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| JET Adventures 2 - The ardours of applying |
| Friday, July 29, 2005 |
OK, so you look at the website and it asks for your entire life on a stick. I think most people run screaming at this point, but really it breaks down like this:
1. The application form
Pretty simple questions really. Don't lie about the driving license - I know one guy who said he'd got one when he hadn't and now he's been posted to somewhere completely inaccessible unless you've got motorised feet. You get to put down where you want to go to as well - I'd recommend Okinawa to anyone, especially if you like it hot and tropical. If you're after cold and snowy then Hokkaido's a good choice. Most people leave these fields blank but I think it helps your application if you put some research in and put at least one choice down. They also go on about Japanese language knowledge or teaching experience but there are loads of people here who have neither, as long as you express an interest in learning the lingo or playing games with kids then that's all cool.
2. University degree and marks
The JET program is the only thing I've ever needed my degree certificate for. And the course marks too, how crazy. It only took a phone call to my university though, and they arrived in the post the next day. I don't think it really matters what course you took or what marks you got, but because it's a government run thing the bureaucrats need all that to justify the tax dollars that are going to be spent paying your salary.
3. The essay
This is the hardest part, obviously. But basically their worst nightmare is someone quitting after a month because they can't send someone else out to replace them. So they're looking for someone who's going to be flexible, socially adept, and who isn't going to run away back home before the year is up. The best way to convince them of this is to have some kind of interest in Japan. It can be anything really like martial arts or the food, but don't put down manga/anime as it's not regarded very highly. You don't have to have done something like origami since you were 3 years old - if you haven't got a concrete interest you can always waffle on about something you'd really like to get into while you're there. Sports also go down a treat as it shows you're energetic and into the whole Japanese team-spirit thing. |
posted by Alice @ 6:22 pm  |
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