The JET Programme Part I

When I first seriously started contemplating doing the "teaching English in Japan" thing and more specifically participating in the JET Programme, I had the mistaken belief that it would actually be possible to be placed in a big city such as Tokyo or Kyoto, and so on and so forth. Clearly, I didn't do my research. Fast forward three years, and there's a much more well informed guy, sitting here typing up this blog. This wasn't for the lack of interest in seeing other parts of Japan; I just didn't know any other parts of Japan at the time. Three years of University courses changed that.

At the beginning of last September, I went to a convention to get more information about the JET Programme. There was a JET spokesperson from New Zealand who had just finished her tenure on the program. It was at this convention that I picked up an application form, and got a clearer picture of how the application process would work. NOVA, another type of "teach English in Japan" employer also had a little table there with some brochures, etc. There was also one for teaching in Taiwan. I picked up a couple of brochures as back-ups in case things didn't work out as planned with the JET Programme.

Over the years, I heard a lot of good things about the JET Programme. It was heavily endorsed by my Japanese History professors and TAs as well as my Japanese language teachers, as an excellent opportunity to learn about Japan, and being a program with a good reputation, a decent employment opportunity coming out of University. Before this, I already had my sights set on travelling to Asia. I also had an interest in teaching because of my work with children, so upon hearing of the JET Programme, I was immediately interested.

The application process itself was quite hectic. The application booklet contained many pages which had to be filled out according to the guidelines set out in the first few pages. Actually, the application package was sort of a replacement for the handing in of resumes as most of the questions were about previous employment, volunteer work, etc., but in much more detail. Some typical questions were also about Japan-related interests, and international travel, and so on. These questions weren't hard to answer, but one stumped me - placements. They asked us to choose which cities or prefectures we would prefer to be placed in. For me, these types of questions always stump me, and end up making me wander around in circles for hours on end, seemingly coming to a conclusion only to ultimately end up back at square one. After consulting professors, friends, and actual Japanese people, I settled on Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture as my first choice, Miyagi prefecture as my second choice, and Kanagawa prefecture as my third choice (we were allowed to state which particular city we wanted to be stationed in for the first choice).

The application deadline was November 17, and I had picked up the application booklet in late September from the job fair. I thought I had plenty of time, but as most of us know, deadlines always seemingly creep up on unsuspecting victims very quickly. On top of the application booklet that needed to be filled out, a 500 word "statement of interest" was also required, as well as two reference letters which needed to come from either a professor or an employer or both. Let's just say it took a while to get all these things in order, on top of all the school work that was piling up on my desk. Strangely enough, the application directions also asked the applicant to sign each page of the packages and to make three copies of every document, placing them in three different envelopes and finally sending them all off in one larger package. Confusing? Yes, very much so. Only later was it confirmed that yes, the interview would consist of three interviewers, and yes, each person would have a copy of all your documents in front of them while interviewing you. After a lot of second-guessing, downright anxiety (didn't wanna screw anything up for this thing we've been planning on for three years now would we?), and phone calling the JET office, I was finally able to send the package off on November 16, just a day before the deadline. To make sure it arrived on time, I added the signature service, and soon enough, I received confirmation that my package had been received.

JET also gave us the option of including a self-marked postcard in the application package for them to send back to us to confirm their receiving the package. I included one of the CN Tower, and sure enough, I received it a couple weeks later. Whew...they received it. So now what? Well, it was time to play the "waiting game". From November 17, the deadline for sending in applications, until late December, the JET people would be screening all the applications from the entire JET pool to, for a lack of a better term, "weed out" applicants whom they thought were not qualified enough to warrant an interview. So...after two months of anxiety and nervousness over the actual applications, I had about 2 weeks to relax and actually be satisfied about sending that sucker in, only to have to go through all that anxiety all over again all the way till Christmas.

Sounds like fun doesn't it? Now since my head is unfortunately keeping me from being able to continue to write clearly (it is quite late isn't it..and I need to buy luggage tomorrow), I think I'll save the rest for later.

Stay tuned~