After all the helpful advice from everyone on here, telling me to run a mile, I’ve been rejected by nova! I’m a teacher in the UK with a PGCE and a CELTA and have never had a problem getting jobs in the UK.
What? How is that possible? Do you have a criminal history? Are you over like 40? Did you say something super weird in your interview?
“nova will take anyone” is a false claim. It’s easy to get hired yes but you’re not in Japan. There’s plenty of workforce already in the country. Way easier to hire people with visa/apartment etc. They probably already have strong enough candidates here.
They want yes men in the middle of nowhere, not qualified independently minded teachers in tokyo
Try for an international school if you have PGCE/QTS-tons of them in Tokyo.
Nova doesn’t want qualified teachers.
Look, Japan is not a great place to teach ESL for those of us who take teaching seriously enough to get qualifications. The big chains like Nova, Gaba, Aeon, etc. prefer to hire people who are so eager to live in Japan that they will accept almost any kind of working conditions, which unfortunately includes low teaching standards.
Seriously – teaching standards in Japan are absolute garbage at these places.
Don’t feel bad getting rejected by Westgate, either. My friend, who has an MA TESOL and an MBA as well as 20 years of teaching experience, was also rejected by them. Well, he also rejected them when he learned more about the working conditions.
They want people who are inexperienced and young because they are easy to manage since they won’t ever question management or complain.
If you love teaching, Japan is not a great place to do it.
Sorry to hear this. Pick yourself up and apply for more jobs if you’re set on moving here. Good luck! With those qualifications, once you’re here, you could easily move to another iob. I applied for every single company, and Nova was the fastest to let me in, yet they provide the lowest pay.
You’re overqualified for them
Tbh you sound overqualified for an eikaiwa, see if you can find something at an international school.
Read some if your comments. You seem dead set on being located in Tokyo.
That’s probably the hiccup.
There’s huge competition to teach in the busy city with a vibrant night life and proximity to clubs and attractions.
The countryside is constantly in need to teachers due to folks terminating their contracts to go home and not wanting to be out there away from all the tourist attractions.
Depends on what your motivations are.
Companies like this are simply trying to fill numbers due to their high turnover rate. While they probably see your qualifications as an overall positive, they are primarily focused on hiring and sending people to their branches across the country as soon as possible.
At the end of the day, they don’t value their own product and don’t consider it to be something that requires a high level of expertise to deliver. People who are already in the country and who are able to relocate anywhere will take precedence over a qualified educator located overseas.
They want convenience rather than skilled labour. These companies are to education what Mcdonalds is to hospitality, and as a qualified teacher you are a five-star chef. You can definitely do the job, but so can someone else with no experience, so it’s easier for them to hire someone who is willing to shift their life at a moments notice, work anywhere they tell them to, and accept their shitty work conditions because they don’t know any better. Don’t take it personally.
Probably you could try to accept somewhere a stone’s throw from Tokyo. Being in Kanagawa or Chiba or Saitama, or even Gunma, Ibaraki, Tochigi, etc, are all close enough to Tokyo that you could spend every weekend and even plenty of evenings there, but would make you more flexible for getting jobs. Wanting to be in Tokyo proper only really limits your options.
Or, just take something in middle of nowhere wherever to get a visa and then change jobs once you’re there. It’s a heck of a lot easier to get hired from within Japan than outside it.
You’re being rejected because of the time of year most likely. Wait for September.
Why does it *have* to be Tokyo? If you live in Tokyo, you won’t really be able to live with these terrible salaries these companies give anyways
Companies like Nova and Aeon do not want qualified teachers. They want pretty people who will say yes and not realize how messed up they are. A lot of these companies also don’t really let you choose locations or salary.
If you want a job in Tokyo, you should look for jobs that are straight up based in Tokyo. There are a bunch of international schools advertising on sites like Gaijin pot. A lot of them are for international daycare/kindergartens right now. You might start to see some openings for private schools and stuff leading up to August but I would be careful… a lot of those August school openings are because whoever they had before bailed and you really have to ask yourself, “Why is the position suddenly open?” I say this as someone who is about to leave real messed up private school to go work for a new company.
Why Tokyo?
Don’t feel bad, Borderlink rejected me years ago even with me applying in the country, then I went with Interac. Both are absolute horse shit anyway I found out.
Now at mom and pop eikawa and it’s amazing.
Honestly Interac’s the place I’d run from. Nova at least pays ~270k a month, has no ‘month of no pay’ and it gives you a single site to teach at (i.e. no driving around and shyte when your salary really is too low to afford a car).
Don’t wanna sound mean spirited but IMO people who are getting knocked back are likely raising red flags somewhere along the line. Obviously I dunno how but IMO there’s probably something in the way they draft their application / interview that gives off weird vibes.
Just an example but (as an Aussie) I was weirded out by a lot of American applicants at my old eikaiwa who were vague about what degree they’d actually done (usually they’d list out a stack of confusing ‘majors’ and ‘minors’ rather than just the name/year of their qualification). Also, some were really intense with me when I asked them for a few lines on their work experience (again, because they hadn’t listed it on their CV, they’d just had a vague rambling about ‘this and that’). For one I had been given permission from the owner to hire him so long as he could send through a list of three casual jobs he’d had at uni. I was like ‘MATE… it’s okay that you worked at a petrol station!!! TOTALLY fine.Can you just send me an e-mail listing your jobs during uni?’ He instantly became all defensive/snarky and was like ‘WHY?!? I can’t see how that’s relevant to the application. I want you to focus on [blah blah blah]’. He wasn’t a particularly good candidate but we were desperate and he just had to read between the lines in order to receive an offer. I dunno the OP and am not saying they’re like this but IMO most would be better off adjusting their style rather than going to Interac and co.
As a former HR/recruiter in Japan, I will agree with most people here that you are overqualified. If NOVA would hire you, they know you will find a better job within 6 months and leave given your qualifications. You could make a much higher salary with a private high school or something more experience based. With Westgate, their contracts are only for 3-4 months at a time, so not sure why they would reject you, except for maybe that there are enough candidates in Japan so they would rather hire those people they can interview and hire in person.
Yeah. Left NOVA this year. You’ll be thankful you dodged that bullet. They don’t want anyone who is going to question anything.
If you have a PGCE you should apply directly to certified international schools. You’re salary and working conditions will be far better, in some cases very good.
Overqualified people like you are a pain in the ass. You’ll be complaining and whining about their curriculum, teaching standards, and students proficiency.
Nova want desperate teachers who can be taught anything and be fooled about everything.
I have no teaching qualifications except a cheap scam TEFL and have never been rejected. You are overqualified.
It’s true Tokyo isn’t the be all and end all. Osaka, anywhere in Kyushu. Better than Tokyo, actually.
Overqualified issue.
“I’m an experienced chef and I’ve been rejected by McDonalds.”
25 comments
What? How is that possible? Do you have a criminal history? Are you over like 40? Did you say something super weird in your interview?
“nova will take anyone” is a false claim. It’s easy to get hired yes but you’re not in Japan.
There’s plenty of workforce already in the country. Way easier to hire people with visa/apartment etc.
They probably already have strong enough candidates here.
They want yes men in the middle of nowhere, not qualified independently minded teachers in tokyo
Try for an international school if you have PGCE/QTS-tons of them in Tokyo.
Nova doesn’t want qualified teachers.
Look, Japan is not a great place to teach ESL for those of us who take teaching seriously enough to get qualifications. The big chains like Nova, Gaba, Aeon, etc. prefer to hire people who are so eager to live in Japan that they will accept almost any kind of working conditions, which unfortunately includes low teaching standards.
Seriously – teaching standards in Japan are absolute garbage at these places.
Don’t feel bad getting rejected by Westgate, either. My friend, who has an MA TESOL and an MBA as well as 20 years of teaching experience, was also rejected by them. Well, he also rejected them when he learned more about the working conditions.
They want people who are inexperienced and young because they are easy to manage since they won’t ever question management or complain.
If you love teaching, Japan is not a great place to do it.
Sorry to hear this. Pick yourself up and apply for more jobs if you’re set on moving here. Good luck! With those qualifications, once you’re here, you could easily move to another iob.
I applied for every single company, and Nova was the fastest to let me in, yet they provide the lowest pay.
You’re overqualified for them
Tbh you sound overqualified for an eikaiwa, see if you can find something at an international school.
Read some if your comments. You seem dead set on being located in Tokyo.
That’s probably the hiccup.
There’s huge competition to teach in the busy city with a vibrant night life and proximity to clubs and attractions.
The countryside is constantly in need to teachers due to folks terminating their contracts to go home and not wanting to be out there away from all the tourist attractions.
Depends on what your motivations are.
Companies like this are simply trying to fill numbers due to their high turnover rate. While they probably see your qualifications as an overall positive, they are primarily focused on hiring and sending people to their branches across the country as soon as possible.
At the end of the day, they don’t value their own product and don’t consider it to be something that requires a high level of expertise to deliver. People who are already in the country and who are able to relocate anywhere will take precedence over a qualified educator located overseas.
They want convenience rather than skilled labour. These companies are to education what Mcdonalds is to hospitality, and as a qualified teacher you are a five-star chef. You can definitely do the job, but so can someone else with no experience, so it’s easier for them to hire someone who is willing to shift their life at a moments notice, work anywhere they tell them to, and accept their shitty work conditions because they don’t know any better. Don’t take it personally.
Probably you could try to accept somewhere a stone’s throw from Tokyo. Being in Kanagawa or Chiba or Saitama, or even Gunma, Ibaraki, Tochigi, etc, are all close enough to Tokyo that you could spend every weekend and even plenty of evenings there, but would make you more flexible for getting jobs. Wanting to be in Tokyo proper only really limits your options.
Or, just take something in middle of nowhere wherever to get a visa and then change jobs once you’re there. It’s a heck of a lot easier to get hired from within Japan than outside it.
You’re being rejected because of the time of year most likely. Wait for September.
Why does it *have* to be Tokyo? If you live in Tokyo, you won’t really be able to live with these terrible salaries these companies give anyways
Companies like Nova and Aeon do not want qualified teachers. They want pretty people who will say yes and not realize how messed up they are. A lot of these companies also don’t really let you choose locations or salary.
If you want a job in Tokyo, you should look for jobs that are straight up based in Tokyo. There are a bunch of international schools advertising on sites like Gaijin pot. A lot of them are for international daycare/kindergartens right now. You might start to see some openings for private schools and stuff leading up to August but I would be careful… a lot of those August school openings are because whoever they had before bailed and you really have to ask yourself, “Why is the position suddenly open?” I say this as someone who is about to leave real messed up private school to go work for a new company.
Why Tokyo?
Don’t feel bad, Borderlink rejected me years ago even with me applying in the country, then I went with Interac. Both are absolute horse shit anyway I found out.
Now at mom and pop eikawa and it’s amazing.
Honestly Interac’s the place I’d run from. Nova at least pays ~270k a month, has no ‘month of no pay’ and it gives you a single site to teach at (i.e. no driving around and shyte when your salary really is too low to afford a car).
Don’t wanna sound mean spirited but IMO people who are getting knocked back are likely raising red flags somewhere along the line. Obviously I dunno how but IMO there’s probably something in the way they draft their application / interview that gives off weird vibes.
Just an example but (as an Aussie) I was weirded out by a lot of American applicants at my old eikaiwa who were vague about what degree they’d actually done (usually they’d list out a stack of confusing ‘majors’ and ‘minors’ rather than just the name/year of their qualification). Also, some were really intense with me when I asked them for a few lines on their work experience (again, because they hadn’t listed it on their CV, they’d just had a vague rambling about ‘this and that’). For one I had been given permission from the owner to hire him so long as he could send through a list of three casual jobs he’d had at uni. I was like ‘MATE… it’s okay that you worked at a petrol station!!! TOTALLY fine.Can you just send me an e-mail listing your jobs during uni?’ He instantly became all defensive/snarky and was like ‘WHY?!? I can’t see how that’s relevant to the application. I want you to focus on [blah blah blah]’. He wasn’t a particularly good candidate but we were desperate and he just had to read between the lines in order to receive an offer. I dunno the OP and am not saying they’re like this but IMO most would be better off adjusting their style rather than going to Interac and co.
As a former HR/recruiter in Japan, I will agree with most people here that you are overqualified. If NOVA would hire you, they know you will find a better job within 6 months and leave given your qualifications. You could make a much higher salary with a private high school or something more experience based. With Westgate, their contracts are only for 3-4 months at a time, so not sure why they would reject you, except for maybe that there are enough candidates in Japan so they would rather hire those people they can interview and hire in person.
Yeah. Left NOVA this year. You’ll be thankful you dodged that bullet. They don’t want anyone who is going to question anything.
If you have a PGCE you should apply directly to certified international schools. You’re salary and working conditions will be far better, in some cases very good.
https://www.international-schools-database.com/in/tokyo
Also, ECC is probably the best Eikaiwa to work form in terms of staff treatment, and if you’re in the UK, Shane is probably the easiest to apply for.
https://eccteachinjapan.com/
https://saxoncourt.com/english-teaching/teach-english-in-japan/
Overqualified people like you are a pain in the ass. You’ll be complaining and whining about their curriculum, teaching standards, and students proficiency.
Nova want desperate teachers who can be taught anything and be fooled about everything.
I have no teaching qualifications except a cheap scam TEFL and have never been rejected. You are overqualified.
It’s true Tokyo isn’t the be all and end all. Osaka, anywhere in Kyushu. Better than Tokyo, actually.
Overqualified issue.
“I’m an experienced chef and I’ve been rejected by McDonalds.”
It’s basically the same as this.