JOBS AFTER JETKristen Elrod, Harly Lane

Gifu Skills Development Conference

January 19, 2018

Derek Gumb

Shirakawago ALT 2013-2015

Special Assistant for Events and

Advance at Governor of New York State

PART 1: JOBS ABROAD

International Experience and Employment

97% of study abroad alumni secure jobs after graduation (compared to 49% general population)

You don’t have to work in education

• 60% of JET alumni work outside of education (After JET Guide)

Average salaries $7,000/year more; starting salaries 15% more (IES Abroad)

Employers feel experience abroad makes you

79% more likely to take initiative

81% more adaptable (AIM Overseas)

Skills gained from JET (After JET Guide)

Independence

Awareness of international issues

Sensitivity to differences among people

Resume/CV

Resume/CV: Tells the story of who you are

Resume Generators, CV Generators

Google “buzz words” and action words

• Transferable skills checklist

Using your JET experience

Transferable Skills for JETs (MIIS)

Marketing Skills Gained on JET (Toronto JETAA)

• Sample JET Resume (2013 After JET Conf.)

Pro tip: Cater your resume, cover letter, and

references to the job you are applying.

DON’T BE GENERIC!

Teaching skills are the ability to find,

use, and transfer knowledge

Transferable skills:

Computer skills

Adaptability

Durability

Patience

Organizational skills

Public speaking skills

Teaching ability

(Life After JET)

Planned, created, and implemented English classes in 7 different elementary schools

Coached students and English-speaking staff on public speaking skills

Designed and implemented a high school English Oral Communication curriculum for over two hundred students

Organized and led an English summer camp for junior and high school students

Selected to present “Effective Use of the Textbook” workshop at the 2016-2017 JTE/ALT Gifu bi-annual conference

Directed and coached students for a prefecture-wide English language demonstration contest

Assisted with activities pertaining to the sister-city relationship between 000 Town and 000 State

Promoted international exchange through letter exchanges and student exchanges abroad

Examples of JET experience on

resumes/CVs

Cover Letter

Cover Letter: Connects the dots between your skills and the job requirements

• Sample Cover Letter with International Experience in Japan

General outline of a cover letter:

• Greeting: address to the right person

• Opening: highlight how your skills are a perfect fit for the job

• Hook: highlight past achievements and how they relate to the job

• Skills: Additional relevant information, such as language proficiency or certificates earned

• Close: recap your strengths as a candidate and include contact information

Asking for a reference letter from Japan

Push for someone that knows you well

Provide them with an example of the proper format

Included in the Contracting Organization Manual (Ninyo Dantai-yo Manual) which every CO has access to on the CLAIR website

Explain the focus – What is this for?

Explain clearly what you want

Give them a list of your accomplishments/work duties

Day-to-day work duties – exam grading, speech contest

Japanese skills or JLPT certificates

Articles about you in local newspapers

Projects you’ve helped with or executed

Your relationship with your co-workers and students

Offer to help with spelling and grammar

Reference Letters

Interview Prepare answers before

Tell me about yourself

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Why do you want to work for this company?

Why would you be good at this job?

At least two questions to ask in return

On a scale of one to 10, how weird are you?

You’re a new addition to the crayon box. What color would you be and why?

What would you do in the event of a zombie apocalypse?

What is something that you know is true, but no one agrees with you on?

You’ve been given an elephant. You can’t give it away or sell it. What would you do with the elephant?

Real Interview Questions

Informational InterviewingInformational interview - an informal conversation with someone working in an area that interests

you who will give you information and advice

• Not an interview

• 10-30 minutes

Job-hunting benefits

• Inside insight into the field

• Exclusive info on job openings

• Get your face remembered

• Expand your network

Where to start?

• Friends and family, university career counselors, former professors and employers, LinkedIn

Tips

• Dress like you would for an interview

• Don’t just talk about yourself

• Always ask for referrals

• Send a thank you letter or email

• Keep in contact

Let them know you took their advice on something or read a

book they recommended or applied for a job at so and so

company and do they have any tips

• It makes them feel good to know their time wasn’t wasted

Also can network and get

informational interviews

through JETAA and past

JETs

Where to Look

Online job hunting sites

Gifu Weebly - job hunting websites by country

JETAA alumni chapters

AJET Job Listings

University Career Centers

Personal Networking

Informational Interviewing

LinkedIn

Jobs in Education

• Global perspective is a 21st century skill all students need.

• Immigration trends also create a market for educators with experience teaching diverse

learners whose first language is not English.

• Teach English

• Japan: JIEC, AEON & ECC, ALTEA, Westgate, etc.

• Korea: EPIK

• Around the world: WorldTeach and Education First

• International Education Companies

• International Education Service (IES)

• Council on International Education and Exchange (CIEE)

• Institute of International Education (IIE)

• Appreciation for diversity (attitude)

• Understanding global issues and

current events (knowledge)

• Ability to communicate across cultural

and linguistic boundaries (skills)

Teachers should foster this in themselves

so they can pass it on to their students

PART 2: JOBS IN JAPAN

Sell your global outlook

• Proficiency tests for most languages can be taken in Japan (Spanish,

French, Chinese, German testing locations)

Many jobs require a high level of Japanese

• N2 or higher

• However, even an N4 certificate will set you apart

• BJT – Business Japanese Proficiency Test

Know the rules

• Japanese job-hunting can be very different

Finding Work in Japan

Job Fairs and Info Sessions

Career Forum

Many locations

• Japan – Tokyo (June and Dec.), Osaka (June)

• US – San Fransisco (Feb.), L.A. (Oct.), Boston (Nov.)

• UK – London (April)

• Australia – Sydney (Sept.)

Minimum conversational Japanese

Interview process moves quickly

• Apply to companies online beforehand

• Over 70% of past participants had second round or more interviews during the fair

Do your research

Travel scholarship available

SF – 44% said they received offer of employment that day or

were in the process of doing so

LA – 47% said they received offer of employment same day

Boston – 61% offer or in progress

Job Fairs and Info SessionsMynavi Global Career EXPO

In Japan and abroad

• Japan – Tokyo (June), Osaka (June)

• Australia – Sydney (Aug.)

• US – New York (Oct.)

Research participating companies and submit resume beforehand

Many companies offer an interview appointment during the expo

Attend company lectures

Resume creating tools (Japanese)

Have an English resume as well

Networking area for applicants to chat with HR staff casually and during lunch

Option to upload video beforehand

Travel scholarship available

Sign-up deadline is January 19th

Career Field Workshops (Education, Translation, IT, etc.)

1 on 1 Career Consultations

Panel Discussions: “Life After JET”, “Finding Employment in Japan”

General Session: “How to Market the Skills you Learned on the JET Programme”

Information Exchange & Networking Event

After JET Conference and Career Fair

Yokohama - February 25, 2018 (70 companies/400 JETs)

Osaka – February 3, 2018 (35 companies/150 JETs)

Online Resources

Online Job-hunting Agents

Introduces openings not available on job-hunting sites

One-on-one support

Free

Fast-paced

• Career Forum CFN Agent

• Mynavi Global Agent

Job-hunting Resources

Mynavi Global – internationally-focused job hunting website

Dai job.com – Japan job-hunting site - focused on career change options (English)

Jobs in Japan – Japan job-hunting site (English)

Career Forum – Japan job-hunting site

The Japan Times Jobs – focused on career changes options

Job Placement AgenciesHello Work Provide support and guidance

Do the searching for you

Register with them to access their job listing database

English: http://tokyo-foreigner.jsite.mhlw.go.jp/english.html

Japanese: http://www.hellowork.go.jp

English Support LocationsHello Work Gifu:

1-9-1 Gotsubo, Gifu City TEL: 058-206-5063

English Hours of Operation: 9:00a.m. – 5:00p.m. (Mondays (except holidays))

Hello Work Tajimi:

5-39-1 Otowa-cho, Tajimi City TEL: 0572-22-3384

English Hours of Operation: 10:00a.m. – 5:00p.m. (Monday – Friday)

Tips and Tricks

Stick to the same level of politeness

Buy suits/bag second hand

Blend or not to blend

• Japanese company – blend in

• International company – stand out

Business cards

Japanese Resume/CV (Rirekisho)

Differences with western

resume (CV) Rigid format

Must provide photo

Less emphasis on past jobs

More emphasis on education

Includes:

Personal Info

School and Work info

Accomplishments

Reason for applying

Skills

Hopes and Desires/Hobbies

Rirekisho Picture

Interview Etiquette

Men and women sitting style

For more interview tips:

check out this blog and this

blog

Beginning an interview

1. Knock three times and say:

“shitsurei shimasu”

2. Wait for permission to enter, close the door, face the interviewers, say

“shitsurei shimasu” again, and bow.

• 30 degree bow

3. Walk to your chair, stand beside it and say:

“______to moushimasu. Douzo yoroshiku onegai shimasu”

4. When given permission to sit, do so.

• Sit appropriately

Two times is for the toilet

Interview Etiquette

Interview Questions

Self- introduction

How well do you know the company?

How well do you fit the job?

• “Regarding the position that you applied for,

what do you know about it?”

Reason for applying

Reason for leaving last job

Relevant background

• “Please tell us about your experience in

_______.”

What makes you excited about work

• “What kind of work motivates you?”

Managing trouble at work

• “What do you do if you can’t make a deadline?”

• “How do you deal with difficult people?”

Applicable experiences and skills

• “What are your merits? How would they be

beneficial to the company?”

Achievements

Personal questions about goals or hobbies

• “What are your thoughts about your career?

What kind of job do you want to have?”

Discuss the job role and how your

experience is right for it

Highlight your experience and

skills and how they fit

Find the Right FitResearch companies

Be wary of black listed companies

• Labor ministry list of 334 blacklisted companies

Small to medium sized companies

• 70% of foreign job seekers find employment in small to medium sized companies (Japan Student Services

Organization(JASSO)

• Given important tasks

• Experience many roles

• Rapid promotion

Know the terms Regular employee 正社員（せいしゃいん）OR 常勤職員（じょうきんしょくいん）

• Open-ended, direct, and full-time

Irregular employee 非常勤職員（ひじょうきんしょくいん）

• Part-time, dispatched, contracted, or temporary

Paid less

Less stability

Routine, supportive role (The Japan Institute for Labor Policy and Training)

More Useful Links

Rikunabi http://www.rikunabi.com/

• Japanese job-hunting site mostly aimed at new graduates

Next Rikunabi http://next.rikunabi.com/

• specifically for career changes, as opposed to first-time careers

Nikkei Career https://career.nikkei.co.jp/

• another career-change job-hunting site

NAP Foreign Exchange Student Career Support http://www.nap-net.jp/

• aimed at students rather than JET participants, but still has a lot of useful info

Comments from JET Alumni

"Two Skills... that are relevant in my position now are definitely communications skills... being able to communicate or adapt messages. During JET you're dealing with people from all ages… you… have to adapt how you are communicating...that's a skill I use on a daily basis for my current job. Another thing is being adaptable or flexible [this] ultimately leads to being confident, which is definitely a skill many companies are looking for.

The JET networking community is a great way to find work...go look outside. Most people these days go by phone or email...go face to face and see what happens...it shows that you've got a little bit of grit to you. Confidence can go a long way."

Joelan Johnston

Kakamigahara ALT 2013-2015

Recruiter at Legal Intel

Brandon Yanari

Ogaki ALT 2013-2015

International Student Program Advisor

San Jose City College

"My international experience helped me get into my current position... I was

able to demonstrate empathy for students that are new to the

country/culture/language, having lived that experience during my first months

in Japan. Additionally, adaptability was an important quality for applying to the

field, as there are new things arising all the time, whether it is from new

concerns that the students have to new immigration policies, or instructions

from higher administration. As a JET ALT, I was able to read many situations

despite language and cultural barriers, and act accordingly."