Hi all,
So I've just spent 3 months travelling around Japan with a Working Holiday Visa in hand, but for various reasons I've returned to the UK and will stay here for the summer. My plan is to return to Japan in September with 6 months still left on my Visa and settle down in a city and look for a job.
I really like the idea of living in Tokyo or Kyoto as I love those cities (for differing reasons), but wondered which one is the more attractive option in terms of finding a job?
Obviously Tokyo has a hell of a lot of people living there, but also a lot more westerners competing for jobs. I'm thinking it would be easier to find private students here as well...
Kyoto will no doubt be a beautiful place to live (even more so than usual) during the Autumn, and I'd be quite prepared to travel to Osaka to work, but maybe less potential for private students...?
I am a complete newbie to teaching, have no experience or a TEFL certificate etc, but I do have a Degree and like I said, a Working Holiday Visa (which I hope will be an advantage in that it will save employers the hassle of getting me a Work Visa)...
Thanks for any comments/advice...
Rich :)
WHVs are single-entry, which means you need a reentry permit to come back. Did you buy one before you left Japan? No REP, and your WHV is finished. Also, being gone for half of the first 6-month stint is a big chunk of time from the WHV, and you are allowed to leave with a REP, but only temporarily. I hope for your sake that a 3-month gap is considered all right.
In any case, having the WHV at this point (a "used" one with a far shorter deadline than a "fresh" one) may look appealing to some employers for the reason you stated, but it may also be a very negative factor simply because it means that in less than a year (the length of most contracts), you will either have to leave the country for good, or you will need visa sponsorship (and not all employers offer that). To be out of Japan (I will assume that you will be able to return on the WHV) until the first stint is finished may not be looked upon favorably by immigration. They may see you returning, and when you request an extension, they may turn you down. Consider this possible scenario. (Fortunately, you have a degree, which means you can later get a work visa, but you need to plan for the situation.)
From what I've heard, Kyoto has less potential than Osaka for work, by the way.
Thanks for your reply Glenski.
Yeah I did buy a re-entry permit before I left, and it states that it is valid until 28th February (the day my Visa expires), so I take that to mean that I could even stay in England until just a few days before then if I wanted to. But like I said, I'm pretty certain I'll return in September...
At this stage, I don't envisage staying beyond the end of February 2008...I just want to do a bit of teaching for 6 months, get a few privates, and keep my bank balance ticking over whilst enjoying being in Japan again.
When I do return, I want to be completely organised to hopefully minimise the time it will take to find employment. Do you (or anybody else) have any advice about what I can be doing whilst in England? For starters I need to write a good concise resume which should be easy enough as there's a lot of information on the ESL Cafe boards about it. I'll also register on the private students websites a couple of weeks before I leave for Japan. But is it worth applying to the Big 4 from where I am now, or waiting until I am actually in Japan? I was kind of hoping to get on at NOVA on their flexi-time thing but obviously the chances of that happening may have been reduced with the news in the last few days...
Any comments much appreciated as always!
Rich
I take it your first 3 months were spent not working? Bear in mind that WHV holders are subject to a 20% tax on their earnings, so filling your coffers may not be as easy as you had envisioned.
I am not sure why your visa expires in February when you wrote that you have used it for only 3 months so far. I was under the impression that you get a WHV for 6 months, and then actually have to renew it for the second 6 months. Oh well, if that's what it says on your visa...
What should you do while in England? Well, you only plan to return for 6 months, so what's the point in getting a TEFL certificate, for example? If you want to make yourself more marketable, take on some private lesson students, or see if there are any opportunities to volunteer teach. That's probably all that's open to you.
Resume advice. Got plenty, but you already seem to know where to start looking. If you want an appraisal, let me know. My main advice is to keep it simple, and to customize the cover letter for each employer.
Is it worth applying to the big 4 while in the UK? Well, they come to you on their own schedule, which is infrequent, so unless you are willing to come back here to do the job searching first, and spend time and money doing that, you have few other choices.
Thanks again Glenski.
That's right I just travelled around for 3 months...
Yeah my visa is a 1 year visa...I was surprised when I received it as I also expected it to be 6 months renewable.
I guess that it's simply a case of earning as much in England as possible so that I'll be under less pressure to find a job quickly when I do arrive back in Japan.
Rich
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