I have a couple topics I'd like some feedback on. I'm committed to moving to Japan on a possibly permanent basis and want to move soon (have a friend living in the country who's positive I would love living there) as all I'm doing right now in my current area is spinning my wheels. I think trying to find work and establish myself will be somewhat similar (language barrier aside) to how it was when I graduated from college-- start off taking whatever you can get and then establish connections and get to where you want to be. I've made overtures into the field where my degree and most of my work experience lie (TV/film), but I didn't get much response apart from a few initial inquiries and some names to contact whenever I do make the move. However I'm in my early 40's and am obviously doing a bit of an overhaul with my life by wanting to move to a new country and start over. I've known about the age bias in Japan in regards to hiring and have read the accompanying article about it on this site. But to me it seems more geared towards native Japanese than a foreigner coming into the country. Would the perception of an older foreigner from a country with a different set of ideals regarding employment (i.e. not staying with one company most of your life) be any different than a Japanese native at my age? My friend said that there could be a novelty factor if there was a somewhat-older American working at, say, a ramen-ya. Mind you I'm not expecting to gain a work visa and enter the country through a ramen-ya even though my preferences for a job remain wide open. But after obtaining an intial work visa, would there be certain fields where being an older American might be an advantage or even simply a novelty or kitschy thing for me to get work elsewhere? I don't really care if I'm looked at as a novelty of sorts. I can deal with it.
As it is, I'll have to get a work visa through teaching at an eikaiwa. I have no prior teaching experience and beginner Japanese language skills at this point. I've sent my applications into a few of the places that don't make you fly to a city for a recruitment session but unfortunately didn't hear back from them. I have an aversion to the ones where you have to fly to a city to interview with them, but the aversion is more financial and convenience-based than anything else (can't we all just Skype an interview and demo in this day and age?) I do wonder if my age is a factor despite emphasizing that I'm committed to being in the country for the long term if not permanently (which I think would be an advantage over applicants in their 20's looking to stay for a year or two and have some fun). I've been in touch with a headmaster for a small immersion school, and he said that my age would be a mild red flag although it's more of an issue of wondering if I'd be able to physically keep up with the demands of the work week.
So for now, I'm torn between A) continue to look for work while in the U.S., and now likely have to apply to schools that require a fair amount of money to visit for recruitment despite no guarantee of getting a job, or B) fly to Tokyo on a tourist visa in March, stay with my friend, and hope that I can find something when the school semester starts in April. The face-to-face feedback I've received has been for the latter. The headmaster in question came in on a tourist visa and found eikaiwa work within a couple of weeks during March when the teacher contracts expire. While he did admit the unknowing of whether he'd find a job or not was nervewracking, he also summed it up by telling me "Tokyo has 9 million people and a ton of eikaiwas-- you should be able to find SOMETHING." The people who have been the most vocal for the latter are the local Japanese, who are telling me that physically being in Japan and establishing face-to-face connections with eikaiwa reps are far more important than just emailing an application and show a greater passion for wanting to work there. My primary fear is that I scour sites like O-hayo Sensei and see that soooo many of these schools are not amenable to giving work visas to people in the country on tourist visas.
Sorry for the length, but I tend to be thorough with my writing. Comments/advice/criticism/help will be appreciated. Would any hiring agencies even touch a guy like me with my age and skillset? Can anyone supply me a list of eikaiwas that have been known to give work visas while being in Japan? And would the eikaiwas that passed me over and seem to be amenable to giving work visas there possibly change their opinion if I resubmitted an application in person?
As it is, I'll have to get a work visa through teaching at an eikaiwa. I have no prior teaching experience and beginner Japanese language skills at this point. I've sent my applications into a few of the places that don't make you fly to a city for a recruitment session but unfortunately didn't hear back from them. I have an aversion to the ones where you have to fly to a city to interview with them, but the aversion is more financial and convenience-based than anything else (can't we all just Skype an interview and demo in this day and age?) I do wonder if my age is a factor despite emphasizing that I'm committed to being in the country for the long term if not permanently (which I think would be an advantage over applicants in their 20's looking to stay for a year or two and have some fun). I've been in touch with a headmaster for a small immersion school, and he said that my age would be a mild red flag although it's more of an issue of wondering if I'd be able to physically keep up with the demands of the work week.
So for now, I'm torn between A) continue to look for work while in the U.S., and now likely have to apply to schools that require a fair amount of money to visit for recruitment despite no guarantee of getting a job, or B) fly to Tokyo on a tourist visa in March, stay with my friend, and hope that I can find something when the school semester starts in April. The face-to-face feedback I've received has been for the latter. The headmaster in question came in on a tourist visa and found eikaiwa work within a couple of weeks during March when the teacher contracts expire. While he did admit the unknowing of whether he'd find a job or not was nervewracking, he also summed it up by telling me "Tokyo has 9 million people and a ton of eikaiwas-- you should be able to find SOMETHING." The people who have been the most vocal for the latter are the local Japanese, who are telling me that physically being in Japan and establishing face-to-face connections with eikaiwa reps are far more important than just emailing an application and show a greater passion for wanting to work there. My primary fear is that I scour sites like O-hayo Sensei and see that soooo many of these schools are not amenable to giving work visas to people in the country on tourist visas.
Sorry for the length, but I tend to be thorough with my writing. Comments/advice/criticism/help will be appreciated. Would any hiring agencies even touch a guy like me with my age and skillset? Can anyone supply me a list of eikaiwas that have been known to give work visas while being in Japan? And would the eikaiwas that passed me over and seem to be amenable to giving work visas there possibly change their opinion if I resubmitted an application in person?