i havent graduated college, do i have a chance?

[mobiuschic42]

I'm certain that studying abroad in Japan made me a much stronger JET applicant, and may well be why I got an interview.

I don't believe that going to Japan is a guaranteed ticket to an interview. There are thousands of applicants that have went abroad, some even to Japan, and not earned interviews (case in point, look at the who's been to Japan thread and compare the responses to how many actually got an interview). I never went to Japan in my life and I got an interview. I think the theory that going to Japan = Interview really trips up a lot of potential applicants and perhaps deters a lot of people with strong potential in other areas from applying.

Having a strong SOP, strong references, and decent qualifications gets you an interview with the JET Program. Going to Japan is not the sole deciding factor.

I agree. I have never been to Japan and I got an interview. However Ido think that some form of international experience, be it holidays or living abroad is desirable but not essential.

Um, guys, that's why I said "stronger" and "may." I don't have a background in education, so *for me* it is likely that studying abroad made me a stronger applicant, and that it may be why *I* got an interview.
In no place did I say it was required and, come on, in what way can studying abroad in Japan hurt your JET application? I didn't say you can't get in without it or that it automatically equals an interview, so let's be a little gentler, k?
It surprises me a bit how eager people are to jump all over innocuous posts in these forums. Sure, when someone says something obviously offensive or wrong, it makes sense to respond, but I would think this would be a place where we'd be encouraging and helpful. You can certainly talk about your experience without saying that others are flat-out wrong about their perceptions.

[merkypie]

Um, guys, that's why I said "stronger" and "may." I don't have a background in education, so *for me* it is likely that studying abroad made me a stronger applicant, and that it may be why *I* got an interview.
In no place did I say it was required and, come on, in what way can studying abroad in Japan hurt your JET application? I didn't say you can't get in without it or that it automatically equals an interview, so let's be a little gentler, k?
It surprises me a bit how eager people are to jump all over innocuous posts in these forums. Sure, when someone says something obviously offensive or wrong, it makes sense to respond, but I would think this would be a place where we'd be encouraging and helpful. You can certainly talk about your experience without saying that others are flat-out wrong about their perceptions.

I'm not jumping on you, I'm just saying that comments like that can be taken to an extreme. When someone says, I studied abroad so that's why I got the interview, a potential applicant who has never went abroad will probably freak out. I know that when I initially started my application, I was freaking out because I had never went to Japan in my life and yet every applicant that was posting online at the time did. So, it's a bit unsettling and misleading when people say, not necessarily you, that the only factor that go them the interview was the fact they participated in some exchange trip to Japan. People may feel inadequate for the program, may believe there are some unwritten rules, or worst: not apply.

Yes, having international experience is helpful, yes it adds some support to an application, but it is not the end all of end alls nor is it what makes an application stronger. It helps, it adds weight, but it doesn't make the application stronger. Someone who's been active in their communities international community has just amount the same weight as someone who's went abroad -- especially since these qualifications are listed in the same section.

These forums are encouraging and helpful but I also like to believe that being real is a better alternative than getting people's hopes up and setting them up for disappointment.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Not to sound harsh, but maybe that's where reading things carefully comes in - eg. 'may' and 'stronger'. International travel does make your application stronger, simply because it means you've been exposed to more cultures and can presumably teach a little about them. International community experience also makes your application stronger. Both make it even stronger still.
We/you are (usually) applying for an English teaching job after all.

[merkypie]

Not to sound harsh, but maybe that's where reading things carefully comes in - eg. 'may' and 'stronger'. International travel does make your application stronger, simply because it means you've been exposed to more cultures and can presumably teach a little about them. International community experience also makes your application stronger. Both make it even stronger still.
We/you are (usually) applying for an English teaching job after all.

Again, I beg to differ on that. Anything you put down in your qualifications list adds to your worth as a potential candidate. You can have someone that spent 2 weeks in Japan but that two weeks still doesn't make that applicant better than the one that's never stepped in Japan but, on the hand, was very active in the Japanese (or any culture) community in his own town. Both have the same weight and prove to the reviewers that this applicant has a passion for cultural exchange.

The thing that JET looks for is people who are passionate, no matter what they do. Nothing is stronger or better than the other and saying things like " I think/I got the interview because I went abroad " just sends a misleading message to applicants, because that is not the only reason why someone gets the interview. It's a combination of many things that play into someone earning that interview. That's why not everyone who went abroad gets an interview or people who have teaching degrees gets interview. It's because they're missing something crucial that they didn't convey on paper.

[Teishou]

[advice]Dear Grasshopper,

Arguing with Merkypie will do you no good.

Sincerely,
Teishou[/end advice]

Real Thoughtful Post Below:

But in any case, while Merky is correct with international experience not necessarily swaying your application for a yay or nay, neither are you incorrect about the weight it could possibly hold. Let's not dabble over words like "may" or "stronger". Who really cares about all of that? In the end, it's how you work your own application to further sell yourself better. If you weren't chosen, perhaps you didn't sell yourself well, or maybe you seemed desperate in your desire to do so.

Just try your best. What else is necessary?

[Gizmotech]

@Spencer : yes... I meant thou... autopilot rant typing fail.

I agree with your position of commitment to the job, but frankly that's largely irrelevant. You can be 100% into your job and still be god awful terrible at it. You can give 120% to your job and actually be doing worse than if you did nothing at all. (You'll learn all about that once you get here and find the grammar classes)

There are times in this job where you actually have to be a useless tit.

I also disagree that you "need" a love of Japan. I have a friend here who had no interest in Japanese culture beyond general curiosity prior to coming and is one of the best JETs here just because he has an open mind to new experiences. I would say that being in love with the country without having experienced it (ie worked in it) is akin to loving a pin up model. No matter how pretty it might be, when you finally encounter it it will not live up to your expectations.

Finally I want you to think of a saying that most people learn much later in life but I think you might need to be told now.
Work to live, don't live to work.
Your comments about teaching, and the JET program, sound dangerously like live to work philosophy.

@Namisuke: I agree you aren't going to find yourself in Japan, but I will say you will certainly learn a lot about yourself throughout the experience.

@Everyone else
We don't want this OP on the JET program. Obviously they have an inability to read documentation, interpret fact, and do research effectively. They are not demonstrating the skills necessary to the job of being an ALT where you are left on your own with pretty much nada. If they had done any research they would've found out very quickly that the degree component is non-negotiable, and is not related to the program at all but rather the immigration requirements of the country. Furthermore, and the biggest thing for me, with all the (rather extensive) resources available to answer this question the op came to the community to have them find the answer for them. This option is not always available on the job, and JETs often have to find answers themselves (grammar points, definitions, teaching methodology, course planning, etc...) and make educated guesses/answers for themselves. Give the op all the encouraging positive statements you want, but this person is missing critical components needed to survive in the job.


Side note: International experience is one of many categories that are part of a total score, but it's not the decider. I know people who have international experience who were alternated after interview, and I got in with none. Same goes for almost every other variable you can think of. Credentials, experience, volunteering, etc... You need to have a whole package, or a balanced package with noticeable strengths.

[Jax]

I think its Thou...

Ummmm... you have errors all over the place in your posts. I don't think you're really in a position to correct someone else's mistake.

You can have someone that spent 2 weeks in Japan but that two weeks still doesn't make that applicant better than the one that's never stepped in Japan but, on the hand, was very active in the Japanese (or any culture) community in his own town.

No one ever said that.

I think you took a casual "I think this is what made my own application strong" way out of context. It was a personal opinion about someone's own application. I'm certain that studying abroad in Japan made me a much stronger JET applicant, and may well be why I got an interview. Notice the ME and MAY in there? You don't need to get so defensive about not having been to Japan before. We get it.

[ladama]

Yes, having international experience is helpful, yes it adds some support to an application, but it is not the end all of end alls nor is it what makes an application stronger. It helps, it adds weight, but it doesn't make the application stronger. Someone who's been active in their communities international community has just amount the same weight as someone who's went abroad -- especially since these qualifications are listed in the same section.

Eh, I don't know if a few local international fairs carries quite the same weight as a year studying abroad. But I agree, never being to Japan isn't a deal breaker for getting onto JET (nor does being to Japan automatically earn you an interview). Yes, many, if not the majority, of JETs I knew had been to Japan previously, probably because people who are involved in Japanese language or culture classes/clubs/etc are much more likely to hear about the JET program than people who aren't. But JET's not a "who loves Japan the most!" contest, they do strive to get a variety of people on the program (and trust me, that's a good thing).

I will say, the JETs I knew who didn't have any (or had very little) "Japan" experience (never been to Japan, had studied the culture or language very little, if at all) generally had a fair amount of international experience, or had teaching experience/credentials. But none of these things are necessarily what makes or breaks your app.

[merkypie]

You can have someone that spent 2 weeks in Japan but that two weeks still doesn't make that applicant better than the one that's never stepped in Japan but, on the hand, was very active in the Japanese (or any culture) community in his own town.

No one ever said that.

I think you took a casual "I think this is what made my own application strong" way out of context. It was a personal opinion about someone's own application. I'm certain that studying abroad in Japan made me a much stronger JET applicant, and may well be why I got an interview. Notice the ME and MAY in there? You don't need to get so defensive about not having been to Japan before. We get it.

Like I said, it doesn't matter how you say it, it's still implying that stepping out the country makes one's application stronger than someone else or is the deciding factor of getting an interview when in fact that statement can not be true. I am not defensive, I'm just stating a concern. How many threads pop up every application season with people wondering if they're "qualified enough" because of comments like that? Plenty. There is nothing wrong with me voicing my opinion against it nor do I feel like I blew her comment out of proportion.

We don't even know how the applications are scored. This is just assumptions and a debate that will go around in circles. But there's one thing certain, being a teacher, going abroad, having work experience, etc is not the only sole factors that get you an interview. Self evident by pool of interviewees each year that make it to the interview stage.

[andrewf]

Beyond that I Will not know until I actually participate in JET
I really just meant to say that each task should be done to each ones best capacity. Kinda like a Do your best type thing....Ill think better in the Morning

I think this is the most important thing - You'll hear it again and again, "every situation is different". You need to be careful about how you prioritise your goals / objectives during your time in Japan. If you go in, guns blazing, prepared to putting 100% of your energy into "doing your job" and teaching the kiddies to speak English, you might be lucky, and your teachers might use you to your full potential. But that's only one possible scenario.

Basically, the best advice is to go into it with zero expectation, and make the best of the situation presented to you. For some people, the best objective *is* to focus on the cultural exchange, and make the most of the travel opportunities - because if they focused wholly on the "job satisfaction" aspects, then they're gonna get mightily depressed.

And I think that, even if you get a sucky location and get treated like a human tape recorder, you're still living in Japan! You gotta make lemonade where you can, so please don't judge people who do just that.

- A.

[Gizmotech]

Wow.

You know I hate that sentence, if life gives you lemons make lemonade... as it's really quitter talk (you should figure out how to stop getting lemons in the first place and change....), but without the ability to really change much in this job that's really all you can do. Make the best with what you've got and know you can't change anything.

[andrewf]

Well, you could always "damn the man" and "fight the system" but we all know what happens to "the nail that sticks out..."

As for "how to stop getting lemons" - well, JET is a lottery. There is a small chance that you will get a lemon. (There are enough horror stories out there to illustrate this point.) You can choose to accept the lemon, or you can throw the lemon away and choose something different with your life. I don't see it as quitter talk - quitter talk is "screw this, I'm leaving!" quitter talk is "I hate everything and I'm going to whinge about it and not do anything." I see it as "choosing your battles" - seeing as we're going for oft-overused phrases.

- A.

[EricaHartmann]

Wow merkypie. There is nothing wrong with the initial statement, it was personal opinion that didn't even say anything for sure. If new applicants somehow lack the reading comprehension to realize that, then it is their own problem. I also find it strange you say "it can not be true" as if what say and know must be accurate whereas someone else's vague personal statement is somehow wrong.

It honestly sounds more like you're just trying to reassure yourself since I've noticed that you have not been to Japan.

[merkypie]

Wow merkypie. There is nothing wrong with the initial statement, it was personal opinion that didn't even say anything for sure. If new applicants somehow lack the reading comprehension to realize that, then it is their own problem. I also find it strange you say "it can not be true" as if what say and know must be accurate whereas someone else's vague personal statement is somehow wrong.

It honestly sounds more like you're just trying to reassure yourself since I've noticed that you have not been to Japan.

I find it funny that you guys believe that I have some insecurity about never going to Japan. I have enough Japanese in my family that going to the motherland isn't something I'm crying for every night.

It's those personal statements that snowball into people believing that it is fact or taking it as fact. It's comments like that that people believe that if they're not offered a chance to ask questions at the end of their interview, they've obviously don't have the job. All I'm saying that it is several factors that come into play into getting an interview, not one. I know what I put down on my application and I do not reassurance as to why I have an interview. Whatever my combined qualifications were, it was enough for me to get the interview. I scored high enough.

I am entitled to that opinion. I honestly do not appreciate these personal jabs at my person, assuming that I have some sort of complex with Japan itself. If you would read my posts, I clearly state this over and over again, that I believe that getting an interview with the JET Program does not solely rely on one thing. But it seems as if people are picking and choosing what they want to read and try to fling it back at me. No one is really coming back with anything meaningful to this conversation. It's cool though. I still stick to what I originally said.

If the original commentator felt offended, that's her problem. I meant no harm or spoke ill to her. Merely disagreed with her opinion.

[daniel.flores]

GUYS CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG!

;_;

I hope we ALL get into JET! =)