Starting out as a Private Tutor

[mishima1970]

I was wondering if anyone can give me some advice for starting out as a private tutor in Tokyo. In particular I'm curious about where I could advertise...whether there are any newspapers that interested Japanese might look at, or maybe if there are places at universities or high schools, private or public, etc., where posting an ad might be allowed.

The main target audience is Japanese students with some knowledge of English, etc., but obviously anyone would do; I don't want to get too much into the details of my qualifications and so on but in any case, let's assume for the sake of argument that I have the qualifications and experience...where would I start to advertise, or how would I start as a private tutor?

Many thanks...

[YokohamaTommy]

I only say I've taught at some well-known/prestigious US universities and can tutor in a number of subjects, from math to several languages,

What you did in the States will mean exactly squat here in terms of what you are trying to do.
If you mean to teach English, you'll probably need to start pimping yourself out as "Conversational" English at first.
Which means Legwork i.e., stuffing mailboxes or what have you, and Coffee houses.

Do you look good?
Are you friendly? Charismatic?
Are you professional? On time?
Do you smell good?

It's an Entertainment business.

[KansaiBen]

I will add there is no reason they will hire a gaijin who probably cant handle the language to teach them things they can learn at a language school or a vocational school or a juku. The reason foreigners teach English is that its about all they can do.

Put ads in local community newspapers but keep in mind ads are EXPENSIVE. Hand out flyers at the railway station.

Register with some of the online sites that match up teachers with students.

[mishima1970]

I will add there is no reason they will hire a gaijin who probably cant handle the language to teach them things they can learn at a language school or a vocational school or a juku. The reason foreigners teach English is that its about all they can do.

Put ads in local community newspapers but keep in mind ads are EXPENSIVE. Hand out flyers at the railway station.

Register with some of the online sites that match up teachers with students.

Thanks...what are some of these sites...

[Glenski]

I don't want to get too much into the details of my qualifications and so on but in any case, let's assume for the sake of argument that I have the qualifications and experience...where would I start to advertise, or how would I start as a private tutor?

What kind of visa do you have at the moment? You can't do private lessons legally without first having some kind of visa. At least tell us those "qualifications".

[sideways_gun]

Thanks...what are some of these sites...

findstudents.net has served me extreeeeeemely well in the past to pick up individual students.
With your qualifications/experience you might get group lessons.......

Do you have legal right to work in Japan? If so, why not try Westgate? Contracts are short-term (typically 3-month), but they deal with sending qualified teachers to institutes of higher education. There are also some companies that specialise in business English like CTS NIchibei. AEON also has a corporate division, apparently...... all worth sending a resume+cover letter to if you don't mind working for a company.