Interac ALT

I've read this whole thread and have found it EXTREMELY helpful! I'm only in my first year of college so I won't be an ALT for a couple of years, but am doing as much research as I can beforehand. I know a couple of ALTs who didn't research at all about who hired them and where they would be placed. To say the least, they didn't end up doing to well over in Japan. I've always wanted to travel and learn about other cultures for so long, so I hope by researching my experience will be much more pleasant! :)

So far I have only learned about JET because everyone raves about how great it is, but I know JET is very competitive and is hard to get into so I've been learning about Interac now which seems like the next best option! I have a couple of questions about Interac that may seem quite silly, so please bear with me. :P

I know people were saying that Interac makes you more independent compared to JET, so I was wondering more about that. You buy your airplane ticket to Japan, you show up, then what? I know you have training, but how do you find out where and where do you stay while training?

Also I saw someone mentioned that Interac does not find you an apartment like JET does - that means you have to find yourself some place to stay before you even arrive in Japan?

This question isn't specifically for Interac ALTs, it's for anyone who knows Japan. I have grown up in the countryside my whole life, so when I visited Tokyo I fell in love! I absolutely love the hustle and bustle of the city (I'm currently living in NYC right now) and am hoping that I can request a location some what close to Tokyo that way I could at least visit on the weekends. :) I would also like to be able to visit the real countryside too though! Does anyone have any recommendations for where to request a location close to Tokyo because I know they rarely place in Tokyo?

Awrite

Just to quickly answer your questions.

You do have to by your own ticket to get to Japan, so be careful about the time that it arrives in Narita. Interac are usually in contact with you before you book, to let you know when and where the training is. However, you may want to book as early as you can. So in that case, it would be better to phone them up. They assign you someone to help advise you on setting up your visa etc. before you come to Japan. I was sent a letter with two training dates on it. They wanted me to attend the first block of training but I found a cheaper flight a few days after and so they let me switch to the second block of training.

They also offered (if I arrived on the day just before the training was due to start) for me to meet someone and have them take me to my hotel. But naturally, I covered my own traveling expenses. I had already been to Tokyo before, so I knew the trains, plus I wanted to arrive a few days earlier to enjoy tokyo and sleep off the jet lag. I think the guy at the airport would wait until a few people arrived and then show them all to the hotel (All pre-arranged).

If you arrive early (by a few days or more) then you will either have to pay for the hotels in the one Interac has set up (a bit pricey) or find your own. (I found my own, there are lots of sites you can check). The hotel during your training is on Interac.

My hotel was basically the same building that the training was at. But it could be different in your case. I would't worry, they kept good care of us. So, you wont be lost.

Your second question. Interac arrange all of your apartment needs. They look for something near your school, sort out the paperwork, get someone to help you sign the papers, set up a bank account to pay rent etc. I don't know if you get value for money. Some ALTs I know have moved into a different apartment (a year or two after). But thay had to do that one by themselves (I think Interac will help you translate papers or conversations but they wont shop around for another apartment for you if you decide to move. pretty fair though)

I think your picking up the story that in JET the housing and other stuff is set up for them by the actual schools they work for. Interac opperate under a different kind of contract that means the Interac must help the ALT with all their needs. This takes pressure off of the schools. I think that is why JET are losing contracts in my area (And also because Interac undercut them).

I hope this helps

Adam

Hello, nothing riveting to add to this thread, just announcing that I am heading to Japan with Interac as an ALT for 2010. Requested the Kansai area, so far Interac have been polite, helpful and friendly to me.

Hi all, chanced upon this forum while surfing for ALT placements in Japan.

Anyone from Asia with Interac? Most of the positions i've seen on the website are for people already residing in Japan/have a valid work visa...

What would be expected of ALTs?

Hello! My current situation is extremely similar to the one originally posted in 2007 I have a job offer with an AEON (not NOVA) and Interac. I am leaning the same way for the same reasons-- I was very impressed with Interac during the interview and am prefer the benefits and connotations of the job.

However, I am apprehensive about my placement, or lack thereof. AEON has offered me a job in a suburb of Tokyo, which despite increased costs and lack of culture submersion sounds lovely.

Interac has not given me a placement-- and from what I've read may not have one for me for quite some time! I do not care if it is rural, I only hope that I am lucky enough to be placed in a friendly school system.

In sum, I really want to take the job with Interac but am worried because I do not have a placement. At least I can find solace in the fact that I am not the only one, eh? =)

I would take the job from Aeon, Interac is ok but i think Aeon would be much more enjoyable.

Hey

I work for Interac, but I'm not saying that you should go with them. I've never worked for Aeon. But just a quick point on Aeon.

Aeon is an eikaiwa. Students choose to come to your school and pay for extra lessons. If they don't come, then you might not get paid. I don't know if Aeon offer a minimum monthly salary or not. If it does then your salary may dip if you don't have regulars. With Interac, the contract is with the local government and not the student. Students must attend school by law, so the government must pay Interac, who takes a cut and pays you. So you've got a monthly salary. However it is cut to 60% in the summer and around 70% in the winter, due to the school holidays. (A bit of a pain in the arse).

Aeon may have offered you Tokyo. But like with other eikaiwa schools, you'll have to work when students don't go to school. That means nights and weekends. But with Interac, you could be placed in the countryside with regular free time and nowhere to go. (There is if you look :) )
So it depends on your lifestyle.

I found this website and just gave it a glance. http://www.letsjapan.org/eikaiwa-still-in-the-dumps.html

I went for many types of schools when applying for a job. I got interviews with Nova and Interac. Nova went on about how well they were doing in Japan, expanding etc. and offered me and many other people jobs. I was lucky going with Interac. The others at my interview who accepted jobs with Nova found themselves landing in Japan to be told they had no job. Some even worked a few months and then weren't paid.

So if you're thinking of going with Aeon, put a shed-load of research into it. Don't ask Aeon how they're doing. Chances are (like Nova) they'll fib.

Hope this was of help.

Forgot to say

When I came over to Japan for the training in Tokyo, I only knew the prefecture.

When I accepted with Interac, they emailed me about the training in Tokyo and told me that I would be teaching in Miyagi or thereabouts. Out of the 50 or so folk at the training in Japan, only one of them knew exactly where she was going. I think it was because she has a teaching degree and could speak a few languages, so Interac set her up with a school that needed her skills.

The rest of us were in the dark.

Japanese people are kind natured, so I don't think that you have to worry about the school system. If you're landed with an iffy school, Interac will try to help. (They said this, but I haven't experienced this situation, so I can't comment. All three of my schools were cool.)

Hello
First of all i want to say this thread is very helpful, particularly Adam's replies... Thank You adam!

I've applied for JET two years running now, First year I was an alternate and I waited all year for nothing. Second year I didn't even get into the interview stage. So now I'm exploring other options.
I landed an interview with AEON, but decided the hours and pay weren't good for my family.

Thing is, I have a 3 year old daughter and a hubby that would be coming with me. So my question is, on the INTERAC salary, can one support a small family? I was just informed that I have been chosen for the phone screening and hopfully this will go further, but before I go anywehre with it, i need to know this.

Thanks
Skyfire

My boyfriend and I would like to teach English in Japan together. We are interested in being ALTs and Interac is one of our top picks. But before we go down the application path, I was wondering if anyone knows how Interac handles hiring couples? We do not necessarily need to be working at the same school, but would like to at least be in the same district so that we can still live together. Any thoughts or advice?

SkyFire, I know people who support families on just an ALT's salary, but they have to really economise. If you live in any of the larger cities, particularly Tokyo, accommodation will take a huge chunk out of your salary, (have you heard about the key money and large deposit required to move into an apartment here?) and people who have just arrived in Japan tend to spend more than necessary because they aren't aware of the cheaper options for clothes, food, furnishings etc, which may not always be obvious.

It would be helpful if your husband could also find at least part-time work- is he planning to look? Have you checked that Interac will pay you a full salary over the summer holiday period as well? I have an idea that they don't, but I may be wrong.

I would say that bringing a family of three to Japan and then trying to support it on just an ALT's salary would be risky unless you have quite a lot of savings to back you up should something go wrong.

Do a lot of research- not just here but at sites like ESL cafe and lets Japan before you make a commitment.

Yes, my wife and I are also wondering about Interac's placement of couples...is there a need for more than one ALT in the same general area? Do Interac make it a point to try to hire couples so that there is a built-in support system?

We're hoping both of us get accepted and that way we could split the bills between our salaries and things wouldn't be so bad.

Additionally, can anyone comment on the housing situation with Interac? It seems like a few people online had really bad apartments set up through Interac and had a lot of problems there.

Hi, so I just got invited to a recruitment seminar for the upcoming September 2010 session. In the phone screen appointment request email I noticed this little tidbit
"Please know that if you pass the phone screening and are invited to one of our seminars in April, May, or June, you stand a pretty good chance of being hired."

I'm curious to know how true that statement is and what they mean by "a pretty good chance". Do they mean you'll get a go as long as you seem like a normal person, or that since they've eliminated so many people already so most people will get spots.

I have passed the phone screening and had a conversation with Interact. But still don't receive any further contact. Is it still possible to get hired or no hopes? Anyone who knows the hiring process, please share your experiences. I am so anxious.

Thanks

In Japan, there's apparently a law saying that married teachers cannot work at the same school together. Quite a lot of Japanese teachers you encounter will be married to another teacher, but they NEVER work at the same place. Children of teachers also cannot go to the same school as their teaching parent. To enlighten you further, families often split up twins, making each child attend a different school to avoid "ijime" (bullying). I've seen children of divorced parents, who live together in the same house, attend different schools for this same reason. Chances are, if you are hired as a couple, you'll be split up to work in different cities. Since there's such a high demand for placement, now, there's a very good chance only one of you will be hired and the other will have to either come to Japan on a Dependency visa status (in which case the dependent spouse's total annual income will be substantially limited by law) or try to find a job through another company. Hope that helps.

I made a mistake earlier. Yes, August is paid, but reduced. It's enough, though. And it's because there is no work for the ALT during that time (students are gone, so classes are gone). The blame for that goes to the boards of ed, not the company.

BTW I'm no longer with the company, but am glad that I left on good terms. I think they took really good care of me. And I REALLY miss my schools. Ciao.

Just quickly read what was said.

If you want to come as a couple, then you must interview separately with Interac. But you can tell them that you are wanting to come as a couple. If you both pass, then you will be placed together.

I had two friends (a couple) who lived together and their schools were in the same area. No problems. They even swapped with each other after their first year. Interac had no problem. Interac only advised them to play down their relationship a bit because they were't married and some of the older generations could take offence. But after speaking with them I found out that the locals didn't really care.

As for twins. They are not automatically split up. I have a few twins in some of my classes. Like most countries, its the choice of the parents. Some twins tend to want to be more of an individual when they hit their teens and so choose different courses at school.

I also new a teacher whose daughter came to the same school. He drove her in every day. They may try to put the student in a different class if possible, but there's no law.

I don't know about married teachers being forced to move to different schools by law. a couple got married at one of my schools last year and one move to a different school at the end of the school year. But his four year contract for that school had also ended. Teachers have to rotate at least three times before they can settle at a school in my prefecture.

That's all I can remember for the moment. Hope it helps.

Adam

I saw this in question in a couple of posts but really didn't see an answer so I'll answer it here! :)

Interac works directly with the Japanese government Board of Education when placing teachers at schools. First they send everything to the HQ in Tokyo to make sure that you are good enough to be hired, which is when they will extend the job offer. After that, they then send your information and training video to the BoE. It first gets sent to your preferred areas. Then it gets sent everywhere else. A BoE in a certain prefecture may like you, but may not be sure exactly where to put you. Ultimately, where you are placed isn't exactly Interac's decision: it's the BoE's. That is why Interac asks that you be extremely flexible. I think that's the only part of the FAQ that is all bold (the part that says your chances of being hired are greater if you are flexible.)

This process can take a long time, which is why (in some extreme cases) you may not know exactly where you will work, although there will be work for you. I was lucky enough to know where I was going a month in advance: a small village in Okayama named Shinjo (1000 people strong!) about 20-30 minutes by car to any real shopping. It was actually amazing! I loved it. Only one or two in my group didn't know where they were going until a day or two into the training. Then again, we were interns, and interns are VERY hard to place since they won't be there a full year.


For the questions about the hiring process: If you passed the phone screening and didn't hear anything from Interac yet, don't worry! You should get an email from them in about a week, maybe two (it's the busy season right now for them, so they are swamped with applications.) I'd say if you don't get anything from them in a week, then you should call or at least shoot them an email for sure. It is possible that you somehow fell through the cracks, which wouldn't be unheard of. Their system seems to be good, but it's certainly not perfect.

Also, it is true that most people that pass the phone screening do go on to become ALTs, but don't let your guard down. Just because you passed a screening doesn't mean that you'll pass an interview.

Hope this helped a little! ^_^

And please forgive the mistakes in grammar and spelling in my above post. I work 2 jobs and am a part time collage student, so I am beat when I finally get home. But I'll check back on this thread every now and then to help out, since I think everyone should have this experience at least once!

Thanks ZimZader......

I realize that the hiring process takes time for some reasons. Now I am relaxed and will prepare for further steps to fulfill the requirements such as demonstration in an interview. I will let you know if I go in that stage.:-)) BFN

Thanks a lot for sharing your info here.