Good evening, I'm in a bit of an odd situation at the moment and could use some advice if possible. I'm a university student currently studying in Japan out of Chiba pref. I've lived in Japan since high school. Attended a language school for two years and am now a 4th year looking for employment. Though I am from the USA originally.
The road to being employed has been a nightmare. My university is small and scarcely deals with foreign students so the career counselor had me going to all the job fairs from Tokyo to Chiba new town to apply to places. After 20+ interviews I got nowhere. Either no call back or sometimes an email telling me they're not interested so I decided to apply to an ALT job. That and I do not have a JLPT score as all my classes at uni are in Japanese and I never got around to it (very dumb I know) but I recognized the issue and aimed at companies that want English speakers. I tried NOVA but they said they don't hire university students from within Japan but they would consider it IF I worked for them for 6 months part time then I would maybe be considered for full time. They were very clear about the maybe part. Then I went on to Interac where tons of people around me said "if you have a degree and a pulse you can work there" because I just want the security of a job to graduate to come next march. But after all the Q&As, google forums and dancing in front of a camera for an interview (which I got and thought went well) I was informed that I "do not match the current hiring needs of our regional companies". Now I know that the previous anecdote about only needing a pulse is wrong. It's not that easy nor did I expect it to be but it's still crushing none the less as I genuinely do think teaching English can be rewarding depending on circumstance and I have been interested in contributing in some way to the profession as it is an important part of the English education system in Japan.
At risk of ranting, am I just unhirable? What about me makes companies so often turn their nose up at the last minuet? I have good grades, I speak Japanese clearly and at an academic level despite the fact it's not a requirement of an ALT position, I'm fluent in English being raised in the U.S until the age of 16. I give good interviews, smile when appropriate, always wear a clean suit and observe interview customs and so on. I get told being an ALT is borderline bottom feeder work but I can't even land a job as one of those "bottom feeders" not that I take that too seriously. Still I've applied to jobs for anything from front desk at a tourist trap hotel to email writer at a pipe bending company selling machines to the US and of course, Interac.
I'm sorry for the long winded nature of this post, I just genuinely have few places to turn for advice. All of my friends are Japanese people or are people that still live in the US. My career counselor won't even talk to me about applications at the moment because she wants me to take the JFT Basic exam because of a lack of JLPT score, again, stupid on my part. And finally I really didn't want to post in Japanlife or anything. I feel like even if I get brow beaten here it would be way worse there. With graduation approaching I grow more and more restless.
by SnakeKafuu