How did you get your job in Japan

[lorgnette]

People like you don't have any problems with that.[/QUOTE]

Unbelievable but yes, the current decade has been kind to my family and I. Tokyo is a challenge in space, language and culture. Our initial months were tough but once we earned their trust, we work and live well over here.

Our needs simplified and we learn to live with minimalism- sleep well on tatami mats and futons. We adopt simple Japanese and English exchanges, without sarcasm.

You are right, I have no issues. I enjoy the people and its crafts. Was recommended and enjoyed the local meats esp black beef and pork takyubin-ed from Kagoshima. Have you tried?

Tokyo is not typical Japanese, but the rest of Japan is. I don't eat black beef, neither do I sleep on a tatami mat, but sleep on a Western bed.
There are big issues involved with English teaching here in Japan. So, since this is a thread about jobs in Japan, I will address myself to this theme specifically...
When you're just out of College, you can get a job here teaching English with no problem, no matter how your accent sounds like as long as you are a native speaker.
The overall situation has gotten so bad by now that
the rest of Japan is getting very demanding in their requirements, even downright rude.
I posted my resume on a very reliable site for ESL and had a recruiter from Korea after me. Unbelievable benefits and a very positive tone.
I didn't come here to Japan to get laid, be drunk in Public, make fun of Japanese culture or the people but for permanent settlement.
There is more to Japan than the initial top layer some people experience. IF I were a 24 year old "native" speaker with a college degree, yes, there wouldn't be any issue. Since I am older, have beyond the asked for qualifications but no work visa AND am living off of my own money, I don't take this lightly.
SO, excuse me if your earlier comment comes of as boasting to those of us who are trying hard as if to say: " I got a job in Japan immediately, what's wrong with you?"
One school explained the tough situation in Japan like this: Because of economic troubles worldwide, many English speakers seek employment overseas, and the bust of one of the major language companies in Japan left thousands of ESL teachers jobless here, the competition is very fierce this year.
Anybody, who's reading this comment, I give some advice: don't look at gaijinpot. That website is for the birds. Find links that offer more listed and where employers aren't so picky.

[lorgnette]

IF I were a 24 year old "native" speaker with a college degree, yes, there wouldn't be any issue. Since I am older, have beyond the asked for qualifications but no work visa AND am living off of my own money, I don't take this lightly.
SO, excuse me if your earlier comment comes of as boasting to those of us who are trying hard as if to say: " I got a job in Japan immediately, what's wrong with you?"

It was never meant to be a boast. It was unbelievable when they made an offer, and initially I declined. We discussed the trust they had given especially Japan being conservative, normally preferred face to face interviews and they accepted me based on C.V and teleconference.

so the next day, I humbly apologized and accepted the position, fortunately they graciously agreed. It made me doubly humble although I respected their conviction in shortlisting me as a sole candidate.

Our first day, when we looked down the streets and saw ladies lined up on streets in lovely kimonos on Coming to Age day, it was like a dream and many days later, it still was.

Like you, I am older not 24. Where did you get the idea?

Perhaps you don't realize how some people struggle to get employment in Japan, so when you posted your comment, it can be viewed as a boast. You are just extremely lucky. When I wrote that you must be 24 and just out of college and have no issues, your response was that you didn't have any, so I assumed you were that age. I am a lot older than that. When you struggle like I have been and then somebody comes here and writes how easy it was for them what do you think people feel like who are in a situation like mine?
Not everybody is as lucky as you have been!

[lorgnette]

When you struggle like I have been and then somebody comes here and writes how easy it was for them what do you think people feel like who are in a situation like mine? Not everybody is as lucky as you have been![/QUOTE]

You are correct. Yes, job hunting is tough especially on your dime in a strange country without support systems, and I feel your pains. However my reply was never meant as a boast, just a clarification that sometimes, we happen to be in the right place in a right niche.

...and your time will come, meantime just enjoy the journey and the destination.

After having lived in the US so long, it still throws me for a loop when people are so direct and cut through levels that for Americans don't exist.
I don't think you can feel my pain, since you got the job without any efforts and I DO have a support system, but they're all expats with jobs here in Japan. I know my time will come but better sooner than later, money doesn't go very far in Tokyo, over $ 2.00 for 4 bananas, indeed!
I hope you live on the outer rim of any "ku" of Tokyo, inside is where it;s expensive.

[lorgnette]

Originally Posted by marzipan

After having lived in the US so long, it still throws me for a loop when people are so direct and cut through levels that for Americans don't exist.
I don't think you can feel my pain, since you got the job without any efforts and I DO have a support system, but they're all expats with jobs here in Japan. I know my time will come but better sooner than later, money doesn't go very far in Tokyo, over $ 2.00 for 4 bananas, indeed!
I hope you live on the outer rim of any "ku" of Tokyo, inside is where it;s expensive.

I feel your pain because I did not always have "the job without efforts". Yes, in US, I have a great support system. Probably you missed the point--it is not about cutting through levels -it is on building stable relationships and effective interpersonal communication.

Actually in Tokyo we did not live in the rim. We stayed walking distance to Ueno. Within an expat crowd, it will surely be expensive to be where expats live and eat, however when you have a local support system Tokyo is immensely affordable ( even for expats).

I don't miss the point, I'm an educated woman!
What I meant was how you can get so familiar with me here since we are strangers, but it's typical American. Anyway, it appears you are no longer in Tokyo and I don't know how long ago you were here. Things on the foreign ESL market have changed in Japan, especially in the past year.
Have a nice weekend
I'm not responding over the weekend

[lorgnette]

I don't know how long ago you were here. Things on the foreign ESL market have changed in Japan, especially in the past year.

We left mid April 2012 with beautiful vision of cheery Cherry blossoms in full season, to start work the following morning in Singapore.

We miss Japan despite a warm welcome in Singapore!

[EverydayWanderer]

I applied for the JET Program in the U.S. last year and I didn't get selected for an interview. I was upset for a few weeks, then I decided to book a flight two weeks from that day. I contacted and confirmed a homestay family three days in advance of my flight.

After a few days, I happened to go by an English conversation school for ages 0-15 and I asked for the contact information for an interview (They were Japanese, but the Japanese teachers spoke English). I made and sent my resume to their recruitment email and I was screened in two interviews.

The first interview was a general Q&A interview; I assume to get to know my disposition and motivation for coming to Japan. After that, I had a second interview for a demonstration lesson for the basics (I have zero teaching experience, but I researched a little and put together a small lesson).

A day or two later I received a call saying I was hired.

Notes:
I do -NOT- suggest just winging it to Japan on the off-chance you will hired. I was extremely lucky to get hired both on my first interview and outside of the normal hiring season. I did not come here on a shoestring; I had been saving money since February 2012 especially for this goal. I paid an arm and a leg for my just-in-case round-trip ticket for $2000 USD. Lastly, I was greatly helped by not needing extraneous expenses over paying for a month's stay in advance for my homestay. If I were to get an apartment, I would have to pay even more with key money and more.