skwis
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 13
CIR Experience: 2nd year
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Post by skwis on May 7, 2020 12:15:46 GMT 9
My consulate says that so far they haven't heard anything about departure delays or cancellation, so I'll keep being optimistic I guess.
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zaza
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 25
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Post by zaza on May 13, 2020 7:08:08 GMT 9
Kind of a two-part question. I know it's a bit early, but I am doing a bit of mental planning for departure in September (hopefully in September at least).
I know ESID, but overall are there periods of desk warming? It seems like a common theme on the JET subreddit. I am currently working as a freelancer and I am wondering if it's worth the investment to purchase a new laptop at the end of the summer so that I can continue to do freelance during any slow periods on JET. I have a pretty good portable desktop that I will be bringing for my living situation, but the thought of staring blankly at my desk while at my placement does not quite excite me haha.
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Post by Dee on May 13, 2020 8:42:13 GMT 9
Kind of a two-part question. I know it's a bit early, but I am doing a bit of mental planning for departure in September (hopefully in September at least). I know ESID, but overall are there periods of desk warming? It seems like a common theme on the JET subreddit. I am currently working as a freelancer and I am wondering if it's worth the investment to purchase a new laptop at the end of the summer so that I can continue to do freelance during any slow periods on JET. I have a pretty good portable desktop that I will be bringing for my living situation, but the thought of staring blankly at my desk while at my placement does not quite excite me haha. This one will definitely be ESID. Some CIRs have a steady flow of work while others do not. Half of my job is teaching english/planning culture exchange events for children which is obviously not happening right now, and there's not enough translation work for me to stay busy everyday at the tourism office where I spend the other half of my time. I am using this time to get some additional studying done, watching some online lectures, writing blog posts, or even reading a book online. I would be very careful if you want to keep doing freelance translation as a CIR. The "legality" of it will depend heavily on your contract. For example, some rules were recently loosened and some JETs can do outside work so long as they have permission from their CO, and others (like mine) still forbid it. If it is something you plan to keep doing, I would highly recommend that you not do it at your workplace.
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Post by michiru on May 13, 2020 8:49:30 GMT 9
Hey, there! I do A LOT of egghunting. I'm only the second CIR my placement has ever had (the first one only stayed a year) and it very much seems like my bosses don't really know what to do with me, so, yeah, my desk and I have gotten to know each other quite well.
That being said, my desk has a computer with full access to the internet (I've heard that a couple websites are blocked by firewall, but so far, in my months of browsing, Transferwise has been the only one I couldn't access). Also, keep in mind that because of issues with confidential information, some offices (ESID) might not necessarily allow you to bring a personal laptop/you might not be able to connect to the network if the place doesn't have wi-fi. I have heard of some CIRs asking to bring their laptops to work and that being okay, but it's not necessarily a guarantee. I'm not sure at all how rare no wi-fi is, or what CIRs do if they don't have their own computer, but anyway, just something to keep in mind before you shell out the green.
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zaza
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 25
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Post by zaza on May 13, 2020 9:07:08 GMT 9
Kind of a two-part question. I know it's a bit early, but I am doing a bit of mental planning for departure in September (hopefully in September at least). I know ESID, but overall are there periods of desk warming? It seems like a common theme on the JET subreddit. I am currently working as a freelancer and I am wondering if it's worth the investment to purchase a new laptop at the end of the summer so that I can continue to do freelance during any slow periods on JET. I have a pretty good portable desktop that I will be bringing for my living situation, but the thought of staring blankly at my desk while at my placement does not quite excite me haha. This one will definitely be ESID. Some CIRs have a steady flow of work while others do not. Half of my job is teaching english/planning culture exchange events for children which is obviously not happening right now, and there's not enough translation work for me to stay busy everyday at the tourism office where I spend the other half of my time. I am using this time to get some additional studying done, watching some online lectures, writing blog posts, or even reading a book online. I would be very careful if you want to keep doing freelance translation as a CIR. The "legality" of it will depend heavily on your contract. For example, some rules were recently loosened and some JETs can do outside work so long as they have permission from their CO, and others (like mine) still forbid it. If it is something you plan to keep doing, I would highly recommend that you not do it at your workplace. Ah, I see. I figured there may be some legal issues with it. Currently only freelancing as a content writer, but the hope is to expand into web design and/or translation in the future. I guess if any desk warming does happen, I 'll just stick to studying and keep any freelance stuff for after hours.,
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zaza
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 25
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Post by zaza on May 13, 2020 9:09:46 GMT 9
Hey, there! I do A LOT of egghunting. I'm only the second CIR my placement has ever had (the first one only stayed a year) and it very much seems like my bosses don't really know what to do with me, so, yeah, my desk and I have gotten to know each other quite well. That being said, my desk has a computer with full access to the internet (I've heard that a couple websites are blocked by firewall, but so far, in my months of browsing, Transferwise has been the only one I couldn't access). Also, keep in mind that because of issues with confidential information, some offices (ESID) might not necessarily allow you to bring a personal laptop/you might not be able to connect to the network if the place doesn't have wi-fi. I have heard of some CIRs asking to bring their laptops to work and that being okay, but it's not necessarily a guarantee. I'm not sure at all how rare no wi-fi is, or what CIRs do if they don't have their own computer, but anyway, just something to keep in mind before you shell out the green. Okay, good to know. Maybe I'll just keep some money aside just in case. Hopefully I won't have to become to acquainted with my desk over the period of my contract.
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Post by Leita on May 13, 2020 10:14:48 GMT 9
zaza re: egghunting. I'm a second year CIR and the first CIR in my placement/had no pred. Personally my position has a lot of freedom, and even if there are times where I'm not busy with translations/events etc. I always technically have something to work on. A main thing for my work is SNS (running English facebook/instagram/twitter for my city), which I can easily work on whenever (i.e. draft posts, edit photos, go out and take photos, share/translate things from businesses in town, etc.). This depends on what your CO will be like like; some are supportive of CIRs doing new things and some might not be. But personally, I think a good first thought in regards to egghunting should be "what can I propose to my office that would get me more work and benefit my placement?". You'll probably realize what your placement is lacking in terms of multilingual information/international exchange, so you could suggest translating the website, translating menus for local restaurants, making a blog/SNS account, making a column for the local magazine/website...etc. Being the first CIR here, I also came in with no work duties set in stone, but we've come up with multiple things for me to do since then. A lot of that involved explaining things to my bosses and writing up proposals etc of what I wanted to do. So if you get to your position and there's egghunting/not enough work to do, I recommend trying to think of what could be done and then suggesting it.
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Post by Honey on May 13, 2020 10:55:33 GMT 9
zazaHere's the other side of the coin. I'm a CIR in an organization that has had CIRs for over 30 years. The first time I had my "egghunting" period was for an hour 1.5 years in. I still remember it because I was thinking "oh wow, this is what they all talk about. When you don't have requests piling up one after another and can chill on the internet or the forums." Some positions will not give you any time to do that at work and you may even not want to do more things later if you spend every day translating for 7 hours. I stopped doing my freelance translation when I came here because I was super busy and just didn't want to do more things at home after a long day. Best of luck for September!
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Post by Sparkles on May 13, 2020 11:45:26 GMT 9
zaza Here's the other side of the coin. I'm a CIR in an organization that has had CIRs for over 30 years. The first time I had my "egghunting" period was for an hour 1.5 years in. I still remember it because I was thinking "oh wow, this is what they all talk about. When you don't have requests piling up one after another and can chill on the internet or the forums." Some positions will not give you any time to do that at work and you may even not want to do more things later if you spend every day translating for 7 hours. I stopped doing my freelance translation when I came here because I was super busy and just didn't want to do more things at home after a long day. Best of luck for September! zazaThis was also how my position was. I had maybe a single day once a year when I had "nothing to do." (For some other days, I may have had stuff to do but with enough 余裕 in the deadlines that I could procrastinate for a bit if I really needed some chill time.) Since it was only a short time, it felt glorious! I mostly went on the forums for stress relief/mental breaks. But the downside for me was exactly what Honey said -- I didn't really have a lot of capacity to do any more work-like stuff at the end of the day. If you can, I would recommend waiting until you hear from your pred/getting more information about what your office/time situation will be like before making a big purchase like a more portable laptop/tablet. I'd also second the recommendation of keeping other work to outside JET hours because of the legal grey area, but who knows, your CO might be cool with it if you have nothing else to do. I hope all goes smoothly for September!
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Post by Aqua on May 14, 2020 11:05:48 GMT 9
Hey, there! I do A LOT of egghunting. I'm only the second CIR my placement has ever had (the first one only stayed a year) and it very much seems like my bosses don't really know what to do with me, so, yeah, my desk and I have gotten to know each other quite well. That being said, my desk has a computer with full access to the internet (I've heard that a couple websites are blocked by firewall, but so far, in my months of browsing, Transferwise has been the only one I couldn't access). Also, keep in mind that because of issues with confidential information, some offices (ESID) might not necessarily allow you to bring a personal laptop/you might not be able to connect to the network if the place doesn't have wi-fi. I have heard of some CIRs asking to bring their laptops to work and that being okay, but it's not necessarily a guarantee. I'm not sure at all how rare no wi-fi is, or what CIRs do if they don't have their own computer, but anyway, just something to keep in mind before you shell out the green. Just adding to say that we have no Wi-fi access in my office!
All the laptops here are connected by ethernet to an internal network. And we have a sort of Intranet within the Kencho, where all the email addresses etc. are stored. You also need to log into each laptop with a unique username and password so I don't think you can just connect the ethernet cable to a different laptop. We have to open up a totally separate window to use the internet and the internet desktop and regular desktop don't connect. So if I download something online, I have to save it to the internet desktop and then manually copy and paste it onto the regular desktop.
We also have a lot of banned websites. Such as youtube. And the English version of the Kencho's own website for some reason. Sometimes I've been asked to translate subtitles for tourism videos that are posted on youtube and in that case I have had to bring in my own laptop but I have to use my mobile phone as a hotspot to connect to any wi-fi, which is a pain since I have a 3GB limit per month. - Occasionally someone will bring in an iPad to show me the video before giving me the subtitles (in an Excel file) to translate. But it's hard to remember the context sometimes so I bring my own laptop still. I have brought up this issue multiple times and my office has done.. nothing
I have a lot of egghunting (probably.. 60% of my time is spent egghunting) but, especially at the start - I think people don't start giving you work until they feel like they've built up a relationship with you. I'm also the very first CIR in my position so people still don't seem to know what I should be doing. They're only really figuring out how to use me properly now, about 9 months in.
tl;dr Some workplaces are messes. But sometimes you just have to let yourself laugh at the ridiculousness of it or else you'll get bogged down. For me, my work life is pretty dull but I LOVE the area I live in. And I have lots of time to study Japanese/other things and read books online, and my co-workers are all generally lovely, we have no drama around the office.
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Post by herakleitos on May 18, 2020 2:41:21 GMT 9
Does anybody here have experience working with departments that deal with MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions related tourism/travel) in any way, shape, or form? I'm curious as to what your work-load generally entails. To me it seems quite interesting from a glance but I was wondering if anybody has any concrete history with it?
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zaza
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 25
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Post by zaza on May 19, 2020 5:46:13 GMT 9
Thank you for all your responses. Hopefully, I won't have to do too much desk warming, but in any case, I am just going go in without expectations and take it as it is. Happy to have found this community before departing for Japan.
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Post by Honey on May 19, 2020 10:05:33 GMT 9
Does anybody here have experience working with departments that deal with MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions related tourism/travel) in any way, shape, or form? I'm curious as to what your work-load generally entails. To me it seems quite interesting from a glance but I was wondering if anybody has any concrete history with it? I have done it a few times. Obviously everything has slowed down to a crawl right now but I usually interpreted during some of the addresses for the conferences and helped with the elaboration of our brand. I didn't have too much to do on my own because they had enough people working on it though. For me it was mostly translation and interpretation (of MICE-related things) and was asked to give my opinion on some matters. It's pretty interesting and I hope to work in that in my prefecture when my contract ends but the pandemic is not helping at all.
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Post by herakleitos on May 20, 2020 5:22:38 GMT 9
Does anybody here have experience working with departments that deal with MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions related tourism/travel) in any way, shape, or form? I'm curious as to what your work-load generally entails. To me it seems quite interesting from a glance but I was wondering if anybody has any concrete history with it? I have done it a few times. Obviously everything has slowed down to a crawl right now but I usually interpreted during some of the addresses for the conferences and helped with the elaboration of our brand. I didn't have too much to do on my own because they had enough people working on it though. For me it was mostly translation and interpretation (of MICE-related things) and was asked to give my opinion on some matters. It's pretty interesting and I hope to work in that in my prefecture when my contract ends but the pandemic is not helping at all. Apparently according to the email I received I'll be working with MICE in a thoroughgoing way and I've been looking forward to it. Thanks for the feedback.
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kitsu
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 7
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Post by kitsu on May 27, 2020 1:19:00 GMT 9
I heard that many current JETs were formally asked to recontract. I am a little worried what will happen with incoming CIRs. To my knowledge,there are already a limited number of positions, and the number of people who come in is basically dependent on how many spots are available. Given concerns over the job market (at least for the US), there is a chance that many people are going to stay with a secure job unless they hate their job. My concern is that they are going to ask some of us CIRs to be ALTs or give us "dud" positions.
Any thoughts from current CIRs on the current process?
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Post by Dee on May 27, 2020 10:50:18 GMT 9
I heard that many current JETs were formally asked to recontract. I am a little worried what will happen with incoming CIRs. To my knowledge,there are already a limited number of positions, and the number of people who come in is basically dependent on how many spots are available. Given concerns over the job market (at least for the US), there is a chance that many people are going to stay with a secure job unless they hate their job. My concern is that they are going to ask some of us CIRs to be ALTs or give us "dud" positions. Any thoughts from current CIRs on the current process? This is just my opinion, but I believe everything is 100% up in the air. I realize that's not very comforting. Information is going out to COs letting them know that they can offer special extensions to JETs who would otherwise be leaving. That does not mean they are required to offer the extension though. Even if offered, that doesn't mean that everyone will accept. I know that there are many ALTs who are itching to go home and there are many more who have already broken contract and left. As for CIRs, who can say? Unfortunately, being shortlisted does not guarantee a placement (as stated in the fine print). I think everyone will have to wait until placement notifications start rolling out in June to get a better picture of how this will affect the shortlisted JETs. I really sympathize with all the shortlisted JETs who are just waiting in limbo to get more information and to see what will actually happen come September.
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Post by Honey on May 29, 2020 16:44:11 GMT 9
I heard that many current JETs were formally asked to recontract. I am a little worried what will happen with incoming CIRs. To my knowledge,there are already a limited number of positions, and the number of people who come in is basically dependent on how many spots are available. Given concerns over the job market (at least for the US), there is a chance that many people are going to stay with a secure job unless they hate their job. My concern is that they are going to ask some of us CIRs to be ALTs or give us "dud" positions. Any thoughts from current CIRs on the current process? Here my current understanding of things:
There will probably not be enough people coming in this year during the original intake period to cover everyone. For example, the Chinese CIRs aren't even placed yet, and this was supposed to happen a few months ago. They were supposed to arrive mid april. According to some people in my office, as long as the two week isolation is mandated, no one is coming. (take this with a grain of salt, but the explanation makes sense)
This means that CLAIR now has a vested interest in keeping anyone who can here. Many people are considering their options and may not choose to go on JET if they have an opportunity back home. Same thing for people who are currently in JET and wanted to look for jobs but now are kind of stuck in limbo.
Ultimately no one knows what's going to happen yet because it depends on the situation in Japan, the situation in your home country, and political dealings. While it shouldn't necessarily be that way, most countries use tit-for-tat measures, so if one is in bad shape, there probably won't be much travel between those countries. I'm sure CLAIR figured this out and they are trying to stem the tide of people leaving since new people may not be able to replace them.
(This might be different for CIRs of course, but we smashed the record of JET quitting early in our prefecture this year. The exodus is pretty bad.)
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kitsu
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 7
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Post by kitsu on Jul 2, 2020 12:03:48 GMT 9
Sorry for forgetting to come back here to respond. But I just wanted to thank you all for responding!
Obviously we haven't heard anything about placements yet, but I appreciate everyone for sharing what they knew at the time. Here's hoping we get something soon!
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skwis
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 13
CIR Experience: 2nd year
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Post by skwis on Oct 15, 2020 18:06:20 GMT 9
Just got my placement - Minamata-shi in Bear Origin. Departure is at the end of November, and then there's a two week quarantine in Tokyo.
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Post by Aqua on Oct 16, 2020 9:53:22 GMT 9
Just got my placement - Minamata-shi in Bear Origin. Departure is at the end of November, and then there's a two week quarantine in Tokyo. Ahh! Hello!
I am based in Bear Origin City (around a 2 hour drive from Minamata). I look forward to meeting you at some point! If you have any questions about Bear Origin feel free to send me a private message
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robotmakingtea
Tried natto; not a fan
Posts: 53
CIR Experience: 2nd year
Location: Bear Origin
Gender (Pronouns): she/her/hers
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Post by robotmakingtea on Oct 16, 2020 22:42:53 GMT 9
Just got my placement - Minamata-shi in Bear Origin. Departure is at the end of November, and then there's a two week quarantine in Tokyo. Ahhh so exciting!!! Ditot on the welcome to Bear Origin! I’ve just returned to the UK from a placement in Minamata’s neighboring municipality of Ashikita so I can help you get settled in the area (from afar). Hit me up for the local LINE group —Robot
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skwis
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 13
CIR Experience: 2nd year
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Post by skwis on Oct 17, 2020 11:06:54 GMT 9
Ahh! Hello!
I am based in Bear Origin City (around a 2 hour drive from Minamata). I look forward to meeting you at some point! If you have any questions about Bear Origin feel free to send me a private message
Ahhh so exciting!!! Ditot on the welcome to Bear Origin! I’ve just returned to the UK from a placement in Minamata’s neighboring municipality of Ashikita so I can help you get settled in the area (from afar). Hit me up for the local LINE group —Robot
Thank you for the warm welcome! Bear Origin looks very comfy so I can't wait to get there.
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kitsu
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 7
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Post by kitsu on Oct 21, 2020 12:58:41 GMT 9
A few consulates sent out emails to JETs who deferred, asking them if they want to come in April 2021. I know obviously with COVID that nothing is the exactly the same, but could anybody give some insight into how early departure worked for CIRs or was different from the regular departure experience? For example did you still have orientation? Are early departure CIR positions more likely to be certain cities or to be positions with a focus on teaching rather than translation?
Again, I understand nothing is on the table, but I would appreciate hearing from any early departures how their experience differed if at all.
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Post by Aya Raincoat on Oct 21, 2020 13:35:43 GMT 9
A few consulates sent out emails to JETs who deferred, asking them if they want to come in April 2021. I know obviously with COVID that nothing is the exactly the same, but could anybody give some insight into how early departure worked for CIRs or was different from the regular departure experience? For example did you still have orientation? Are early departure CIR positions more likely to be certain cities or to be positions with a focus on teaching rather than translation? Again, I understand nothing is on the table, but I would appreciate hearing from any early departures how their experience differed if at all. I was not an early arrival, but I have to deal with them a lot with my job, so here goes.
My understanding is that the April 2021 arrival is a regular arrival, not an early one. Usually, April arrivals have a shorter orientation, being that there aren't that many people, and go to a different hotel. However, with COVID, the orientation will take place online during the quarantine period. (It would kind of be a waste of time otherwise...)
As for placement, there's no relation. Early departures are usually for positions of people who broke contract for some reason or another, but, again, this April arrival is not an early arrival per se, as more position will have to be filled than usual.
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kitsu
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 7
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Post by kitsu on Oct 22, 2020 7:33:20 GMT 9
A few consulates sent out emails to JETs who deferred, asking them if they want to come in April 2021. I know obviously with COVID that nothing is the exactly the same, but could anybody give some insight into how early departure worked for CIRs or was different from the regular departure experience? For example did you still have orientation? Are early departure CIR positions more likely to be certain cities or to be positions with a focus on teaching rather than translation? Again, I understand nothing is on the table, but I would appreciate hearing from any early departures how their experience differed if at all. I was not an early arrival, but I have to deal with them a lot with my job, so here goes.
My understanding is that the April 2021 arrival is a regular arrival, not an early one. Usually, April arrivals have a shorter orientation, being that there aren't that many people, and go to a different hotel. However, with COVID, the orientation will take place online during the quarantine period. (It would kind of be a waste of time otherwise...)
As for placement, there's no relation. Early departures are usually for positions of people who broke contract for some reason or another, but, again, this April arrival is not an early arrival per se, as more position will have to be filled than usual.
Thank you for your perspective. I appreciate it! That definitely makes sense to virtual orientation of course. I just know CIRs get a lot of helpful tips for translating/interpreting and I bet a lot of things are different, so any orientation is appreciated. I know there aren't a lot of CIRs so I have to wonder how many of us actually deferred in the first place. (Edit: I also wonder if we have essentially already been placed)
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Post by Aya Raincoat on Oct 22, 2020 8:50:20 GMT 9
I was not an early arrival, but I have to deal with them a lot with my job, so here goes.
My understanding is that the April 2021 arrival is a regular arrival, not an early one. Usually, April arrivals have a shorter orientation, being that there aren't that many people, and go to a different hotel. However, with COVID, the orientation will take place online during the quarantine period. (It would kind of be a waste of time otherwise...)
As for placement, there's no relation. Early departures are usually for positions of people who broke contract for some reason or another, but, again, this April arrival is not an early arrival per se, as more position will have to be filled than usual.
Thank you for your perspective. I appreciate it! That definitely makes sense to virtual orientation of course. I just know CIRs get a lot of helpful tips for translating/interpreting and I bet a lot of things are different, so any orientation is appreciated. I know there aren't a lot of CIRs so I have to wonder how many of us actually deferred in the first place. (Edit: I also wonder if we have essentially already been placed) For CIRs especially, Brazilian, Chinese, Korean and Peruvian CIRs all come in the spring, so I'm thinking the orientation isn't too too different. I don't know how having it online will change it, though.
As for placements, I doubt they've been made yet, since we've only recently been getting the ones for the winter newcomers.
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Post by herakleitos on Nov 25, 2020 10:25:16 GMT 9
Looks like I'll be coming over early next year with the rest of the other candidates. Looking forward to it.
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Post by octopuspasta on Nov 27, 2020 3:42:03 GMT 9
oh it seems there are quite a few of you in Bear Origin! I actually placed Bear Origin City as one of my placement preferences. I'm still gutted I didn't visit there when I was studying in Fukuoka.
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Post by spaceymagey on Nov 27, 2020 10:02:48 GMT 9
octopuspastaYup! In addition to Aqua and Robot, I'm also in Bear Origin. My placement is Yatsushiro City, which is just north of Ashikita, and about a 1 hour drive south from Bear Origin City. Recently I've been looking at the notices that go out to the CIRs outside of Kuma city hall and Kuma kencho, and it's just me and someone in Arao now...
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Post by waten on Sept 16, 2021 11:55:07 GMT 9
Does anybody here have experience working with departments that deal with MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions related tourism/travel) in any way, shape, or form? I'm curious as to what your work-load generally entails. To me it seems quite interesting from a glance but I was wondering if anybody has any concrete history with it? Getting back to this question, generally I think a lot of places that have tourism/inbound CIRs will want you to sell their image and be a potential spokesperson for them. Think about what their audience is and how you can make them think you're trying to reach out to them.
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