I am just wondering if anyone has moved over as a couple or with a partner? My girlfriend and I are starting to apply and we have heard that it’s best to send your CVs through as a package.
We don’t need the same school just the same district or city.
Just curious if anyone has done that or is doing that and what challenges did you encounter?
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It’s better to come here single – you can date and hook up with Japanese locals here. That’s what makes this experience fun
Ask in r/movingtojapan.
Haven’t done it personally but I know several couples who came over together. Apply together otherwise you could be sent to different parts of the country.
Probably not going to be in the same school if it’s a chain. That’s usually the policy, but you can certainly be together
It’s common for international schools to hire couples or families.
I just moved to Tokyo with my wife and two daughters, and it’s the second time we do the same thing which is: I send my CV, they interview me and ask about my wife, I tell them she’s a teacher too, they interview her, and we are both offered a job and school for the girls.
First time we moved to Germany and now to Japan. I’ve met plenty of couple and families who’ve done the same. You just need the right timing for two vacancies in the same school or area.
We never sent our CVs together because we’ve had good results regardless.
That should be the least of your concerns and its easy enough to find in all major cities despite the downturn. Especially in Tokyo if you have a good CV already
Harder is finding two jobs that aren’t exploiting your urgency to move to Japan and locking you into long term contracts, residential packages, stuff like that. Be very careful about it
It’s very tempting to lock in the first two jobs that look like you’re going to make ends meet, only to discover there are clauses that make them pay less and tie up your weekends, and then you can’t leave as easily because of what you signed. This is all too common here
So what to do?
My advice is to lock in 1 great high earning ideal job and live meagerly your first year while you try to lock in your second great job nearby with more time.
Some companies are perfectly happy to hire couples, but it depends on outlook and is not something that can be quantified.
Some managers may think that couples will keep each other accountable, or that couples are more likely to finish a limited term contract. It could even be that there is less worry that either party in the couple will go on a bender and show up late or hungover at work lol.
Anyway, if you need to move to the same city with your partner, I think letting the company know that that is the deal from the get-go is a wise choice. Hell, if there is a difference in experience or interview performance between you two, it could be that whoever is the stronger candidate actually helps the other make it through the interview process successfully, because the company understands that you come as a set.
Came to Japan this year with my partner, we were both hired as ALTs, same company. Different schools, but close enough placements so we are able to live together. We had to push a couple of times that we need to live together. There were times when they just wanted to send us over separated, but we kept insisting and said we would wait until 2 positions opened up because we are not changing our minds. It didn’t take long for positions to become available. The one major thing for us was that they said finding an apartment for an unmarried couple would be hard. We decided to get engaged before coming, and that seemed to help a bit. In the end, it all worked out.