Job-searching woes

[reppu]

So um, I'm having a hard time with this "finding a job" thing. At this point, I'm 55% sure I'll go back home to America, but that's mainly because I can't think of anything else to do. One of the interesting things about applying to JET right out of college is that I don't have much life experience. I know how to find a summer job, but a real job? What, do you look in the classifieds section of the newspaper? Somehow, Monster.com seems like it would be too easy...

I kinda wonder how all my friends found jobs. Is there like, some magic book you consult? Ask a friend of a friend for something? Seems like that would have worked in better economic times, but these days I figure I'd be hard pressed. For some reason, I think I would kinda enjoy being a secretary. I wanna test my organizational limits and see how much planning I could do before I crack. Or working at a library. That would be a fun venture, organizing books and things.

But what if I stay in Japan? I know people use GaijinPot and OhayoSensei, but they haven't been helpful lately, so I wonder if there's something else? What if I don't want to do ESL teaching? Le gasp, yes, there are foreigners out there who don't want to teach!

I feel like I wanna put a billion options on the table and choose the best one. I jumped at the chance to join JET, and while I don't regret coming back here, I do wish I'd spent a bit more time making contacts back home that I could use now.

So says the worrywart. It doesn't help that I haven't updated my CV since 2004... @__@

Also, today I subsisted until 6pm on a poptart. And half of one at that. This is not unusual for me on the weekends. I'm surprised I'm not dead. I think the only reason I've lost weight in Japan is because my body is eating itself since I don't feed it. Maybe that's why my arms are more flabby? I'd gladly put on weight for more muscle...

Comments

[nekonezumi.livejournal.com]

For what it's worth, I got my first full-time receptionist job through a temp agency. :D You can just go into the temp agency and fill out paperwork and do a typing speed test and stuff, and request "temp-to-hire" status, and if the company you're placed with decides to hire you after the "temp" trial period, you're set, and you'll get the experience you need to apply for some higher-experience-level jobs. *nod* The temp agency does all the work for you in terms of hooking you up with a company that matches your skills and job preferences--they get a cut of your pay while you're temping, but after you're hired, of course, you're paid directly by the company that hires you, and not through your agency.

I know a bunch of people who had really good luck with this sort of thing, and it wasn't just for secretarial jobs, either. ^_~ Just something to consider, anyway.

[gaminette.livejournal.com]

I found this book ("Do What You Are") (http://www.amazon.com/What-You-Are-Personality-Type-Revised/dp/0316880655/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241964478&sr=8-1) to be super-helpful when I was clueless and not knowing what I wanted to do when I grew up.

Is Atlanta the only place you're considering going back to in the States right now? Cuz Dude, you speak Japanese. The economy may not be great all over the world, but bilingual people in the business world, believe me, are always in demand. If you want to give administrative assistant stuff a go, why not check out the Japanese offices of American-based companies? Or Japanese companies with American-based offices like Sumitomo?

And you can always adapt whatever experience you *do* have to what you want to do. Again with the admin (please don't use the "s" word... ^_~): lesson preparation, patience (because a lot of what I do is Executive Hand-holding), listening skills, all of those things count for a lot.

gambatte ne!!!

[februaryfour]

I used CareerCross.

[reppu.livejournal.com]

Sadly, I'm not bilingual, and all the jobs in Aichi require fluency. ;__;

I will keep it bookmarked and keep checkin' though! The more places I know, the better. ^^

[roseofjuly.livejournal.com]

You're not bilingual? What's your definition of bilingual? You speak Japanese pretty well.

[reppu.livejournal.com]

My definition of bilingual is native-level fluent. Maybe I set my standards too high? I mean, with a bit of time and an understand person, I can do nearly anything in this country, from opening an bank account to renting an apartment, but I can't pick up a novel in a bookstore and just give it a read (not without a massive dictionary and TEN YEARS). I suppose I the word wouldn't be "bilingual" per se, but "functional." I do want to be able to read though, because I'm a bookworm at heart, no matter the country. ^^;;

And how's your French these days? :D

[justsonya.livejournal.com]

If you want to hunt in the US, wait until you're back on ground here. People in this economy are less likely to interview remote applicants than they are in a good economy. However, if you are going to hunt while here, give me a call as soon as you're landed and settled, and I'll show you how to work the job sites to get hired in no time at all. I'm a whiz at it.

[reppu.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tip! I didn't even think about having to interview back home. Guess I should really hop on updating my CV and buying a new suit! And I most certainly appreciate your generous offer to help me out. Depending on what happens, I might have to take you up on it! :D

[yes-rhade.livejournal.com]

Good luck! Ha ve you thought about going to Grad school again? Coming over to Duke?

[reppu.livejournal.com]

Have definitely thought of grad school, and I'll be doing it as soon as I get my applications in and get accepted somewhere. Have also thought about Duke, though their East Asian programs aren't as strong as the schools in the Northeast. Still, I'm lookin' and grabbin' what I can!

[roseofjuly.livejournal.com]

NO COLUMBIA

COME TO COLUMBIA, WE HAVE EALAC (and the biggest East Asian library in the country, I think)

[akujunkan.livejournal.com]

Hahaha, one of the reasons I went back to grad school (okay, only one) was so that I could have access to a career office, because I went through the exact same shit after JET that you're going through now. I also second the temp agency thing if you're planning on working in America; if nothing else, it's better to be employed while looking for a "real" job than just chilling at home, and temp agencies IME hook you up with higher-paying work than the alternative.

On a completely unrelated note, I approve of the Bohra chibi in your icon.

[megami-tsuki.livejournal.com]

I just got back after nearly 3 years in Japan and am in the same delema. Advice people have given me is to really sell the whole working in Japan thing. It gives you an advantage over lots of other applicants and also the fact that you have a college degree.

Right now I'm not aiming for any particular field, I'm just aiming at getting work. Once I get one job, I can still look for another one. I'm kinda looking into Travel Industry type jobs. Surely an advantage if you've worked over seas ^^ I'm looking jobs at the air port. Even if you're just one of those baggage lugging people you get to fly dirt cheap anywhere ^^

If I can get a job I can start saving to grad school or something.

[kevinsensei.livejournal.com]

Followed you in from jetjapan. I figured we knew some of the same people. Small world, lol. ok2frend?

Oh and as far as job hunting goes, I agree with the temp agency advice for receptionist-type jobs. The job market is really bad for pretty much everything though, a big reason I'm still hiding out here in Japan.

[reppu.livejournal.com]

Sure, friend away. The ex-pat world is indeed a small one. :D

I'm also thinking of hiding out here in Japan for a bit, but I need to find a job or be in the process of signing something by the end of this month, else I'll really need to go home. I know a month isn't a long time to find a job, but I was seriously considering returning home until I got a bad-news e-mail from one of my coworkers. Now I'm scrambling. I heard from Ai that you got a college job in Shizuoka (congrats on that, btw), but I don't have the degrees (or the time to commit for a degree) for that kinda job. I really just wanna work with kids, masochistic as that sounds.

I also forgot how not fun updating my CV is. Being an adult is hard, I tell ya!

Friend added!

[kevinsensei.livejournal.com]

I think working with kids is great! My previous job was at an elementary school. If I didn't have such a psycho supervisor, I would still be there. (Thanks for the congrats! ^_^)

Good luck with finding a job here in Japan or back home! The pickings are pretty slim right now. I'd say your best bet working here with kids would be to try to find something with one of the ALT dispatch agencies. Since you're in Aichi, you might want to look up Altia or Interac. I wouldn't recommend eikaiwa right now with this economy.