Day in, day out, I am googling horror stories to prepare for the question about what kind of challenges I expect and how to put a positive spin on my answer.
I am reading the forums of ITIL, BD, and the official site, seeing how else to prepare and other people’s feedback from SoP to interview.
Youtube is still frequented by me as I play back VLOGs from people giving advice as well, over and over and over again. The life of a JET, the horror, the fun, and the absurd.
My friends who were or are in the program who I barely talk to are now bombarded with my questions and advice on every step of the way.
Friends who did get an interview are preparing alone and waiting till I come back to prepare together with mock interviews.
I am making sample and actual lesson plans based off of what I liked when I learned foreign languages, talking to friends who do this in Korea and Taiwan, and trying to improve my song and dance routine so the kids and the interviewers both love it enough to disregard my almost monotonous voice.
All the while, I’m trying to think positive and act like I’m a JET already (I can sing the Jet song from West Side Story backwards and forwards now when trying to calm down.
The recommended reading list and all the .pdf handbooks for JETs are what I carry around with me all the time, as well as my Lonely Planet Japan book, seriously annoying my dad and little sister as we eat and I’m reading instead of socializing with them.
At the end of the day, I go to sleep asking God or the Shinto kami to give me the job (and my choice placement, since I might as well ask for it all).
Finally, when I go to sleep, I dream I am in the interview and passing with a perfect score, amidst doing something absurd like lying down on the interview table or being caught in the waiting room fantasizing about opening up my acceptance letter.
Then I wake up and realize it’s the same thing every day until the interview, and a worse cycle of waiting for their response and kicking my own ass after the interview.
This quote comes from poster NumberNone via ITIL. Getting through the JET program interview is a very important task, but it is not nearly as hard as many potential applicants make it out to be. It will be like any other interview you have had before. Doing a bit of research can be helpful, but worrying like this guy is just going to ruin your chances.
There are 3 important things to let people know in your interview.
- That you have a interest in Japan that extends beyond the naruto wall scrolls hanging in your bedroom.
-You have teaching experience
- You are willing to be flexible
If you can do these three things, and roll with whatever other questions they ask you without turning into a nervous wreck then you will be good to go.
3 years ago