Upcoming Job Interview

Shuuji

Hey,
I'm finishing up my last semester of college and I'm interviewing for this English teaching job in Japan called the JET Program and was wondering if anyone has gone through it themselves. I ask because I haven't done alot of interviews to date and was wondering if anyone knew what I should expect.

tardcore

General interview tips I can offer you:

- Look amazing. Make sure your hair is perfect, suit is spotless and clean pressed, and also wear a watch (it makes you look more professional).

- Make sure your hygiene is good, that your breath is fine, but don't over do it with cologne. Be clean shaved and double check to make sure you don't have any stubble hidden anywhere.

- Bring with you no more than 3 copies of your resume. A briefcase also wouldn't hurt.

- Ask lots of questions. This is very important. The more interested you are, the more likely that they will be interested in you.

- If they offer you a drink, thank them, but decline. It's awkward holding onto a drink and taking an occasional sip when they are asking you questions.

Red Leg

One thing that always helped me was to have a notepad and a pen ready. A lot of times in a job interview, they'll say something like, Oh you should talk to Brian in Accounting about it. Do this thing where you whip it out like a cop on Law and Order, stare at them, and write without looking at the paper. Enjoy your new job.

Secondly, as someone who taught English in Korea, I bet what you are meeting is a "head hunter" who is going to place you in a school/academy. In all reality, you already have the "job." They are just interviewing you to determine how/where to sell you to academies. When I met with my guy, he asked what my degree was in, whether I wanted to work with certain kinds of kids, what preference I had in the city I lived in, stuff like that. You are most likely not meeting with a representative of the school you are working for, but a representative of the "program," which is really a bunch of guys that recruit people to do this for a living then sell you to a school.

These jobs are everywhere, in every country and are more or less free money if you don't mind the year or so out of the country. So don't go int here feeling pressured and don't let him talk you into something you don't want. Like, I can get you more money, but you'll be at a rural school in the middle of nowhere. Or take the money if that's what you want.

Read the fine print carefully. Ask what happens if the company terminates your employment. It happens. Some will fly you back, some will evict you out of the apartment they supply and not give a shit how you get home. It depends on the school.

Ask your scout/agent/head hunter if he knows other teachers at a school now, and email them. Realize that there are HUGE differences from school to school and area to area. Try to get someone at your school and a that location you will be going to.

Don't sweat it. This isn't the kinda interview that is going to be high pressure. If it is, tell these guys to hit the bricks, and go through another program. There are a tons out there and they will work with you to get you what you want rather than hard sell you on something you don't. Don't be afraid to walk away.

Sheep Have Wool

Undoubtedly the best source of information about the JET program presented in a completely hilarious format can be found at http://www.gaijinsmash.net.

Az, the guy that runs the site, would undoubtedly respond to your emails and was a JET for several years. He still lives in Japan, and could probably point you to all the info you need. You can also check out his archive, which contains some of the most entertaining blog writing I've seen describing his teaching adventures.

After reading his blog - good luck.

JustPlainPavek

Oh boy. Former JET here. It seems like pretty much everyone has a strange experience interviewing with JET. I was in a room with three Americans, at least two of whom were ex-JETs themselves, and one Japanese man who I guess worked at the consulate. The Americans asked me questions like: "what's your favorite holiday? ok, describe how you would plan a lesson based around that" and "I see you've traveled before. Can you give us an example of how you've dealt with culture shock?" (I couldn't; I know it sounded lame, but I honestly don't think I'd ever experienced it as a problem). The Japanese guy piped in every now and then with questions like, "do you like sushi?" (yes) and "do you know who is the Prime Minister of Japan?" (yes)

In retrospect, there was a surprising degree of foreshadowing in this interview.

I got waitlisted at first. Then I got a call about three weeks before the program started asking me if I was still interested. I was; I stayed two years. To this day I have no idea how the JET program decides which applicants it will take and which it won't. Teaching experience certainly isn't a requirement, that's for sure. There are a wide range of people in the job and many of them cause me to really wonder what the hell interviewers saw in them that made them say, "YES, let's put this man in front of a group of small Japanese children".

And as for the job itself, well that's another story.