here I go again. job hunting

[ashmie]

Wow that's a relief. Congratulations Sir Voss. Good news.

[Colonel Voss]

Yep, now a question. How does one go looking for part time jobs and classes? never had to before

[Primarch]

Yep, now a question. How does one go looking for part time jobs and classes? never had to before

Sign up for a website called Gaijinpot. They have a jobs newsletter once or twice a week. Some recruitment companies may be able to help, I think I once had an interview at Hello Work. Community centers and local library notice boards might be a good way to get private classes, just check with the person in charge before putting anything up. The Kokusai Center in Nagoya may also be worth visiting if you get the chance. They have an information area where you can post up your info/look for work.

[kojibear]

Yep, now a question. How does one go looking for part time jobs and classes? never had to before

There is also this one:

http://hello-sensei.com/en/sensei

Might be worth a go.

[ashmie]

I'm in the same boat again Voss, job hunting.
Try OTC, TCLC, CTS are all good bets for business English work, based around Fushimi abd Sakae area. If you're lucky you might be able to match up hours to make a full income. It's tricky but not impossible. If you contact TCLC and ask for Johan I know they are usually looking for people here and there. You can mention my name.
My previous work with them was broken up into a different teacher a day unfortunately so you might be able to grab one of those days.
Best of luck Sir.

[Colonel Voss]

Guess, I should give an update.

I've been to so many interviews and filled out so many applications. Got turned down for so many reasons and got to the point that I knew they would say no even before the interview. The principal has tried to get a juku job for me but to no avail.

Well I got a part-time eikaiwa job by sheer luck. That means that give or take, I am at the break even point as long as everything is on. Were i not for this job, I would be deep in the red already. When August hits and there is no cash flowing in, I'm dead in the water. Guess I should feel lucky, but after having so many other things go wrong heaped on me, I seriously can't believe it.

Car is junk. But I can't junk it because it isn't my car. The company kept the car title in their name and me just as the user so now I have a ton of legal hoops to jump through to junk it. Oh and I couldn't change the address to my new residence as I wasn't the owner so I didn't pay the car tax last year, but where the bills were being sent, they accidentally paid this year, so now I am in debt even more.

Had a hell of a fight to get my anxiety and insomnia medicine. Chasing my tail without meds due to the stupid rules they have around here. Apartment problems that need repair. Cash card broke so I couldn't pay rent this month and now have to pay another way.

Oh, and let us not forget about my former school and the real reason I was fired. I found out from some students that one teacher yelled at them because their test score wasn't good enough. She had aparently been telling them how to prepare my tests without knowing what I was teaching and failing to realize that I was using a very different textbook and if she had checked my cirriculum, she would have known what I was doing.

My new schedule isn't too bad. Lots of train rides and changing lines and an irregular schedule which is what my doctor wanted me to avoid, I'm back to square one there. But with the pay as low as it is, it's not enough. So I'm actually worse off.

I know you suggested OTC and others Ash. OTC hasn't offered me anything since I first applied. After all I have been through, I need something solid. My nerves can't take much more instability. And it is frustrating as all hell that I bring a lot to the table but no-one cares. Hell, I spend an hour today teaching the school debate team about economics and guiding them. Their heads were so full of information, I seriously thought they would explode, but the kids were psyched at how much information they got an how much they could now work on.

So yeah, I'm burned out. I haven't had a truly good year in God only knows how long and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Painting? Can't find enough peace to do it. Gaming, too stressed to do it. Constantly watching my pennies is tiring and stress inducing. Every night, I go to bed and hope one thing, that is that I never wake up again.

Be thankful Ash, that you can go back. I have no back to go to. And forward just seems to lead further into the infernal reaches.

[Primarch]

Perhaps it is time to try something different beyond just teaching. Your Japanese seems to be pretty good, so why not look for some office work or the like? I know it's not ideal, but a change of careers might be an alternative to the grind that is English teaching. Of course, I have no idea how one would go about making that change exactly. I suggested a while ago that you get in contact with Hello Work and some recruitment agencies. They may be able to provide something until the next school year comes around. Ash posted up some job info for Tsu, it's not an ideal location by any means, but it's not that far from Yokkaichi.
There are always the big eikaiwas to try if you haven't already. ECC, Aeon, Gaba and even the new Nova I guess.

All you can do is to keep your head up and keep swimming for shore. You'll make it.

[ashmie]

That's really rough, having seen how quickly things can go badly here all I can really say is hang in there. It might be worth trying a new country that pays the airfare or relocating to another part of Japan? If you're not getting the breaks you need you have to change it up somehow. If that's not possible. what about one of the big schools like Aeon? They must have work somewhere. It's true about it feeling like no one cares but that's not the case. We are rooting for you and hoping things will calm down. 2016 has been a test year for many. You're not the only one going through it, stay strong and focus on what's coming next rather than dwelling on the past. I met a guy who has been here since 88 and he was saying how there's a ceiling you reach with how much you can do and earn here before you have to start thinking about maybe working for yourself and teaching at your own school or private classes.
Check gaijinpot, there's a school in Nara Ken that needs an ALT for June 1st. Want the email details? It's not great pay but it's bread and butter.

Oh wait, I see you found part time work. That's good news and a start. Keep going and try not to do everything at once. Keep calm and take it day by day.

As an after thought, you mentioned how it's like no one can see your skills or care what you can bring to the table. I've learnt the hard way here that no one really cares about the quality, content or how much the students enjoy their classes. I mean they do care but on a surface level. You could do a stand up job, have the numbers increasing and still no one is going to say well done that was a great lesson, you must have spent hours planning that one. What they do care about here and indeed in most jobs is attendance and health. If you can focus on getting yourself in a better place with your health while working part time this will benefit your future interviews. Japan doesn't want game changers or dynamic educators in the classrooms. As much as they love the young genki English routine (something I refuse to do now in my mid 30s ) what they really want is quiet, punctual, no nonsense staff who aren't going to rock the boat. Even those guys get let go too so you can't really win. Trick is to stay calm, not take it too personally and say to yourself It's not my fault, I got this.
Hope today is better.
I found walks in the countryside always helped my nerves when I was ill. Stay strong.

[ashmie]

Do not go quietly into that dark night. Never surrender.
Forth Eorlingas.

I'm packing right now and realising the beauty of PDF!

[job]

Ashmie: PDF is a wonderful thing. Reading the memoirs of Gen. Marbot lately in pdf.

Voss: Just as Prim wrote, keep your head up, keep putting one foot in front of the other, don't look back and stay determined. You've been in this position before and you've made it.

If you need to vent from time to time, that's fine to do it here, but don't pent it up for a month or more at a time. It's not good carrying that stuff from one scene to the next. It's going to be apparent to others. Get the stuff off your chest with a confidant, friend, the forum or some other means. But avoid letting it poison your sleep, health, work or lifestyle.

You've had some tough breaks, but that's the way it was and you live and you learn. Dust yourself off and be tenacious!