly.

To get a work visa, you need only a few things, your original college diploma, an employment contract/agreement, and a signed sponsorship form. The employer doesn't have to do much of anything short of signing the forms, you can take them to the immigration office yourself.

I assume you have made the general preparations for job searching, but if you haven't, here's what I recommend. First, a navy-colored suit with a conservative tie, a black leather belt, and black dress shoes with leather soles. You should have your hair cut short, and very neatly.

Your resume is important, but you need a Japanese-style resume. A Japanese resume is only 1 page, with a shoulders-up color photograph of you wearing business attire. Do not smile in the photograph. You should have copies of your resume in English and Japanese.

Get an ESL or other kind of certification. If you don't have the time to go to school and get one, just make one up yourself on Microsoft Word and print it out on thick, parchment-colored paper. The majority of these certifications aren't accredited anyway, and aren't worth the paper they are printed on -except in places like Japan. Don't worry, even if you did take a proper ESL teaching course, you would never use what you had learned there, you'll have to use the school's curriculum and materials (which they sell to students).

Be confident at your interview. Smile, be direct, and make them think that you are the right person for the job. If they ask you to rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being best), don't hesitate to immediately say 5. If they ask why they should hire you instead of someone else, simply tell them that you think you are the best person. Don't mention your personal life, whether you have a girlfriend, boyfriend, or whatever is not relevant, and will hurt your chances more than help.

Good luck.

[GTJ]

Good advice for the aspiring Japan-being-inners out there, Sangetsu!

Originally Posted by Sangetsu

Don't mention your personal life, whether you have a girlfriend, boyfriend, or whatever is not relevant, and will hurt your chances more than help.

Good luck.

Especially because this completely disarms you and lets the employer off the hook as far as visa sponsorship is concerned; like I mentioned before, they will almost invariably tell you to marry your significant other.