1) Currently, I am working part-time for a company that dispatches me to elementary schools in the Yokohama area. The pay is quite wonderful for the amount of work that I do and the job is a lot of fun but at sometimes is stressful because kids can be a handful and sometimes they have no interest at all in English class but usually the kids like the classes. The thing about Japanese people in the work place is that they run things by the book and when I say by the book, they need to know every single little detail about what you expect to do. The Japanese rarely make mistakes because they are so meticulous with what they will present and will often triple check their work in order to not make a mistake. These things are almost painfully slow. Scrupulous bureaucracy is part of the Japanese work culture and very often, what most people from the western part of the world would find to be simple tasks, it seems to me that many workers here have to run decisions up the ladder for the smallest changes to the syllabus that I create for the students. The one thing that is really awesome about the job is that teachers are some of the more open and fun to hang around and shoot the breeze with. In order to be a good teacher you have to be engaging and fun. Granted that not all the teachers are fun and some are actually quite boring. That being said, I still get exasperated with some of the almost robotic nature of people in the work place.
2) The job interview process was quite grueling. All of the things that you would bring for an interview in the USA, you would bring to a Japanese interview but be prepared to have all your information when it comes to every school you have attended and everyplace that you have worked. When I say every, I mean every. They wanted transcripts from college and high school. They wanted middle school and grade school report cards as well. I did not provide them but I was still hired but they still wanted them. The entire process takes about 45-60 minutes in total. Be prepared with questions about the position and the company as a whole. They will also speak to you in Japanese to test your ability. They have, in the past, asked me to say all of what I have said in the interview up to that point in Japanese. Don’t be worried though. It usually to scale what your ability is, it’s not a graded test. Don’t be surprised if they give you a grammar test, if you are going to be teaching English. I have never applied to an IT position or a translation service, only English teaching. I hope this has helped.
Working for a Japanese company demands you time more than your energy. My wife works in asset management and is at work, easily, for 11 hours a day. Many Japanese workers are very good at looking busy when they are actually doing nothing. Much of what I have found in Japan, when it comes to work, play and most other facets of Japanese culture is the aesthetics of presentation. I hope that I don’t sound negative but I must admit that I have been left jaded by some of my experiences in Japan . Granted that I have only lived in Tokyo but people can be extremely cold here in Tokyo and the Kanto region in general. Kansai is quite nice though. People are quite fun loving and friendly in comparison to Tokyo but you will have to deal with people speaking in the Kansai dialect which unfortunately is not taught in any Japanese class from Burlington to Tokyo but I am sure that you can pick up a book on amazon or any major book store perhaps, I don’t know, because I haven’t checked. My tips for getting a job in Japan, my company that I work for seem to be constantly recruiting so if you need to contact me please talk to Suzuki sensei and she will get in touch with me and then I will get in touch with you. That or, Gaijinpot.com. Please remember, no matter what any company tells you, once you get a visa issued, no one can take it away. So if you need to just get to Japan you can get a visa issued and then go to Japan and search for a new job. Be mindful of what you are getting into in Japan. Unless you look Asian, you will always be a foreigner and you will never be treated as an equal. If you can get past that, you shouldn’t have any problem. If you guys should have any questions, send follow up questions. I hope this has helped you. Japan is lovely but the people can be empty, regardless of your proficiency in Japanese.