DigitalGhost

Scoring decent English teaching work on a WHV is notoriously difficult. Do you have a degree by any chance?

Honestly, I know you're keen to get some money coming in but the best thing you can do at this point is get some language ability under your belt and ditch that WHV because those two things will be holding you back atm.

herculas

I have a computer science degree but I don't think my computing skills are any good because I haven't practiced since I graduated. Hmm I guess you're right, I definitely have to get at least basic conversational skills. But as you said I'm really trying to look for the quickest way to make some money(I'm not broke per se but oh well)

I'm really in a tight spot until I could improve my Japanese it seems.

But why is it especially more difficult to get a teaching job with a WHV? The visa permits me to work with out restrictions other then the adult industry.

DigitalGhost

Simply because without any prior teaching experience or ESL teaching qualifications, a school will need to train you from the ground up and WHV holders by definition are slightly transient and short-term. Put yourself in the company's shoes. Would you want to hire someone with no experience of that industry if their visa only allowed them to work for another 9-10 months and they could leave the area or the country unexpectedly at any time?

herculas

That makes sense, fair enough. I was actually looking into getting a TESOL certificate to increase my chances.

DigitalGhost

That will definitely help you but it's a sizable investment and something you should only consider if you plan on teaching for at least a year or two.

herculas

Well I do want to live here permanently, but it all depends how life goes here, haha. I guess I will invest, I mean if we don't take risks not much will happen right?

DigitalGhost

Then you need to express that in the interviews. With a degree you are potentially eligible for Humanities visa sponsorship if it was ever needed. Just out of curiosity, what did you do for a living in the UK? I honestly think the WHV might be holding you back at this point.

herculas

My latest job was a paediatric healthcare assistant, worked it for one year.
I'll have to check if I can switch visas but I don't think I can. Also I always mention my plans to stay in Japan because of my fiancé and what not.
I personally think it's my English that's holding me back, I mean I'm pretty good with the English language but my accent and way of speaking is really heavy East Londoner haha.

SushiFan

Don't count too much on that relationship as a means to get a job. To Japanese it only counts if you are married. Any other form of relationship can be ended at any moment, in their opinion.

herculas

Haha yeah I understand, right now I am looking into whether I can change my visa without having to leave the country.

DigitalGhost

To change SoR from WHV to Spouse or Humanities I think you would need to leave the country. The most common technique is to do a visa run to Korea or Hong Kong, both fairly simple procedures for a UK citizen and cheap flights from NRT on JetStar, Air China, Vanilla etc make them very affordable these days.

For spouse you would need to go through the full CoE process as well because you're not in the UK anymore and the simplified financial self-sponsorship route is only valid via London.

What SushiFan just said about marriage is unfortunately 100% accurate. Especially when you're over 25-ish, Japan traditionally puts very little weight in unmarried couples and the western idea of a common-law relationship sadly just doesn't exist. If you can cohabit legally then you're welcome to do it and I know Japanese couples who do but it will never make a gaijin's life any easier and there are no legal allowances for it like there are in the UK.

Tbh, I am struggling to figure out why you are finding it so hard to secure teaching work though. A strong accent never helps and a British teacher will generally be expected to speak clearly and in something close to RP or even feign an American accent in some cases. Otherwise you have a degree, your age is fine and you're already legally in Japan.

It could be that your past work history is making you look over qualified but I'm just guessing there. Have you tried Gaba by any chance? They are usually a last resort for many teachers because of how their contracts work however they're known to be less picky than many of the other Eikaiwa corporations.

herculas

I won't be getting a spouse visa since I'm not ready for marriage, but I could look into humanities visa.
As you mentioned I personally think it's my strong East Londoner accent, I don't think I'm over qualified. I tried gaba and after making me wait 2 weeks after the final interview, they said no.
I'm also going to start looking at part time and temporary work. I also read that there are editing/proofreading jobs out there.

I also just realised my visa also has designated activities on it. Does it make a difference? Because some WHV restrict your working hours, for example, being allowed to only work for 3 months with the same employer and what not. But as far as I know mine is only restricted to the adult industry. I can work full time with out restrictions. I don't think some employers consider this.

DigitalGhost

OK honestly, if you're being knocked back by Gaba then you're doing something wrong. Gaba are one of the few 'big' schools who openly state they are happy to employ British WHV holders. That is mainly because very few long term foreign residents will actually work for them and many of the teachers they sponsor from overseas just use them to get into the country and then jump ship to another job as soon as they can.

Proof-reading/editing often needs some level of Japanese ability and seldom comes with visa sponsorship. Humanities visas are sponsored by the school and you need to have a firm job offer before you can get one. At this point I would really just try to get as much interview feedback as you can and look at where you might be going wrong.

herculas

Haha yh the problem is me, no denying that. Well no point in getting depressed. Gotta move on and try harder!
Ganbarimasu!

DigitalGhost

I'd maybe advise posting a thread on ESL Cafe because there are people on there who can offer pointers on eikaiwa interview technique and you might even be able to make some useful connections.