Transition from ALT job to (?)

Hello,

I'm currently contemplating taking an ALT position in Tokyo...but first a little background info on myself to help with replies to my question. I have a BA degree (Majoring in Poli Sci & Econ) and have 4 years professional working experience (at various levels and depts within the bank) /w the Royal Bank of Canada. I also have a TEFL certification along /w professional references and various certifications to be a martial arts (wing chun) and a ski instructor. I speak native English (duh), fluent Cantonese and French, as well as a basic level of Mandarin. I'd love to add Japanese to my language repertoire as well. I am currently residing in Hong Kong, have been living here for the past 2 months. The banking/finance/IT job market to say the least is pretty sh!t at the moment (in HK and pretty much everywhere else in the world). Headcount freezes and lay offs everywhere. Thus, taking an ALT job in the interim until the market recovers seems like a good idea to me. Now, on to my question...

My concern is that after taking an ALT position (usually a contract is min 1 year) how difficult is/was it for people in a similar position as myself, to jump back into their previous industry? I'd appreciate it if anyone who has had a background in banking/finance/IT that did ALT'ing in the short term and went back to their previous industry of expertise could possibly answer this post.

On a side note, will experience any additoinal difficulties as a valid Canadian passport holder residing in HK when I apply to ALT jobs in Japan? I noticed that JET and Aeon (for example) require candidates to be available for in person interviews. Is there a way around this?

Thanks in advance to everyone replying. You guys are awesome.

Arigato Gozaimashta!

T.

You may be able to get back into the finance industry- I know a number of people who taught English for a few months and then started going to interviews for jobs in the finance sector through the large recruiters for foreign companies with offices in Japan. The problem is, your timing could hardly be worse, could it. Many, many people in the finance sector here have been laid off, and the situation shows no signs of getting better any time soon, so don't get your hopes up too much.

People in that field with a stable job probably aren't likely to jump ship in this economic climate and leave a lot of positions open for you.

If you speak good Japanese you are in a slightly better position, if not, then you might be lucky, who knows? All you can do is try. Probably better to focus on getting the English teaching job itself first, as that isn't as easy as it used to be either.

JET isn`t an option unless you plan on waiting 16 months til you come to Japan.


The JET application process is long. Applications are submitted late in the year (Nov/Dec) with interviews in Jan/Feb, contracts starting July/Aug. You`ve missed this year so the next chance is for summer 2010.
Also, applicants must interview at a Japanese Embassy within their own country, Canada in your case.