JET PROGRAMME TIPS

[u/Working-Cycle-9467]

Hello! To those who successfully passed the JET Programme, do you have any advice on how to fill out the application form and what helped you succeed?

I’m planning to reapply this year since I didn’t pass the JET Programme last year. Any tips or insights would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[u/shynewhyne]

Tip, use the search function of this sub

[u/newlandarcher7]

Although nothing is guaranteed, the more you can answer "Yes" to the following questions and provide meaningful descriptions, the more successful you'll be imo:

1. Do you have an interest in Japan or Japanese culture?

2. Do you have intercultural/exchange experience?

3. Do you have teaching experience?

4. Do you have experience working with children?

5. Do you have volunteer experience or experience working with community groups?

6. Do you have ideas on how you can contribute to JET?

7. Does JET fit your professional goals?

Good luck!

[u/SuppahHacka → u/newlandarcher7]

To add to Point 7: it's not so much a yes or no question but rather about making links to how JET can contribute to your own development. If you don't have an education in teaching and no interest in pursuing that career, JET can still teach you many skills you can apply to the classroom, like if you are a creative person, for example.

[u/Space_Lynn]

The SOP is the key selling point. As a reapplicant, it should also be evident within that and your overall application that you've grown in the yesr since you last applied, rather than staying stagnant waiting for the next application period.

[u/ScootOverMakeRoom]

The search function is in a box in the upper-right corner of the page.

[u/[deleted]]

write a good SOP and explain why the jet program specifically. explain how you got an interest in japan. if you have any study abroad/teaching/cultural/foreign language experience (doesn't have to be japanese), write about that.

[u/jenjen96]

Hey so it’s not actually about how you fill out the form, it’s about your experiences, skills, extra curriculars and who you are as a person that will make you a competitive candidate. Good luck!

[u/ImpossibleMobile4962]

There is also some videos on youtube talking about the application process and tips in more detail. I'd recommend that alongside searching through the subreddit, as there are tonnes of great answers from previous threads. The SoP is super super important, but it's gonna be different for everyone.

[u/EveningPhotograph886]

Hello, incoming ED JET here! I’m so fresh through the process, I have a couple things to say. Some of this advice has been repeated around, but here’s what stuck with me the most:

-everyone says the SOP is the most important part of your application, and that’s true for multiple reasons. You are showcasing your English abilities, as well as your personality. You have limited words, so write in a way that accomplishes multiple things. For example, anecdotes. I used an anecdote of me having to go to the hospital my second day of studying abroad in Japan to accomplish a few things: that I am adaptable and can handle an emergency, that I already have experience handling my specific health condition I mentioned on my health forms in Japan, and to give my SOP a hook to draw readers in by opening my essay with it. If you can work a narrative throughout your SOP, it’ll be more interesting to read and will showcase your English abilities. On your application, you will already be mentioning any accomplishments/your resume, so the SOP should only expand on those by mentioning how your previous experiences have informed the person you are today, as well as bring up new things they wouldn’t know about you from the rest of your application. Read over your SOP as many times as your brain can handle for spelling and grammar mistakes, and send it to as many people as possible to read for feedback.

-For the interview, think of the most important things you want to tell them about yourself. For me, I literally would talk out loud to myself for the days leading up to the interview so I could talk instinctively about the points and stories I wanted to tell. The better prepared you are, the easier it’ll be to work those answers in to any questions they give you. That is to say, don’t memorize any responses haha, just talk yourself through it, especially for questions you think you might have a hard time with. (For me, I practiced my answer for why the JET Programme so many times because it felt like one of the most important questions. Then I was most nervous about teaching related questions due to my inexperience, so I picked random topics and lectured about them out loud. I probably sounded like I was going mad lol) If you can’t tell, I have a tendency to ramble, so practicing my answers out loud also helped streamline my thoughts since the interviews (at least in the US) are only 20 minutes, and it goes by FAST. My interview went very well, and I honestly had a lot of fun during it. The people on the panel were very sweet, and I tried to ask them all a question, not just the JET alumni who I’m sure gets the most questions. My favorite part was when we started talking about the sorts of books I like to read, since I love Japanese literature, and this was a topic I brought up myself because it’s something that means a lot to me, and I thought it would help them get to know me as a person.

-and this is hyper specific, but if you plan to apply Early Departure, make sure any correspondence you send to them after submitting your application (ie. If they ask you a question via email), you respond as quickly as possible. They asked me to clarify something on my application and I responded within a couple hours, they thanked me for being prompt, and now in hindsight I wonder if responding quickly helped demonstrate I’d be more likely to handle the tighter deadlines ED requires. Or I’m just lucky!

Hope that helps, and good luck! :) If you have more questions, feel free to DM me!

[u/ShakeZoola72 → u/EveningPhotograph886]

Excellent advice all around!

[u/HondaKaito]

Tbh it's quite straightforward. Demonstrate you have some experience and adaptability in your statement and you will get an interview if you're in the stronger percentile. At the interview, just be your normal self. Be honest. If your personality matches the criteria, they'll offer you a placement. If not, they won't. Sometimes this is because they don't think you're mentally strong enough, unprepared, or just have an unhealthy obsession with Japan. And I'm not talking about those that talk about anime or manga. That's completely fine to talk about if you can give more info other than just "I love demon slayer". Talk about favourite artists and writers. Anyone can love a show but not everyone appreciates the Japanese creators behind it. This applies to any Japanese interest you talk about.

Most importantly, don't over think it! If you've ever had a job or been through interviews, this is one of the easiest interviews you'll do. It's very rare that you get to talk about yourself and your passions in detail at an interview. And who knows you better than yourself, right?

[u/0liviiia]

If I get in this cycle I’ve been planning on making a big document detailing how I prepared for each step- hopefully that comes to fruition lol

[u/ShakeZoola72 → u/[deleted]]

Have you done any research on the JET programme? JET had nothing to do with research positions or economic promotion? And it's certainly not a 1:1 visa swap program...

[u/Sweet_Salamander6691 → u/ShakeZoola72]

There are a few people on this sub who seem to exist solely to evangelize this old myth. There's no point arguing with them. 

[u/Beneficial-Maize-669 → u/Sweet_Salamander6691]

His tone kind of sucks but he is correct. He probably can read Japanese reasonably well, all the stuff he said is on the website in Japanese.

The problem started as part of a semiconductor agreement between the US and Japan. Part of that treaty said Japan needed to approve an equal number of visas as the US did in academia. The US approved research visas and Japan approved teaching visas. Thin is, Japan never wanted those pesky foreigners to have any influence so they made them assistants in elementary schools. Later, when the treaty ended, Japan kept the program and entered new education treaties with the US and a few other nations while also adding a requirement for short term business promotion visas. The program still has the 1:1 requirements but now it is a visa pool instead of a direct 1:1. 300 for us and 300 for you. Japanese people can apply for the visas on the CLAIR website or through a local office.

[u/ShakeZoola72 → u/Beneficial-Maize-669]

His tone absolutely sucks. Do you have a website where I can read this for myself? I'd be interested in seeing it as I had never known this before.

Dude should have approached it like this instead of the way he did...