Background: American/native speaker. I have a B.A. in English and received my TEFL certificate in 2020, right before the pandemic shut everything down. Consequently, I have very few teaching hours under my belt.
This year, I’ve applied to **AEON** (turned down), **NOVA** (turned down), **ECC** (waiting for in-person interviews to resume), and **Interac** (application pending till *Spring 2023*). I’ll apply to **JET** in October.
I’m considering teaching abroad someplace else for the time being, to gain experience and improve my chances for next year. But, Japan is my first choice, so I wanted to ask if anyone had any better advice.
Are there any other options I’ve overlooked?
Thanks in advance!
\-KM
5 comments
I like the alliteration, haha.
Have you looked into Altia Central? They’re an ALT dispatch company. I’ve had an offer from an eikaiwa before the pandemic, and then that kind of fell through over the course of a year or so. I applied to Altima Central about a month ago and I just finished my second interview yesterday. You might try them and see if they’re still accepting applications.
You can get experience by working as a volunteer ESL teacher. Plenty of US community colleges, for example, have literacy programs or GED courses, and most likely welcome volunteer assistants. Church groups and other volunteer organizations are places to check as well. Experience does not have to be paid experience, and having any kind of teaching experience will make what may be that otherwise unremarkable CV of yours stand out.
Former AEON, GABA employee, currently doing direct hire ALT work here.
Honestly, I don’t think its that you’re underqualified for these positions. It could be something with your personality; however, I doubt it, as I have met a lot of people working for these big brand eikaiwas who give off very creepy vibes.
I think the root cause is that a lot of these companies are not performing well, economically speaking. Since the pandemic hit student numbers have dropped; furthermore, as the country goes in and out of State of Emergency, the level of uncertainty has increased.
I’m surprised that these companies are still conducting interviews for positions; but, I suppose the hiring department needs to look busy to keep their jobs.
FYI, I had applied to GABA in January and was approved and accepted; however, I wasn’t given the position until April because they didn’t have enough “student demand”. When I started, I couldn’t even get enough students to scrape by even though I had great ratings.
In short, your timing is not so good! If you can wait, I’d recommend doing a Master’s in Education and once the pandemic subsides (if it ever does) apply for International Schools/Universities. The pay will be significantly better for a similar workload (as far as I have been told).
That’s a lot of ‘Ps’
Eikaiwa is dead. Seriously.