WHEN DOES THE NEXT ISSUE COME OUT?
  • O-Hayo Sensei is published on the 1st and 16th of the month.
  • O-Hayo Sensei lives in San Francisco, California, so remember the International Date Line.
HOW DO I PICK UP A FREE COPY BY FTP?
  • Use this link: ftp.ohayosensei.com/current.txt.
  • If you are trying to pick up a copy on the 2nd or 17th ("remember the International Date Line"), and the old issue downloads, hit the "refresh" or "reload" button on your browser. The old issue is stuck in your browser's cache.
  • Remember: you just downloaded a text file with your browser, so be sure to save it to your hard disk. Now you can open it up with any text editor and search, cut-and-paste, whatever.
  • If the FTP address hangs or times out, that means a LOT of people are trying to pick up a copy at the same time. Try again later, or pick up a copy by e-mail.
HOW DO I PICK UP A FREE COPY BY E-MAIL?
  • Send a message to issue@ohayosensei.com with just the words "get issue" in either the subject or body of the message, and you will receive a copy within a few hours.
  • Please check the spelling of the words "get issue."
  • O-Hayo Sensei is a large file -- sometimes 150K.
  • O-Hayo Sensei is sent as a plain text file.
  • O-Hayo Sensei is sent in the body of an e-mail message, never as an attachment.
  • Any program that can read text can read O-Hayo Sensei.
  • O-Hayo Sensei is only sent to the e-mail address from which the request came. If you are using a friend's e-mail account, log off and log back in as yourself. If there's some reason you can't do that, pick up a copy by FTP and then e-mail it to yourself using your friend's account.
  • If you are using a free service like Hotmail, remember to either exempt O-Hayo Sensei from your spam filter or check your spam box.
I JUST PICKED UP A FREE COPY BY E-MAIL/FTP. DOES THAT MEAN I'M ON A MAILING LIST?
  • Absolutely not. O-Hayo Sensei is not a mailing list. Our "virtual newsrack" is just that -- the electronic equivalent of those ugly boxes you pass every day on the street. You can read O-Hayo Sensei without looking over your "electronic" shoulder (or receiving a single piece of spam).
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE FTP AND E-MAIL EDITIONS?
  • There isn't any, except that the FTP version arrives on your desktop immediately, and the e-mail version gets mailed in a few hours.
I KEEP SENDING LISTSERVE COMMANDS LIKE "SUBSCRIBE" TO O-HAYO SENSEI, BUT NOTHING HAPPENS. WHY IS THAT?
  • O-Hayo Sensei is a publication, not a listserve program.
O-HAYO SENSEI MUST GET LOTS OF SPAM. HOW CAN I MAKE SURE MY MESSAGE DOESN'T GET DELETED ALONG WITH ALL THE "V1AGR@" AND "PLEASE RESPOND" MESSAGES?
  • Yes, we do get LOTS of spam. Please help us read and respond to your messages:
    1) create a simple, descriptive subject line (like "get issue," "free classified ad" or "position listing");
    2) don't ever use something like "hello," "hi" or "hi there" as a subject -- that's how viruses usually spread themselves;
    3) don't put images, code or links in your signature;
    4) use anti-virus software;
    5) use anti-virus software;
    6) use anti-virus software.
CAN I SEND YOU MY RESUME?
  • O-Hayo Sensei does not post resumes. We tried that years ago, and found out that it just doesn't work. We were quite surprized, however, to find that employers frequently respond to our "Employment Wanted" -type classified ads. Go figure. If you'd like to post one, check out the web page.
WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO FIND OUR ABOUT THE ENGLISH TEACHING JOB MARKET IN JAPAN?
  • Read a few issues of O-Hayo Sensei -- seriously. We created both O-Hayo Sensei's signature reporting format, and our Position Listing Form, to gather/report as much vital information as possible. It's pretty easy to see exactly how much a MA will buy you, what different types of schools are paying, what kinds of benefits are out there, how many jobs don't require a university degree, and what today's housing costs are. We print "just the facts" about positions, so you don't have to slog through all the "advertising copy" you see elsewhere. And O-Hayo Sensei is free, so what do you have to lose?
HOW COME THERE ARE OVER 100 CONVERSATION SCHOOL JOBS, AND ONLY A HANDFUL OF UNIVERSITY JOBS?
  • That's because in any given two-week period there are over100 conversation school jobs, and only a handful of university jobs. We don't claim to report every job offered anywhere in Japan, of course -- just more than anyone else :)
ON SOME WEBSITES I SEE ADS FOR JOBS THAT SAY "FEMALE ONLY" -- BUT NOT IN O-HAYO SENSEI'S LISTINGS. WHY IS THAT?
  • It is illegal in Japan to advertise jobs that specify a gender. O-Hayo Sensei regularly rejects requests to report "female" positions. If a school is advertising for "female" applicants, it is already breaking the law. Think about it.
BUT ALL THOSE SCHOOLS ARE PAYING TO ADVERTISE IN O-HAYO SENSEI, SO YOU HAVE TO PRINT WHAT THEY SEND YOU, RIGHT?
  • Wrong. O-Hayo Sensei does not accept payment for reporting positions. Taking money to report stuff is funny -- it can lead to situations like the one described in the question above.
CAN I GET YOUR DATABASE OF SCHOOLS? I'D LIKE TO SEND OUT A BUNCH OF RESUMES.
  • We do not give out our database. Selling lists of schools used to be quite a scam, and O-Hayo Sensei is happy to take some credit for putting a nail in that coffin. Sending out a bunch of resumes to schools that aren't actually hiring is a big waste of time and money. And it makes lots of schools angry to get a bunch of unsolicited resumes. Any school that chooses to have O-Hayo Sensei report an open position is expecting to get, read, and respond to inquiries. Make life easier for everybody -- don't get a list of schools and start sending out a bunch of resumes.
I READ IN A FORUM/NEWSGROUP/BLOG THAT SCHOOLS NEVER HIRE PEOPLE OUTSIDE JAPAN. IS THAT TRUE?
  • There's a special section on O-Hayo Sensei's Position Listing Form for employers to indicate if they want people to apply from outside Japan. And there are always schools that choose "Applicant NOT required to reside in Japan" (they're usually the ones offering airfare and accommodations). Of course, there are a lot more that check off the "APPLICANT MUST CURRENTLY RESIDE IN JAPAN" box. It's definitely much easier to get hired in Japan, but not impossible.
CAN I GET A BACK ISSUE?
  • No. We don't offer back issues for a very simple reason -- if a job isn't listed in the current O-Hayo Sensei, it isn't available anymore. We delete about 100 filled positions every month -- sometimes schools ask us to pull a listing from the current issue after only a couple of days. As a recruiting tool, O-Hayo Sensei can be scarily effective.
WHERE DOES O-HAYO SENSEI GET ALL THOSE JOBS EVERY TWO WEEKS?
  • The schools send them to us. After 14 years, it's probably just a habit :)
WHY DO ALL THE LISTINGS IN O-HAYO SENSEI SOUND ALIKE?
  • Everything in O-Hayo Sensei is written in-house, using our own special listing format. We developed our format around 1991, and it's linked (not surprizingly) very closely to the Position Listing Form the schools fill out. As a result, if you see something published elsewhere that reads like it was copied from O-Hayo Sensei, it probably was.
I'D LIKE TO HAVE MY SCHOOL'S TEACHING POSITION LISTED IN O-HAYO SENSEI. HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
  • Nothing. There's no charge to have your institution's position reported in O-Hayo Sensei. Please read and fill-out our Position Listing Form. It is available by FTP (just click here) by e-mail or at the web page.
HOW ABOUT THE PRICE FOR A NON-COMMERCIAL CLASSIFIED AD?
  • No cost for that either. Check out the web page for more infomation.
ANY TIPS FOR "EMPLOYMENT WANTED" CLASSIFIED ADS?
  • Use a spellchecker. Don't use a "funny" e-mail address (lots of accounts are free; only give out that "dogboyrules" address to close friends). And of course, check your mail and reply promptly to any school inquiry.
I WANT TO ADVERTISE MY FOR-PROFIT BUSINESS. IS THAT FREE, TOO?
  • Sorry, we have to pay the bills somehow. Still, O-Hayo Sensei's rates are extremely reasonable. Consult the web page for information and rates, or contact us for a rate sheet.
WHAT'S YOUR PRIVACY POLICY?
  • O-Hayo Sensei does not "harvest" (and then sell) information about schools or individuals to advertisers (and others) -- and that includes e-mail addresses. Period. We also do not allow "pop up" advertising on our pages, or run banners that plant spyware on your hard drive. If you haven't done this before, check your browser's cookie file (it's probably under "preferences" somewhere). You won't find any "data collectors" left behind by O-Hayo Sensei, but I guarantee you'll be surprized by what you DO find -- and who put it there.
WHAT ABOUT O-HAYO SENSEI'S ONLINE JAPAN BOOKSTORE?
  • Over the years, we have spent quite a bit of time researching the books we carry. We're especially proud of our literature section (which carries well over 200 titles) but if you're looking for anything to do with Japanese culture, our bookstore is a good place to start.

    Please buy your Japan-related books from our online bookstore :)