So I am thinking about renewing for another year but will job hunt in this time. I am enjoying my placement but have realized I want to re-enter the job market in my field though I am far from having anything lined up.
Supposing I get a job offer next year sometime after recontracting, will things get awkward and ugly with my placement and supervisor?
These are just hypotheticals for now I know, but I just want to prepare myself mentally for different scenarios.
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My predecessor ran into this issue. Because there was no alternate candidate available to fill for her immediately they were short an ALT for almost a year at my school, and this lead to some passive aggressive behaviors from her superiors.
For myself I ‘m thinking I won’t recontract (that’s what I think at the moment) and will job hunt/reach out to former employers during my last couple months here.
Ultimately yes, you’re leaving a position unfilled and putting work loads back onto the teachers / extra expense to the school to hire a non-JET ALT.
But at the end of the day you should do what makes you happy, if you think you’re going to be breaking contract try to time it well so there’s still alternate JETs available, this will definitely help the school in their arrangements after.
And be prepared for a little discomfort- it happens in every job after you leave, a mild amount of awkwardness. More so when you factor in a contract renewed specifically
This topic comes up about once a month, so you might look back through the archives here. Anyway, I can tell you about my experience breaking contract, and that of about a dozen other people who broke contract in my area around the same time…
Of the dozen of us, only one person experienced any trouble with their contracting organization. It wasn’t even their school that had an issue, it was the people that the town office who didn’t like that they would have to fill out paperwork and try to get a replacement mid year and pay for airfare. But that didn’t matter a lot because you don’t go to your town office very often. You might visit once a week or less.
The rest of us all had good experiences. We had worked here for three or more years, we were nearing the maximum anyway, and an assistant teacher is only a step on our career path. All of my coworkers and bosses were excited to hear what I was trying to get into, and I got a lot of advice about various aspects of my job search and places where I might want to live.
One related thing that stands out is this. One of the other Japanese teachers (not an ALT) was studying to take a test to get permanent hire. In other words, he was working full-time on a one-year contract, and if he could pass this test then he would qualify for permanent hire. And the people sitting next to him, the other teachers, they made him leave school at 5:00 p.m. every day for the month leading up to his test. They knew that he wanted to be a team player, but the test was more important than his presence late into the evening. Later he passed his test, which was wonderful news. But actually it’s even more on point, because later in the year he got a job offer for a permanent position in a different town, and he was worried about leaving our school in December instead of March, and the same teachers who helped him study told him to go go go.
If you have a better job option than your current one, then you should take it. People who respect you will be happy to see you make your life better.