Interview Questions

[Loerian]

Thank you sooo much guys this is really helpful and I will definitely look more intosome of the things you mentioned , me personally I'm from Ireland so I'm not sure if that will give my interview a different take and I did mention in my sop that I study History and Ancient Classics does thatmean they may ask historical questions on Japan?

[Ertai87]

@tracey/jax: I dunno about the UK, but everyone I know who has applied from Canada, myself included, have been asked to do a sample lesson during the interview. Maybe it depends on the country.

@Loerian: They're more interested in what you can teach rather than what you have learned. You might want to expect them to say something like "Oh, we noticed you studied history of Japan, what kinds of things did you learn?", but I wouldn't expect anything more in-depth than that.

EDIT: Here's what I'd recommend: Before you ask more questions, go to the JET site and read about the purpose of JET. That will tell you what your responsibilities are on the job and what to expect them to be mainly concerned with in the interview. If you haven't read it yet, what's written there is likely not what you expect. Aside from what's written there, you can expect some basic questions on your personal history, personal experiences, and so on, but the bulk of the important questions will be concerning things written in the purpose section.

[Loerian]

Alright that is definitely a relief I have read up a lot on the purpose of jet and what will be expected / needed from an applicant I was just a little worried about being asked about Japanese history when my uni has pretty much entirely focused on Irish and western history, but I do have an interest in Japanese history and would love to develop that further on the program while sharing the small bits of history I have studied and the like.

[vkeii]

One thing that hit home when I went through my interviews last year was: Do not give any empty answers.

These are like when you are asked a question like 'What do you think you can bring to the classroom and students'.
Give an answer that actually has something behind it. Do not respond with words that really don't mean squat.
Example:

Bad: I will bring my cultural awareness and show them the best of what makes my culture what it is.
Bad: Through my actions and interactions with the students, and bringing internationalization into the classroom.
Good: I will bring certain things that represent my culture, and present it to students within the classroom through my self introduction, or even activities throughout the year.
Good: I will show the 'Australian' spirit, by joining in Sporting activities, be it events or clubs, and show that Australians really do try whatever, even if we aren't good at it. I will show the students why the Australian people are regarded as one of the most likeable people in the world.


I was asked this question and it actually made me sit back and think for a bit, before responding.
The former sounds good in words, but the latter shows the practice in action. (Sorry, but I really can't remember how to make the first one sound as empty as I remembered it a year ago...)

Another piece of advice is, treat this as serious as any other job interview. Do not treat it as a free year abroad, even though there are some participants who did that and made it through.
Don' be too stern, show that you are fun towards the interviewers, and have on the stop smarts to respond to any question or situation they throw at you.
If you can act freely and openly towards the interviewers, that will definitely show them that you can do the same towards someone else in another country, who will most likely only be able to speak the local language.

And as others have said: Re-Read what your wrote on your SOP. And definitely re-read what you wrote on your application form.

[AVN]

@tracey/jax: I dunno about the UK, but everyone I know who has applied from Canada, myself included, have been asked to do a sample lesson during the interview. Maybe it depends on the country.

@Loerian: They're more interested in what you can teach rather than what you have learned. You might want to expect them to say something like "Oh, we noticed you studied history of Japan, what kinds of things did you learn?", but I wouldn't expect anything more in-depth than that.

EDIT: Here's what I'd recommend: Before you ask more questions, go to the JET site and read about the purpose of JET. That will tell you what your responsibilities are on the job and what to expect them to be mainly concerned with in the interview. If you haven't read it yet, what's written there is likely not what you expect. Aside from what's written there, you can expect some basic questions on your personal history, personal experiences, and so on, but the bulk of the important questions will be concerning things written in the purpose section.

I applied from Canada and interviewed in Winnipeg I don't know anyone from there who had to do a model lesson. I think it's whoever is conducting the interview not the country. Though I know some countries do have different aspects like the grammar test.


On a different note I want to add that if you have lived in Japan, especially if you have worked or are working there, you will receive different questions.
For example:
Why do you want to stay in/return to Japan?
What was the hardest part about living in Japan? (They don't want a cop out answer, trust me)
Why do you want to continue teaching?
How will you use your experience in Japan on the JET programme?
Why the JET programme as opposed to ______ (however you were there last time)?

etc

[Shea]

@tracey/jax: I dunno about the UK, but everyone I know who has applied from Canada, myself included, have been asked to do a sample lesson during the interview. Maybe it depends on the country.

@Loerian: They're more interested in what you can teach rather than what you have learned. You might want to expect them to say something like "Oh, we noticed you studied history of Japan, what kinds of things did you learn?", but I wouldn't expect anything more in-depth than that.

EDIT: Here's what I'd recommend: Before you ask more questions, go to the JET site and read about the purpose of JET. That will tell you what your responsibilities are on the job and what to expect them to be mainly concerned with in the interview. If you haven't read it yet, what's written there is likely not what you expect. Aside from what's written there, you can expect some basic questions on your personal history, personal experiences, and so on, but the bulk of the important questions will be concerning things written in the purpose section.

I applied from Canada and interviewed in Winnipeg I don't know anyone from there who had to do a model lesson. I think it's whoever is conducting the interview not the country. Though I know some countries do have different aspects like the grammar test.


On a different note I want to add that if you have lived in Japan, especially if you have worked or are working there, you will receive different questions.
For example:
Why do you want to stay in/return to Japan?
What was the hardest part about living in Japan? (They don't want a cop out answer, trust me)
Why do you want to continue teaching?
How will you use your experience in Japan on the JET programme?
Why the JET programme as opposed to ______ (however you were there last time)?

etc

Thank you for addressing this issue. I've worked in Japan before, and I completely loved it, but my experience with the company I worked for was horrible. I am pretty concerned about it being brought up in the interview, and was trying to think of some questions they may ask about it.

[AVN]

On a different note I want to add that if you have lived in Japan, especially if you have worked or are working there, you will receive different questions.
For example:
Why do you want to stay in/return to Japan?
What was the hardest part about living in Japan? (They don't want a cop out answer, trust me)
Why do you want to continue teaching?
How will you use your experience in Japan on the JET programme?
Why the JET programme as opposed to ______ (however you were there last time)?

etc

Thank you for addressing this issue. I've worked in Japan before, and I completely loved it, but my experience with the company I worked for was horrible. I am pretty concerned about it being brought up in the interview, and was trying to think of some questions they may ask about it.

I'm sorry it was horrible, mine was too... I was with GEOS during the collapse.
My advice, obviously not an expert, is to keep it positive. They don't care how awful your experience with your prior job was. They want to know why you're deciding to try them instead.
So just keep that in mind when answering questions.
For example if they ask why you want to return to Japan after having been there but left previously.
Don't reply with why your last job sucked. Reply with how JET is better than your previous job and how much more you can offer Japan with JET than you could with your last job.
I worked with an Eikaiwa and so I focused on how with JET I would be more involved in the community and how I could teach all of the children instead of only a select few. How I could instill a love for language in children who otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity to learn it, not only those children whose parents were already motivated and able to invest in their children's English education.

So the key is positive spin don't be a downer

If you want to ask any other questions about going from non-JET to JET, especially eikaiwa, let me know! I'd be happy to talk about it.
I even wrote about my experience for a JET magazine if you want to read it at all.

[Ertai87]

@tracey/jax: I dunno about the UK, but everyone I know who has applied from Canada, myself included, have been asked to do a sample lesson during the interview. Maybe it depends on the country.

@Loerian: They're more interested in what you can teach rather than what you have learned. You might want to expect them to say something like "Oh, we noticed you studied history of Japan, what kinds of things did you learn?", but I wouldn't expect anything more in-depth than that.

EDIT: Here's what I'd recommend: Before you ask more questions, go to the JET site and read about the purpose of JET. That will tell you what your responsibilities are on the job and what to expect them to be mainly concerned with in the interview. If you haven't read it yet, what's written there is likely not what you expect. Aside from what's written there, you can expect some basic questions on your personal history, personal experiences, and so on, but the bulk of the important questions will be concerning things written in the purpose section.

I applied from Canada and interviewed in Winnipeg I don't know anyone from there who had to do a model lesson. I think it's whoever is conducting the interview not the country. Though I know some countries do have different aspects like the grammar test.

Hm. Maybe Toronto. Or maybe the interviewers. Anyway, be prepared that they may ask you to do one.

On a different note I want to add that if you have lived in Japan, especially if you have worked or are working there, you will receive different questions.
For example:
Why do you want to stay in/return to Japan?
What was the hardest part about living in Japan? (They don't want a cop out answer, trust me)
Why do you want to continue teaching?
How will you use your experience in Japan on the JET programme?
Why the JET programme as opposed to ______ (however you were there last time)?

etc

Hm, this is good for me to know; after I got rejected last year I ended up in Korea at an Eikaiwa (obviously not called "Eikaiwa" in Korea, but basically the same thing), and, long story short, I was only there for 2 1/2 months. I should probably prepare to be asked about that.

[AVN]

Hm, this is good for me to know; after I got rejected last year I ended up in Korea at an Eikaiwa (obviously not called "Eikaiwa" in Korea, but basically the same thing), and, long story short, I was only there for 2 1/2 months. I should probably prepare to be asked about that.

Yes there is a big chance they will ask about that. Be prepared for questions about why you only stayed for 2 1/2 months. Also you might want to be prepared for tough questions along the lines of "What will be different with JET?" "What's different now that you think you'll be able to live abroad and stay the full year?" etc etc.
When I had my interview I was still working for my past company and they asked why I was applying if I already had a job and why I thought I would be better off at JET.

[Crowbeak]

I was interviewed last year in Alaska (USA).

- I encountered no bad cop/good cop routine.
- I was asked for an example of a lesson plan I would propose if I had to make one up on the fly. When I responded with something that couldn't be used at elementary school, I was asked for an elementary-school example as well (which surprised me because I did not check the yes-I'd-like-to-teach-elementary box on my application [and in retrospect, I'm so glad I ended up teaching elementary... very rewarding]). I did not have to do a demonstration, just describe.
- All JET applicants in the Alaska region were asked if they were up to speed on current events in Japan. I just talked about the Ozawa scandal that I'd been reading about in the news, since I read Japanese news... which, by the way, you should do for the next couple of weeks.
- I was also asked how I'd explain the US Congress to a Japanese person. I am not sure if this was because I was something they asked everyone or if that was thrown at me because I had taken a class on East Asian government.

One thing I didn't expect was to be asked questions that had been on the application. They asked a couple of them verbatim, such as the one about what personal and professional development you want to get out of JET.

[tracey86]

has anyone with a decent japanese ability not been asked to read it or speak it in the interview?

i'm asking because i had my interview today but wasn't asked anything about it, even though it was what i graduated in. i had been interviewed a couple of years ago and was shortlisted, so maybe that's why (but that's all the info they would have, i shouldn't imagine they should know that i was already tested on it in the prior interview, etc). but i'm trying to work out whether it's a bad thing... whether they're thinking "i can't be bothered to even ask her, she failed so bad at everything else" or whether it's not something of importance.

i know it's not really important, as you don't need to speak japanese to do jet, but i'm wondering whether it's some kind of negative when you do have ability and you don't get quizzed.

[eledoremassis02]

Do you think interviewees will be asked about disaster prevention this year, given what happened last year? Like if we know what to do, do we leave school when something happens. I know it was a once in a lifetime event but won't this be the fist JET interviews since 3-11?

[Namisuke]

I applied from Canada and interviewed in Winnipeg I don't know anyone from there who had to do a model lesson. I think it's whoever is conducting the interview not the country.

Actually, you are one of the only people I heard of who DIDN'T have to do a model lesson in Winnipeg. Everyone else I talked to or heard of in the past 2 years of interviews had to do one (including myself). My boyfriend didn't have to do one the first time he interviewed though, which we thought was odd because everyone I talked to about the interview did one. I interviewed right before him and I had to do one. Last year they gave the interviewees the same topic to do a lesson on, but the year before we were able to choose our own.

[tashikanakoto]

UK applicants, apparently, are being asked what they would do if they were placed in Fukushima..

[tashikanakoto]

A British acquaintance of mine told me that when she interviewed for JET in London, she was asked who was 5th in line to the UK monarchy (or 4th, or 6th, or 7th, I don't remember the exact number...) Has anyone had any curveball questions like that yet?