Essay Counselor (expired)

About Tokyo Academics:
Tokyo Academics is the passion project of a constellation of teachers, researchers, and academics from around the world. Since 2012, we’ve evolved from a few university friends to a growing number of part-time and full-time individuals located in Tokyo, as well as working remotely. We are an organization of experts deeply passionate about helping students meet their potential and capture the opportunities of the future.

We are looking for excellent writers to work one-on-one with students as they craft their college and boarding school application essays. Flexible scheduling makes this an ideal seasonal side job for freelancers. Compensation is highly competitive for exceptional candidates.

What you will work on:
Help students brainstorm, outline, and polish their college and boarding school application essays during the June to January essay counseling season
One-on-one tutoring sessions via Skype or in-person at our Tokyo offices

Our ideal candidate:
Graduate of a highly selective US/UK/Canadian/Australian college or graduate school
Native-level English
Strong writing background
Minimum 6-month commitment to role (students prefer to work with the same essay counselor throughout their entire application process)
Typical workload during the June to January season is ~12 hrs/week
Hours often jump to ~20 hrs/wk during our busiest months in August, October, November, and December

Preferred Qualifications
Publications (academic or creative, please include in your cover letter)
BA in Creative Writing/English/Literature or MFA in writing
Previous teaching, tutoring, or coaching experience
High SAT Verbal/GRE score
Bilingual speaker of Japanese

Benefits:
Competitive compensation package
Join a growing bootstrapped company with a lot of potential for growth
Autonomy to implement ideas and have a significant impact
Visa Support: The hours/compensation of the College Application Essay Counselor role alone do not qualify for full visa support. However, Tokyo Academics is happy to sponsor freelancers with additional Japanese income or those who apply and are accepted to secondary tutoring positions at Tokyo Academics (such as Academic Tutors)

Work hours:
Flexible schedule
Working remotely or in TA office, but must be available for meetings during business hours (10am-7pm Japan Standard Time)

How to Apply
Please submit the following to essay@tokyoacademics.com and through the application link:

Resume
Cover letter (can be addressed to Taka Okubo)
Creative personal essay to one of the following prompts (up to one page single-spaced):
Dog and Cat. Coffee and Tea. Great Gatsby and Catcher in the Rye. Everyone knows there are two types of people in the world. What are they?
Cats have nine lives, Pac-Man has three lives, and radioactive isotopes have half-lives. How many lives does something else—conceptual or actual—have, and why?
Alice falls down the rabbit hole. Milo drives through the tollbooth. Dorothy is swept up in the tornado. Neo takes the red pill. Don’t tell us about another world you’ve imagined, heard about, or created. Rather, tell us about its portal.
Persuasive Writing Sample. Feel free to submit a past personal statement, grad school application essay, statement of purpose. We would like to see if you can be convincing and engaging in writing.

Please avoid cliches, be creative, engage us.

*Due to the volume of applications we receive, we automatically disqualify anyone who doesn’t submit all the required documents.