I recently applied to teach English at AEON, on NYE to be exact, on a whim. I used to live in Japan and I’ve always wanted to go back for quite some time now. I figured if they were willing to supply me a visa, it could be my way back into the country.
Anyway, given that this is not a US-based company (I’m from the States) things may work a bit differently in terms of the hiring process. I was a bit surprised to not receive a confirmation email that my application was received upon my initial submission. I suppose they will get back to me soon? I’m not sure. so with that being said:
**Question 1: How long does it usually take to hear back from AEON after submitting an application?**
Aside from this, I’m curious as to how the hiring process actually is. How long does it take from the moment I apply, to the moment they decide whether or not I am a good fit for the company? I guess I’m just looking for a general timeline.
**Question 2: What is the hiring process like for AEON? What is the general timeline from the initial application to being flown out to Japan (should one be hired).**
Lastly, I applied to AEON because they seem to be willing to supply visas, which is great as working and living in Japan as a non-Japanese citizen is notoriously difficult. Although teaching English may not be my forever goal, I would not mind it as a means of receiving income and establishing roots in the country before I consider switching lanes. However, I am a bit curious about how people feel about the company itself. What it’s like to work for them. Work-life balance. General work environment. Pay. Everything. I read somewhere on reddit that someone couldn’t tolerate it there and left after a few months. But conversely I’ve also seen someone say they had a relatively easy time there and thought it was a great way to enter the country. So needless to say I am a bit conflicted.
**Question 3: What is it like working at AEON? If you can, hold nothing back please haha.**
Sorry this was so long. I hope someone sees this because I’m definitely curious and hoping I’m making a semi-decent decision. Thank you!
5 comments
Commenting because I also have the same questions!
I can only answer to Question 1 since I’m still being interviewed by AEON. I was contacted two days after I submitted my application. So they were pretty fast when it comes to my experience.
Their timeline is their timeline. It could be soon, it might be never. It depends on their need. Don’t think for even one minute that they care at all about YOUR timeline – you are but one applicant among what might be hundreds. They pick and chose.
How you will like Aeon will depend heavily on your personality. Do you like interacting with people? Are you patient? Do you mind going over and over the same territory again and again, explaining and re-explaining? If you get a student who is shy and reticent and will barely say three words no matter how kind and patient you are would that eventually get on your nerves? Some people enjoy teaching and others don’t; some people can do the 8-9 hour lesson shifts without issue while others get exhausted and peopled-out.
I will warn you with one thing: eikaiwa is not a career, so if you plan to stay in Japan long you’d better learn Japanese fluently and pick a profession that foreigners can break into. A lot of Japanese companies simply won’t hire gaijin and will toss your resume as soon as they see your name. Make sure you have a plan, because there are a good number of people who had no ambition beyond “I want to live in Japan” and wind up bitter angry alcoholics because they realize just living in Japan isn’t enough, but they are now 40 and have no other options. And if you come to dislike the monotony of eikaiwa lessons, you’ll be one of them.
The pay is shite, and getting lower every year. You won’t get pay raises no matter how long you teach, and there are no ranks to level up. You also won’t actually become a teacher, because eikawa is not teaching – it’s entertaining. It’s a McJob, and it garners about as much respect as working at McDonald’s.
That said, some people don’t give a fuck about any of that and come to enjoy it. The thing is, you won’t know until you have been at it for a while. We can’t really tell you how it will be for you since everyone is different.
The pay is pretty good for an Eikaiwa, and for entry level English teaching it is probably the highest. Also comes with a subsidized apartment or at least it did last I heard.
Your income after tax and rent/expenses should be about 120~150 a month or something which I found totally fine to lead my life at that time.
Basically 25k a week for food, booze, transportation and whatever else i wanted with some money being saved. Depends on your lifestyle though.
Will you like the job? Depends on you, how quick you get over the learning curve/how to teach their style and most importantly what your school is like and who your manager is.
In my experience not a bad way to get into the country but not a long term thing.
I worked at Aeon almost 15 years ago but from the current comments, it doesn’t seem to have changed much… Including the pay.
That said, I really enjoyed my time doing it but I was getting bored after a year or so.
I also applied right at New Year’s and I was in the country by March. This is because I went to a less desired location, in Hokkaido. Most people wanted Tokyo or Osaka so I was processed through quickly.
Unless they’ve changed hiring practices, you’ll likely have a few more interviews and even have a short aptitude test and trial lesson. I did my research and I was clearly more prepared than others. I was surprised to see the level of some of the applicants… So don’t be one of those people and since you’re here asking these questions, you likely aren’t.
If you have half a brain and decent people skills, you’ll be fine. Aeon is more selective than other similar schools and even some of the cohort I was at the training facility (after you’re hired and in the country) with didn’t make it very long. So even if you get in, staying isn’t a guarantee. You are very much ‘on probation ‘ for the first three months.
If you get in and stay in the the job is fairly easy but there is a lot of monotonous things to do. Much will depend on the school you end up and the manager. I worked harder than others from my hiring cohort due to a smaller school (we only had two native English speakers, most schools have more) but also had an excellent manager (who I remain friends with).
As my manager was a kind and hard working person, I didn’t mind playing the ‘Aeon’ game. I had to hand out fliers and did a lot of prospective student interviews, for example. I ruffled a few feathers by not being so enthusiastic about selling the Aeon extra materials (they’re crap) but since I was hard working and had a high rate of interview success, I feel I was cut some slack in this.
My coworkers were also great, which of course helps.
It was a great experience for me and I hope it is for you. Let me know if you have more questions.