What's new

Working for ECC

endoskell

後輩
8 Oct 2006
1
0
11
Does anyone have any input on ECC. How do they rate compared to the other large companies? What are the pro's and con's? I have interviews with a couple of the large companies (NOVA, AEON, GEOS) and from what I've heard ECC is probably the best of the 4. If anyone could help me out that would be great, especially someone that worked or is working for ECC. thanks
 
Does anyone have any input on ECC. How do they rate compared to the other large companies? What are the pro's and con's? I have interviews with a couple of the large companies (NOVA, AEON, GEOS) and from what I've heard ECC is probably the best of the 4. If anyone could help me out that would be great, especially someone that worked or is working for ECC. thanks
The differences among eikaiwa in working conditions and pay is probably marginal at best, but for whatever reason I've also heard that ECC is one of the two or three more reputable, or the least onerous, hellish whatever....of the big four or five. Along with AEON and possibly Berlitz although they've been on the decline for a while now. :? Another point to consider is that ECC placements are confined to Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya.

For myself, I'm primarily interested in settling anywhere to polish my Japanese, being closer to friends and not making the round trip journey every twelve to sixteen weeks. :sick: Even to the point of considering NOVA which from all accounts is still the easiest route to a work visa for the desperate imaginable. When they aren't hemorrhaging money, closing branches or operating under a hiring freeze...:unsure:
 
Last edited:
The last time he was on JREF was 9 minutes after his one and only post.
 
-Rudel said:
hehe, A dead thread brought back to life.
Ya never know....it's gotten a lot of hits so either people are extremely bored or I can't be the only one foolish enough to be looking at all my options. 😊
 
or maybe he just viewed without logging in.

But hey - I work for ECC and used to work for Nova, anybody else got any specific questions?
 
or maybe he just viewed without logging in.

But hey - I work for ECC and used to work for Nova, anybody else got any specific questions?
Thank you for that generous offer. I have a few questions about ECC.
1) What's the training like? I know their website says its for two weeks, but I was curious what their training is like.
2) What's their housing like? Do they help you find a place, etc?
3) How much input/leeway do you have as an instructor?

🙂
 
or maybe he just viewed without logging in.
But hey - I work for ECC and used to work for Nova, anybody else got any specific questions?
How long were you with Nova and what were your main reasons for leaving ?

You must get that a lot, I know....:)
 
Thank you for that generous offer. I have a few questions about ECC.
1) What's the training like? I know their website says its for two weeks, but I was curious what their training is like.
2) What's their housing like? Do they help you find a place, etc?
3) How much input/leeway do you have as an instructor?
🙂
1) It was fun! I really enjoyed it.

2) As for me personally, I asked to be placed in a guest house and they did that for me. I didn't take their housing so I can't answer that part, but again I think it is more a case of they arrange it for you. I think if you go for the apartment you gotta sign a 6 month lease before seeing the place (I think). I always recommend that everyone who comes to Japan for the first time stay in a guest house initially (make lots of friends outside your work circle, cheap, flexible) and then find your own apartment. But email ECC for more info about housing.

3) What do you mean? Method of teaching? If it is that, basically with Free Time Lessons you follow the textbook and the steps associated with it. Other types of classes are much more flexible, depending on what they are.
 
How long were you with Nova and what were your main reasons for leaving ?
You must get that a lot, I know....:)

Actually I don't coz lots and lots of people at ECC are ex-Nova, ha ha!

As for me, I left after my working holiday visa expired. I worked at a smaller school with Nova and got along really well with my co-workers so I enjoyed it (our trainer was a dick but we allganged up on him so he didn't get away with much). But now that I work with ECC, things are sooooo much better. But it is a different kind of atmosphere. At Nova I definitely felt like I was on a working holiday, you know like the college party scene, whereas with ECC it is a real job.

Even if my visa hadn't expired (I returned to Australia and finished my degree after that) I would have left Nova after a year anyway. It was fun but not something I would do for an extended time. I was tired of the Nova world as I lived in the Nova apartment and only met Nova people. Very small world!
 
Yeah, certainly some good insights and points to seriously consider. A big thanks from me too violetcrumble. 🙏

The rap Nova always gets of hiring the kind of people who can't take their pressure and quickly end up finding much more attractive positions does seem to be mostly accurate. Where were you assigned ? And did you work with anyone older than, say, 30~35 or so or was everyone pretty much "fresh off the plane" : young and inexperienced with Japan before their arrival ? Despite how easy the jobs are always touted, I doubt that I could ever be hired with the triple strikes against me of age, fluency in the language and cultural acclimation (high number of previous visits) unfortunately. :(

There must be a few teachers, though, with God on their side, that somehow manage to endure the pain for more than two or three years or are considered lifers in the system. :eek: Many of whom no doubt have a string of other PT positions, private students, or a long-term visa and may also end up being transfered way out in the hicktown branches (so I've heard at least). Which I actually wouldn't mind ending up in some day if that means being around a handful of older folk and less of a rowdy, raunchy, bitching party type atmosphere.

To get a personal sense of how real these stereotypes could be, a couple of nights ago out of idle curiousity I was reading some of the slogans Nova puts on the back of freebie tissue packs. Interspersed with the usual boring sales pitch about small classes, the importance of international communication, blah blah were these gems of advertising brillance: "In the past our prices have been too low ! (*hahaha*) We are raising rates in three months and giving you, the student, a special discount ! We were barely able to eke out a profit under the current lesson fees. Price = quality."

That has got to be the reason they are constantly threatening bankruptcy....
:rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
Working at ECC

I have been working at ECC in Nagoya for a while now and in the last year its taken a real downturn. Mainly due to the change in the personel section here. The guy who is supposed to be in charge is rude, isn't helpful and sometimes outright lies if it's easier than him doing something. Also, now we can't get any information so no one has been able to make any plans for the following year or Golden Week.
A lot of the teachers I work with are looking for somewhere else to go because when you used to have a problem you were supposed to call the office, now if you call the office for anything you'll probably end off more angry than before if you ask for the help these guys are supposed to provide.
I don't know if it's better elsewhere (there are two other areas, Tokyo and Osaka) but be careful of coming to Nagoya and be careful of personel because if you have a problem you're on your own.
 
hit the nail square on the head

ive been with ECC for quite some time now...way longer than i have expected but that was due to the fact that its a good place to work and it still is. the work isnt that demanding except for Mini kids and schools are not dumps but there are a few small ones and ones that take a hike and a half to get to but basically decent. staff and SDs are people too and like some you can get along with and some you cant stand and that goes with any where you work no matter what country your in. pay is decent when you do the math for a 6hour day and you break it down you pulling ruffly $20hr now there are days that you cant do anything to supliment your income like privates but most day start around 3pm and end around 9pm leaving you the whole morning to do what you like.
now getting the what ECCemployee said with the change in the Native Personel Dept 2yrs ago things have really and i mean REALY headed down hill. now granted when i got here quite some time ago i had someone (japanese GF) to guide me and help me out with anything need to get done or places i need to go and of course with any problems that should arise. now with some that come over here on their own it has been in the past there the personel dep help out or better yet had the knowledge of what to do, who to see or where to go and where always willing to listen to you and help you out w/out pause. now when you call you get ' I dont know, its not my job, go talk to 'the other guy' and (the icing on the cake) ' i cant do that b/c i gotta cover my a$$'<<<<< ive been told that last one btw. i have even tried :banghead:to advise the two boys :eek:( b/c the are boys and think they can do what they want and not be held accountable for it) on more than one occasion that they have to stop doing the things they are doing b/c it makes them look like they are better than everyone else :argue:and one day its gonna come round and bite them in the rear. id pay good money to see that day :)
in the past we all(well most) where respected and trusted to do the rite thing, go to work and basically stay out of trouble and everything was fine. now we are looked at as being slaves that have to bend to their(idiot boys on the 8th) and most of the time have to defend ourselves on the phone. :kaioken: the other thing that has been said is ' there are gonna big changes' thats fine but when things are changed and we are not informed then something is very wrong a) we are not worth being told b):confused:tweedle dumb and :rolleyes:tweedle dumber just dont know c) they make it up so they dont have to deal with it
again ECC is a good place to work providing 1) your japanese is well enuf to get things done on your own 2) you dont mind being treated like a dog that has been fed prime rib but still sleeps outside in the cold 3) the most important dont mind being disrespected
 
Hired By ECC? a cautionary tale

I was hired by ECC in November of 2008. I was actually hired by 2 different companies but picked ECC because they seemed better. Well, after a year and a half of shoddy communication and waiting they just cut all of us that were not placed loose. They even had ANOTHER hiring session in San Francisco in November 2009... basically those of us who passed their test and were accepted by them were just thrown away like so much trash. When i contacted the man that hired me asking if i could just re-sign a new contract and remain with ECC i got no response. The Toronto office said ツ"sorry, you will have to re-applyツ" and also very coyly said ツ"we are not even doing a hiring session in the US in 2010ツ" of course not... you JUST did one in November 2009, AND you are now hiring exclusively out of Toronto. So now i am a year older, and so saddened by the experience. All of the applicants that were hired and not placed really went through a year of hell waiting and waiting.
So i warn you all! if you are hired by ECC and not placed do not stop applying with the other schools... because they have no loyalty to you. I am trying very hard not to be bitter but after a year of waiting and hoping and loyalty the company does NOTHING to reward that loyalty. Very underhanded and sneaky business practices. I could have really been a good caring teacher for them... could have been.
 
Are you saying that you were hired 2 years ago and were just fired? Any 30-day notice or pay in lieu thereof? What branch are you in?
 
I was hired in November 2008 and signed the contract and was NEVER placed in Japan. Just sat here in the United States waiting for placement month after month and then was unceremoniously dismissed (as i am assuming all the other poor schlubs that were hired and never placed form that hiring session).
 
i don't mean to sound bitter... i was completely dedicated to ECC and was working very hard. i had lofty goals of being one of their shining stars - even try to go corporate for them. Now i have to start all over with the interviews and all the fun that goes along with it... flights to random cities, fake lessons with adults acting like kids... you know what i mean. Not to mention i am a year older and if i was fresh out of college no big deal but i am not. Soon (even though it is not mentioned) age will be a factor. Just really broke me up that is all. i am not trying to bash them or cause crap but i think that everyone hired needs to realize that there might not be a light at the end of the tunnel, take it from a guy that ran into a brick wall.
 
I was hired in November 2008 and signed the contract and was NEVER placed in Japan. Just sat here in the United States waiting for placement month after month and then was unceremoniously dismissed
And this took a year and a half????!!!!!!!

Sounds like an incredible and rare event. How many others had this happen to them?

FWIW, I think I heard about ECC or AEON putting off placements of people for a year. They may have still advertised, and for all I know they may have even interviewed people, but the info I recall is that they forewarned their candidates (not yet accepted) that even if they were hired, they wouldn't be placed for a year. I wonder if this was part of the same fiasco you experienced.

BTW,
You are far too patient and accommodating to have let this happen, especially since you had other offers. I think most people would have waited a few months then told ECC to stuff it.
 
you are right, i guess i was loyal to a fault. I will just start over and really try my best to make it with another company. I am very dedicated and really strive at what ever i do. thanks for listening and sharing your thoughts/opinions
 
Man, I'm so sorry Zenbone. I was actually one of the interviewed at the November 2009 interviews. I got offered a job and I was supposed to start in March. But, they didn't have any openings and so I had to wait to start working in July. I leave June 30th and start their training session soon after. Do you think there could be any other reason they did not follow through with your hire?? It just sounds so odd because I have talked to at least 3 other trainees going with me into the Kansai area. Were you in a different area? What placement did you request?
 
ECC Application help!

Hi guys. :)

Sorry to interrupt ( your situation really does sound like it sucked :( ), but I really dont know where else to turn. :( Im about to send my own application form into ECC. The problem is, everywhere I search for information on the application process, I only find advice for the interview. So, while my application is complete, Im hesitant to send it because I dont know if its any good. :( So I was wondering if I could maybe get some advice on how to write a good application and what kinds of things I should be including. Thanks very much! I really appreciate it!
 
How to write a good application[sic]?

Uh, we don't know you or your experience, so it's pretty much impossible to give specific advice.

Make a resume. Education at the top, work experience next. If you have teaching experience, separate that from the other experience. Use bullets, not paragraphs to describe your work history.

Cover letter is different. You can cover more material there. State the position and where you found it in the opening paragraph, then spend the rest of the CL trying to convince them you are a good candidate. They want people who are not infatuated with anime or manga or women, nor do they want people who come here to learn the language or sightsee. Employers want people who are culturally diverse, interesting, not likely to suffer culture shock, and perhaps those who have some second language learning experience of their own. The rest is case by case, whether you have any teaching experience (state your philosophy in the CL, and how you think it will match the employer's situation).

Gee, other than that, can't really tell you much more.
 
Back
Top Bottom