Preparing for the Interview

Last Friday I met up with a friend and former JET for a practice interview. Originally I was going to try to book a mock interview with my school's career center, but in hindsight that wouldn't have helped as much as yesterday's meeting did, since the questions asked in the JET interview differ greatly from "normal" job interviews.

My answers are ok, and I don't fidget, which is good. On the other hand, I can come off as a bit stiff, but it's the kind of stiffness where it's difficult to answer interview questions in a way that doesn't make it seem like you're being interviewed.

I'm now trying to store a bank of ideas that would help me answer questions such as "what objects would you bring from home to teach your students about American culture?" and "act out a sample lesson for us." For the first question, I imagine that most people would think of American symbols first: flags, Statue of Liberty figurine, cowboy hats, etc. but those are just symbols, They don't really show someone what our culture is like. Moreover, a lot of what makes America America has already been exported across the globe - theme parks, fast food, baseball, (American) football, to name just a few.

Two weeks left.

Pre-Interview Thoughts

Today is January 10th, 2016. Two days ago, on January 8th, the first stage results for the US were released via a message in the JET Inbox.


It's good news.

Some Thoughts on the Application, pt. 2: How to fix a bad SoP

People in JET circles agree that the SoP, or Statement of Purpose, is the most important part of the application. You get two double spaced pages to tell the consulate why Japan, why you, and what you can do for them. Stellar qualifications but a shit SoP won't land you an interview. When I wrote mine, I dug around the internet for both successful and unsuccessful SoPs written by previous applicants.

As a scientist-in-training, I think writing the JET SoP is sort of like hypothesis testing. Logic of Science tells us that hypotheses can never be proved, only disproved. (Sure, they can be supported by a lot of evidence, but once one study shows the contrary using solid science, the hypothesis goes down the drain or gets reworked.) Reading successful SoPs can show you as a writer what works, but that alone doesn't guarantee your own success. On the other hand, if your SoP sounds like an unsuccessful applicant's, you can be sure to kiss your interview prospects goodbye. 

Here are few SoP examples I looked at that may also be useful.

Successful, Australia, 1994

Successful, USA, 2006

Successful, Canada, 2006

Successful, 2005

Successful, New Zealand 2013 (for CIR position)

Unsuccessful, USA, 2004

For my SoP, I ended doing about 4 drafts, with significant revisions between each draft. I also got about 10 people total to read and give feedback during the drafting process. 

Here is the Statement of Purpose prompt (for the US 2016 cycle):

Submit an application statement of purpose / essay regarding your motivation for applying to the JET Program. Applicants should take this opportunity to address the following:

●     Why you wish to go to as a participant of the JET Program and why you are interested in the position for which you are applying (ALT or CIR).

●     What effect you hope to have on the Japanese community and internationally as a result of your participation in the JET Program.

●     How your experiences, professional skills, and relevant interests will be useful to you as an ALT or CIR, and will further the objectives of the JET Program.

●     What you hope to gain, both personally and professionally, from your JET experience if you are selected and how participation will assist you in your future career.

Applicants should take this opportunity not only to explain their motivation for applying, but also to showcase their knowledge of standard conventions for proper American English grammar and spelling.

Here's the first draft I wrote. It's shit. And I'll tell you why.

Some Thoughts on the Application, pt 1: Everything but the SoP

Going into the application, I felt like a decent candidate on paper, in terms of qualifications. I had significant volunteer teaching experience, a few important Japan-related international experiences, leadership experience, and a whole bunch of extracurriculars. There were also a few things I didn't have: classroom teaching experience, Japanese language proficiency, TOEFL certification.

I found out about JET in Sept 2015, completed the application in Oct-Nov 2015, and sent it out a week before the (extended) deadline of Nov. 20.

Finding Japan

The first I ever experienced of Japanese culture was (like most, I suspect) through anime, although I didn't know what anime was at the time. Then came manga, but it was just entertainment to me, in the Age of the Internet where everything is accessible to everyone, everywhere. Watching anime and reading manga exposed me to Japanese culture just about as much as watching Doctor Who and Sherlock exposed me to British culture (that is to say, just some superficial trappings, but nothing substantial).

What J-media did flesh out for me, though, was that Samurai were a thing, that they had beautiful swords, and that swords are cool. Everyone knows that last bit. So one summer, when I was taking a full load of coursework but went looking for other meaningful ways to spend my time since I was going to be at school anyway, I discovered the historical Japanese Swordsmanship class offered through the school gym.

It was either that or kendo.

Of course I picked the swords.

This class turned out to be something very special, a sanctioned 'study group' of American practitioners of a historical Japanese sword style dating back to the 1600s (just around the beginning of the Tokugawa period). The headmaster of the style, or Sōke, had given permission for a few American students to study the style, and to subsequently form 'study groups' through which other Americans could also begin to study the style.

Having had a taste of Japanese culture (albeit filtered through an American perspective), I was interested in learning more about it, preferably firsthand.

If this were the JET interview, that would be the long version of my answer to "So why Japan?"

About this blogger

ESID. It only makes sense to start a JET blog with that expression, the famous (in JET circles, anyway) acronym for something every participant comes to know firsthand: "every situation is different." Here's mine.

As of my JET application (submitted Nov 2015 for 2016 departure), I'm a fourth-year undergraduate from California, double-majoring in Genetics and Music. I do scientific research on specific fruit fly genes and I play the cello in the University orchestra. I also do some freelance woodworking on the side, and practice historical Japanese swordsmanship. More on that in the next post. Harry Potter fan (Ravenclaw), Doctor Who follower, classical music nerd. Used to watch a smattering of anime, but not much nowadays. I'm not particularly "genki," but enthusiasm for the stuff I like makes up for that. I very much dislike college parties. I very much enjoy my studies. Current abilities in Japanese: little to none.

I found out about JET when browsing study abroad options to Japan offered by my University, but none fit my needs at the time; as a senior studying two very different fields, I needed to stay in one place for the second half of my undergraduate career. I had a cello recital to perform as well as research presentations to give. Leaving, even if for just a quarter, was not an option.

So I applied to JET.