My JET Interview Experience!

The interview was held back in the beginning of February, but luckily I wrote down an account of my experience so I can put it on here later! It was definitely much more relaxed and casual than what I thought it would be. Maybe that was because most of the JET interview experiences I had read online were American ones - they definitely sound like their interviews have much more difficult questions! But my experience in Auckland was far from scary or nerve-wracking, and felt more just like talking to a teacher or professor and going over why you wanted to go on the JET program. It felt like they just wanted to know what your personality was like really - rather than seeing if you were truly "qualified" or something like that.

Not sure if people like detailed accounts of the whole interview experience including the room layout and everything - but just in case: there were 2 interview rooms in the building, and the receptionist will point you to the right one (he was a very nice guy from Hokkaido!). When you enter obviously it's best to bow and greet, and then make your way to the chair in the middle of the room. There are 3 interviewers (a JET alumni, an educational representative i.e. university lecturer e.t.c., and a representative from the Japanese Embassy) sitting at a long table in front of you. My interviewers were honestly all super nice thus I didn't feel nervous much! Other tips I would give is to definitely dress formally - go with full suit attire. Even though we might be used to smart casual Kiwi business attire, this is an interview for a position in Japan, so it's best to start with their ways of doing things. I remember seeing people dressed in shirts and jeans at my interview slot, and you just know that's not going to make the best impression sadly.

Onto the actual interview! I was asked these questions for mine:

1. Why do you want to do JET? (Understandably the first question, and one that everyone gets asked)

2. What do you want to do through JET?

3. What one thing would you use to show New Zealand? For this one I initially answered "friendliness" because I thought we were talking in abstract terms, but then she said a physical object, so I said jandals which in a way reflects NZ's laid back culture, because you can wear jandals basically everywhere)

4. What one thing would you use to show the Maori culture? I'm not too familiar/knowledgeable about Maori culture, so I said poi because I had great memories of that from primary school, and I thought it could be a good cultural activity for the Japanese students. I also said jade because that's my personal imagery of the Maori culture.

5. Mock lesson time! She first asked me to teach about the Kiwi to a group of 17 year olds, then changed it to teaching body parts to a group of 8 year olds, because I had indicated on my application that I have worked with younger kids before. I drew a person on the whiteboard provided, labelled head, shoulders, knees, and toes, and proceeded to sing the "Head Shoulder Knees and Toes" song with them!

6. I can't quite remember the other questions in detail, because they were very casual and conversational like - she asked me about one of the papers I did in university (Villains and Heroes in Japanese literature), and I was able to reply that the Tale of Genji was most memorable for me. She also asked me about my church, my Sunday School teaching experience, and whether I would be alright living in a rural area with no churches.

7. Japanese test time! If you indicated on your application that you can speak Japanese, they will test you on this - this is just the Embassy representative conversing with you in Japanese. He first asked me to do a self-introduction, then what places I would take my Japanese friends to in NZ (Lake Tekapo all the way!), and then asked me a hard-level question on the English level in Japan (what do I think about it, is the level low, etc.). After hearing some accounts of other interviews when I met the other JETs who succeeded, it seems like this "test" varies depending on what they think your ability is. One of the other JETs who majored in Japanese same as I did was asked much simpler questions like favourite foods and the like!

8. The interview finished with them asking me "Do you have any questions for us?" - Be prepared for this! I'd read a lot of accounts online that said you should have a question prepared to show that you are truly keen to do the JET program. It shows that you think things through, and are willing to learn more. Online accounts have also said that often asking a good question at the end could give you a few more "points" and give a last good impression on the interviewers. The advice is to usually not ask questions that you can find answers to just by googling. I asked whether ALTs have to deal with students' parents, to which they replied no and that it was a good question because they hadn't been asked it before!

And that is all for my JET interview experience! The waiting part for the results isn't too bad if you've got a job/study to keep you occupied :)