Hello everyone. I am an ALT with Interac in Sapporo and would like the perspective of others of a situation I am in.
This is a long story so the tl;dr version is “My manager told me they may not renew my contract for next year, but he may also have been overstating the severity of the situation. Am I fucked?” (not very tl;dr I know)
Anyway, this has been my first year at Interac, I previously worked for NOVA but left because I needed a lighter schedule. I wasn’t financially ready to move but did it anyway, and it ended up draining my savings (thanks key money!). Last spring my fiance and I split up after 4 years, and this combined with having no money sent me into a fierce depression where I stopped taking care of myself. I still put a lot of effort into my work and my conduct at school (however there was still a learning curve; two of my JTEs are extremely conservative Japanese women and don’t understand the concept of charisma in the classroom), but my school was worried about me and notified Interac several times throughout the school year. At first it seemed like they were genuinely worried about me (I probably looked like I was able to open my wrists in the staff room some days), but the aforementioned JTEs also brought a list of things they wanted me to improve on to Interac. I was called in for training and complied with all of it happily (I do believe a lot in self-improvement and knew my lessons needed it), and I got good scores on the teacher evaluation last year; so good that my manager even said he wasn’t expecting to see scores that good.
Anyway, after that I continued to do training with the company and they had another meeting with my school, hearing another laundry-list of things my JTEs wanted me to improve upon. I shadowed my head teacher and did follow-up meetings with my branch during December. However, I was still horribly depressed and wasn’t taking good care of myself (mainly, as embarrassing as it is to say, with hygiene). My manager called me on the phone just prior to winter break and told me the school notified the branch about it. I went to school for the rest of that week, and at the end of winter break (which helped lift my spirits) my manager called me into the branch office and I had a meeting with him and our Japanese branch manager. I was back to caring again and the issues that the school had raised weren’t there, so with help from my manager (who covered for me as our branch manager basically asked “Why have you been messing up like this? Can we trust you?”) I was able to salvage the third semester and not get fired then and there. After the meeting I asked him if I would be given a contract for next year and he said it was still possible, but there are no guarantees. Since then I have been taking care of myself (and trying to focus on the positives) and trying to fix the issues my JTEs had with me. I have also been applying for positions with other companies (I even re-applied for NOVA just in case), but I want to keep working for Interac because of how stable it is (plus, I love teaching in a classroom).
Basically what I am trying to get at with this novel-length post of love and loss is how likely it is that I will be given a contract for next year. Interac monopolized the remaining BoE contracts not already held by an independent ALT for ES and JHS here in Hokkaido, and therefore are incredibly short on people. My manager also mentioned the branch is looking for a place for me now, but that may be lip-service to make sure I stay on my game. I know that I was really careless last year and this is what I get, but objectively I don’t know if I did that badly. My scores were good and my relationship with my JTEs and my school isn’t bad; my eigo tantou tells me daily how much she appreciates the effort I’ve put in and how much I do around the school. My manager likes me, he’s said I have a lot of potential on many occasions, but I also know that this decision is likely out of his hands since our head office is in Sendai (and that he may be placating me with encouragement so that I can get to the end of the semester and they don’t hurt their relationship with my school). But I am very anxious person by nature (I really shouldn’t even be writing this since it is feeding into my paranoia, but I’d like some differing perspectives).
If you got this far thank you for reading, and any advice you have would be greatly appreciated!
13 comments
We really are our own worst enemies, aren’t we!
To be honest, I have never been in this situation before so I can’t tell you what will happen, but I am an anxious person and I worry about things a lot.
I think it’s a waste of brain power to worry about whether you’ll get recontracted or not. Obviously, easier said than done. Rather, you should be planning for the worst-case scenario. If you don’t get recontracted, what are you going to do? Start thinking about that now.
I find that helps put me at ease. Your mind will do mental gymnastics and go off on tangents unless you pin it down and plan it out. I hope all the best for you though!!
Is your manager a recent transfer who’s first name starts with “d”?
If so it’s a common fear tactic he uses regardless of actual backing behind the threat.
Either way the industry is desperate for bodies so you’re more than likely fine.
Interac is desperate right now with the borders being closed. At worst they’ll just move you to a different city where they have literally no one to teach would be my bet.
With the pandemic, it’s really hard for companies to find people. That usually means that places are willing to overlook things that would be bad news in other years.
I have a question, though. At your company, how much notice do they have to give if they don’t renew your contract? If they weren’t, it seems to me that you would know by now.
It seems that your Japanese co-workers had some minor issues with your work, or perhaps your personal hygiene. You mentioned that in your story. Some Japanese people have an overly obsessive attitude concerning how foreign teachers should look and yes, even smell.
I remember a long time ago, back in my eikaiwa days having a Japanese manager ask me to tell a co-worker to lay off the cologne because the students were not into it.
Considering the number of “admirers” the young man had, that wasn’t the case.
Sorry, that was an unnecessary tangent.
I wouldn’t worry too much about your situation. The fact that you are also exploring other opportunities means something better may turn up. The best times to find teaching jobs are now and a week after the school year starts.
Even if it probably isn’t true, the companies seem to think they can import new, cheap, dumb labor very soon. When the floodgates do open they will 100% replace everyone that is considered to be a “problem” (complaints) AND anyone that is making more than they want to pay. There is a two year back log of weebs so desperate to come to Japan that they will accept minimum wage with deductions.
…I don’t know if you were in Hokkaido Nova before, but the Hokkaido manager is a freaking nightmare.
>If you don’t get recontracted, what are you going to do? Start thinking about that now.
100,000% *this*. Get your CV and references up to date.
Wait, you have meetings and regular contact with other alts and managers? I started working at the Sendai branch late last year. Haven’t met with anybody post online training. They call me once in a while about a schedule change, but that’s about it. I just go to school and return home.
Interac always has positions, and should be giving you clear warnings in advance if they plan not to re-contract you. Otherwise, you should expect to have a job.
You’d be well off to join the Sapporo General Union, just to make sure there are no shenanigans, and yes, Sapporo office has had shenanigans. (A few years back, there was a very depressed ALT, and the office staff convinced her to quit! They didn’t fire her, they got her to agree to quit. It was gross! She wasn’t going to help secure the contract, so what would they care about a depressed person living alone in a foreign country?) The Union is a nominal monthly fee
From the point of view of someone in management, I can see how they may think you are a liability.
From their point of view, you seem to need to have someone always on you or else you slip back into bad habits. This is never a good look, in any kind of job. They can’t trust you, you cost them time and money as they have to continually monitor you, and you might fall all the way into a hole, which might even cost them a client.
You may get leeway in another job context, but in dispatch you are on a short rope. Companies like Interac consider every single employee as expendable. The company doesn’t want to invest *any* money or training into its workforce. The measly few days they spend in the beginning is just window dressing to keep BOEs happy. If they think they will have to keep an eye on you, and spend precious time on more training, they’re just going to let you go. It’s actually cheaper to let you go than to train you – does that make sense? The company doesn’t give a flying fuck about individual teachers – they care about profit, and nothing more. It’s a business, and a cold, money-grubbing one at that.
That said, if you can keep yourself together for the rest of your contract, you’ll be okay. They still need people because the borders are closed, so they’ve been quite generous (for them) to you. I’m sure your contract will be renewed THIS time.
But let me give you a bit of advice. If you are having mental health issues, Japan is not the best place to be. It has a very poor support system for people with mental health issues in general, and services for foreigners are even scarcer. You also don’t have a personal support system here in the form of family or old friends who would be willing to go out on a limb for you. This makes it VERY hard to crawl back from the dark place. You have experienced this already.
You need to take far better care of yourself, and I think you’re going to need help to do it. In other words, I really think you should consider going home.
I’ve seen this many times over my years in Japan – it’s very easy for foreigners to fall into a black pit of depression. It’s even harder to get out because we don’t have the support we need. This means you need to go somewhere you do have that support. Whether that is your home town, or the city you lived in before coming here, or somewhere else entirely, I think you should seriously consider going there.
You sound very sad, even now. The tone of your post makes me worry. Please do remember that Japan makes mental health worse. Just keep in mind that you can relieve much of your mental stress by leaving this situation.
And think how satisfying it would be tell this guy “D” to go fuck himself. 🙂
I asked Interac about a new contract for months at the end of 2020 and they strung me along until a month before my contract was up. They had me come to a meeting where they strung me along all the way until the end to tell me I wasn’t getting rehired.
If you are not getting rehired, they will string you along until the last possible minute. I thought I was getting a new contract for sure when Interac was requesting a 5-year extension on my visa…
>two of my JTEs are extremely conservative Japanese women and don’t understand the concept of charisma in the classroom
What… does this mean exactly?
I suspect that you may still have a position, but it sounds like in addition to hygiene / other issues, it seems like there may be some sort of.. culture clash or other misunderstanding happening…
Something to keep on the back burner — these entry-level positions tend to work instructors over more than other countries.
If the eikaiwa world and the alt world are a bit much, then it’s time for a change. I found myself burning out after a few years at Berlitz. I then taught in Vietnam where I worked about 22 hours on-site. Very reasonable. My quality of life improved.
Realistically, the Bachelor’s/TEFL is good for a year in Japan and then I’d consider further credentials, a master’s, JLPT prep for N2, or a different country to escape the loop. What’s your long-term goal here?
Sometimes it also comes down to an honest assessment. If this depression is driven by social anxiety, work load, finances, teaching, feeling isolated…how will it be any different in the next teaching gig?