Lately I’ve been pretty lazy blogging-wise, but since I was writing about first experiences in my last post, I thought I would add a consecutive post about my first time working in Japan.

After coming back from my trip to Korea and Kansai Japan, I pretty much threw all my time and effort into my job search. Ideally I was hoping to find one job where I could use English primarily and one where I could use Japanese. I was really lucky because I managed to find both!

Job hunting the Japanese way can be a little daunting because it’s way more complicated than in North America. I had to scour through Japanese websites and send in hand written resumes along with a mugshot of myself dressed in business attire. The process is super formal even for part time or contract jobs.

After a couple days I got my first phone calls from the HR department saying they’ve received my applications. Some called directly to set up interview times, others called multiple times to confirm my information and availability before setting up an interview.

The interview itself was pretty nerve-racking because it was conducted in Japanese, although the interviewers were more lenient with my lack of keigo, or formal Japanese speech. The interviews weren’t long, maybe 20 minutes max, and usually carried out between one or two interviewers. The questions were what you’d typically expect at an interview, with a couple specific ones asking me of my interests in Japan and why I decided to move here.

At the same time I was applying for jobs at Japanese companies, I also applied for a job at an English school. The process was more straightforward, although it was more time consuming with the amount of interviews and training sessions I had to attend. However, since I have a valid visa and was already in Japan and was reasonably competent in English, I fast tracked through the interview process and ended up joining the training session the following week. Then I started teaching the week after!

While I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy teaching English at first, I’ve come to like it. There’s lots of interesting clients you meet everyday. Also, since lessons are one-to-one, you really get invested in the teaching materials and it’s easier to customize it to the client’s needs. While I still struggle teaching really low levels and jumping to really high levels, I feel like I’m getting better lesson by lesson.

With my other job however, I found the learning curve to be a lot steeper. There’s SOOOOO much to remember! On top of that, the Japanese work environment is very strict and kouhei-sempai relationship is more evident. It’s not to say that my colleagues aren’t nice, but I’m always afraid of overstepping boundaries or being too casual with my sempais. It’s not a bad different, just a different different. Lol

I don’t want to write too much details about this job, but I am enjoying the work. In comparison to the language school, this job is definitely more physically demanding. I feel like I’m always on the move! However I’m also learning lots every shift and I think the work will become easier with time. Not to mention I get to eat for cheap at the staff cafeteria! =P

Overall I’m just happy that I’m no longer just bleeding out money and that I finally have income! It’s definitely a great experience just to say I’ve worked abroad in Asia. I hope I will continue to enjoy it for the next few months.