Career Options Magazine

I was in my last semester studying journalism at the University of King’s College (in Halifax, Nova Scotia), but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after graduation. I didn’t know how I wanted to use the skills I had developed, but I did know I wanted to travel. I found my first job teaching English in Japan very easily. Almost too easily: I applied to two companies over the Internet. One never got back to me; the other hired me.

I thought teaching English in Japan sounded like a great working holiday. I could learn about another culture and earn money to support my travels in Asia. I didn’t have any teaching experience, and the thought of standing in front of a classroom full of students made me nervous. To gain experience, I took a TESOL class and volunteered as a teaching assistant, helping teenagers new to Canada improve their English.

My first week in Japan was a mix of culture shock, excitement and jet lag. I was responsible for teaching about 50 students, counselling them on their progress and managing their paperwork. My students ranged in age from two to 65.

I scrambled to come up with ideas for lessons and to remember warm-up exercises, games and activities from my training. At first my adult students asked me lots of questions about where I was from, my family and my hobbies. Some of the children sat at their desks in silence; others cried, hid under the desks or ran out of the classroom back to their mothers. I never thought one of my first challenges in the workforce would be learning how to discipline and engage children.

I gradually became a better, more confident teacher. As I got to know my students, they started inviting me to their homes for dinner and taking me to castles and other local attractions. During my spare time I started taking painting and tea ceremony classes. I also visited other Japanese cities such as Kyoto and Hiroshima, and other countries including Thailand, China and Vietnam.

But while I enjoyed teaching, I didn’t want to make it my career. When my contract ended, I decided not to renew it and to go home.

After returning to Canada my first task was to find a job. I decided to find work that drew on my journalistic training and involved writing. I thought getting a job would be a simple, straightforward process, just like getting my job in Japan. I spent hours searching for job postings, drafting cover letters and sending applications, but offers for interviews and jobs didn’t come so easily. I received a few responses, but not nearly as many as I had anticipated.
What I’ve Learned

1. Travel, work or volunteer overseas if you’re not sure what you want to do after graduation. You’ll gain some amazing life experiences that may help put your career goals into perspective.
2. Follow your passion. Ask yourself what you want to do, not what you think you should do.
3. Be open-minded and flexible. Are you willing to relocate or to try looking for work in a different industry?
4. Network and ask people for advice. Sometimes the best advice can come from someone in a different field.

Some of my friends had started entry-level professional jobs right after graduation and had already been promoted. Whenever I felt a little jealous of their success, I looked at my photos from Japan: me with my students, me visiting temples, wearing a kimono, riding an elephant and climbing the Great Wall of China. If I had stayed home and gotten a different job, I wouldn’t have had all of those experiences.

Maybe I wasn’t at the same place in my career as some of my friends, but it didn’t matter. Life isn’t a race. I had so much fun travelling, learning about Japanese culture and getting to know my students. I wouldn’t have traded these experiences for the chance to be settled into a career in my early twenties.

Teaching English in Japan taught me a lot about organization, presentation skills, customer service and professionalism. Some potential employers told me the experience was irrelevant, while others said it demonstrated that I could do almost anything.

I didn’t receive any job offers during my first couple of months back in Canada, so I decided to change my job search approach. I got a job at a boutique to earn some money, and I started taking job search strategy courses. The instructors said about 80% of jobs are found through people you know, so I talked to my relatives, my friends, my parents’ friends and my alumni association. I learned something valuable from each of them.

To expand my network and gain some experience, I started volunteering with two non-profit organizations. One organization offered me a communications internship a couple of weeks later. When I was a student I had never thought about working for a non-profit, but I loved my internship. I enjoyed contributing to a good cause. I also liked working in a small team and having more responsibility than I would have had in a larger organization.

Since the recession hit, it’s been harder to get interviews and job offers, but I keep persevering. After my first internship ended, I received several more internships and contracts. Most of these resulted from networking with my friends’ business contacts, with people I met through a professional association and, most unexpectedly, with a friend of a friend of a friend of someone to whom I once sold a sweater.

I graduated four years ago and I am still making the transition from student to experienced professional. I am building my resume and my portfolio. In addition to my school projects, I now have published articles and newsletters I’ve helped put together to show potential employers.

My year in Japan, combined with the recession, has meant that it may take me a little longer to settle into a career path than I had originally thought. But all of the amazing life experiences I’ve had along the way have been worth it.

by Erica Simmonds