So, the raise will be implemented starting from April. But my contract renewal is in July, when I expect another raise. How does this work?

Do I get paid more from April to July and then get another raise upon starting my next contract? How much of the salary do we get if it's implemented in April? For example, if its 4.2M million or whatever, do I get all of that, like April-July pay accounting for the difference like back pay almost, or do I only get some of that pay, rather than making the full salary depicted in the raise amount? In which case, how much is actually being made for this year? A number in between the current salary and the raise?

More simply, my assumption is that I will get the raise in April, then my actual, standard annual raise in July. What I want to know is, do we get the entire raise in April for this current year, or do we only get it partially since its being implemented mid contract-year? Essentially, getting paid the new monthly rate for April to July, but not getting the full amount for months prior in the contract year.

I don't think anyone anywhere has explained this, so asking to understand the actual logistics of this raise.

For convenience, if this is your first time hearing of this, I'll copy and paste these rumored, allegedly confirmed, projections:

1st Year: 3,360,000 -> 4,020,000 2nd Year: 3,600,000 -> 4,140,000 3rd Year: 3,900,000 -> 4,260,000 4th/5th Year: 3,960,00 -> 4,320,000

So, beyond the idea of getting the raise, what are the actual logistics of how it will be implemented?

Very grateful to get the raise as I'm sure many of us are, but I just want to understand how its going to practically be implemented and if we should just expect the pay from April to reflect to the new monthly rate, or if we will get the entire annual sum as stated in these projected numbers.

Can I just be honest and say I’ll apply again next year? Not sure if they want to hear us say “I’ll do anything possible to get into Japan” if we don’t get in

My grades, letters of recommendation, and SOP are great but I feel like I bombed the interview. Is there any chance that a bad interview can be saved?

The one question I fumbled SO BADLY in my interview was "Given that you watch anime and consume Japanese media, what would you say is your opinion of Japan and Japanese culture?" I won't give my answer because it was absolutely stupid and I was not expecting this question, nor was I sure how to answer it in the moment. But I've had time to think about it two days later and I honestly still can't say how I would have answered it. So I'm wondering what you all would say, for next time (if there is a next time).

Just wanted to write this for all the interviewees including myself. It’s okay to not be perfect, it’s okay to say a few um’s and uh’s and probably didn’t answer a question or two in the way they were expecting. It’s okay not to smile at times simply because your face got tired of smiling. If you don’t make it, it’s okay, because it is not the end of the world, JET is not the only way to Japan I promise. Just be yourself, represent yourself and your passion. You got to the interview stage for a reason. I remember a question that was simple, was worded weird though and I said some off the wall thing and couldn’t help but laugh afterwards. Don’t overthink it because one or more people on that panel was sitting in that exact same spot. I know every consulate is different and I wish everyone the best!

Has anyone been to the career fair and would recommend it?

I've decided not to recontract so its my last year. I'm still deciding whether I should do one more year in Japan or just head back home. I'm hoping to move to a bigger city from the middle of nowhere and I'd have to travel to Tokyo for the career fair so just wondering what the experience is like and if there are actual opportunities for networking and such before I commit and spend money to go.

TLDR; is the career fair worth the effort.

Hey guys, after walking out of the interview I’m not sure how I did. Are there any signs that point to you not doing well (or the opposite)?

I work full-time so I’m back to work in the meantime, so I’ll be keeping busy. But the uncertainty of everything is sort of killing me lol.

Hi everyone!!

I might be overthinking things but I was wondering if people with in-person interviews brought an alternate pair of shoes with them? I'm in Montreal, preparing for an interview next week, and it's super snowy out. I imagine I'll be asked to remove my winter boots at the consulate but what then?

Thanks in advance and good luck to all prospective JETs!!

I just had my ALT interview today and I'm a first-time applicant but I have been planning for JET from before I graduated. I have other plans in case I don't get accepted but I SOOOO BADLY want to be 😭

TBH I don't think I completely bombed the interview but I definitely regret not using more examples from my experiences to answer the questions, particularly a question where I could've spoken about my teaching experience. I didn't crack during the mock lesson but it also felt like I didn't get far with it bc the panel just kept pretending they had no idea what I was saying. I just kept trying new sentences until they told me it was OK to stop💀

SO NOW I'm trying to accept that what happened happened and I just have to stay distracted until results. I just want to have hope that I would AT LEAST be shortlisted**** 🥲 But does anyone have experience being alternate and then upgraded OR not upgraded? How long after finding out you were shortlisted until you were informed that you would or wouldn't be going??

EDIT: I meant to say placed as an Alternate and then upgraded rather than being put in the shortlist

Curious what you think might have been different from each round, or if the major change was your application (SoP + experiences) that got you in rather than the interview itself.

Hey guys, first time JET applicant here! Yesterday I had my interview for the ALT position and I felt like I had a great experience at the time, I got to the embassy in good time and just sat in the lobby area for a bit where I just calmed myself down a bit and chilled. After 10 minutes or so, a JET alumni greeted me and took me up to the interview area - they basically just told me a bit about themself and how the events would proceed. First of all, I was guided to a room with another JET alumni who also gave me some of their own background, a list of information to bear in mind as a JET applicant, and I proceeded to have what felt like a very long conversation with them about what is was like, things they learnt about themself and Japan, how it influenced their career etc.

After that, I then proceeded to the main interview room, which was a very wide room with a chair in the middle and a panel behind a desk. As JETs and alumni will be aware (but I was not aware of), the questions started immediately as soon as I sat down! I was a bit taken aback and just quickly clarified whether or not that was the start of the interview or not, but from there I had a 15-20 minute chat with them about my SOP and generic questions. There was a Japanese questions bit of course, I think I did good! The last question was a really tricky one so I just mulled over it out loud in Japanese before saying something along the lines of 'that really is a tricky question!' All in all, I didn't feel too scared or nervous in the interview, I have done a lot of interviews throughout my 4 year professional career so far, and the prep I did beforehand certainly helped.

HOWEVER, while I initially walked out feeling confident and buzzing, since yesterday I have been dwelling a bit on the interview and I've started nit-picking some of my responses, thinking of how I could have answered things differently, and I do feel like I could have said a lot more! I understand this is normal for any job interview, exam etc. but especially given the long wait for results, I just wanted to make this post to ask previous and current JETs about how you guys dealt with that long wait and feelings of doubt that might spring up in your mind post-interview? I still think I could have given better or more concise answers but I am also trying to get my mind off of it by doing things with friends, etc.

Anyway, I'd like to wish everyone else who has done an interview already or is about to the best of luck!

UPDATE: So regardless of how the interview went, thankfully I passed my JLPT N2 exam, so that's gonna give me a lot of relief which should tide me over until late March-early April!!

Is taking longer than a minute to answer each question a bad thing? I like getting in-depth but I hear that the interview is like speed dating since we have no wiggle room or extra time.

For privacy reasons, I'm posting on a throwaway. I'd like to seek your opinions on cultural differences.

I work with a couple of ALTs in my area, and there is an ALT who doesn't get along with me (Let's call them A-san). My BoE has an initiative that is given to an ALT every year. A-san has led this initiative for many years, and you could say that A-san is very experienced at it. A-san is also well acquainted with the other stakeholders involved in the initiative. This time, the BoE tasked me to lead the initiative while A-san was told to advise me.

A-san has thrown me under the bus multiple times by giving me the wrong information and claiming otherwise. ("You should do this." -- to -> "Why did you even do this?" & "I did not tell you to do this" & "Do you not remember me saying xxx?" (no one in the meeting remembers) ) A-san has also sowed distrust between me and the stakeholders, claiming that the stakeholders no longer trust me (after throwing me under the bus). Just a week ago, A-san gave me an angry phone call and called me a 'lackey' multiple times for following the BoE's instructions.

I have been told by A-san in the past that I overreacted to something that was said to me; citing "cultural differences" and a lack of cultural understanding on my part. This time, I want to be sure. In my culture, it is extremely rude to call someone a 'lackey'. It is disrespectful and absolutely unacceptable. Before I blow my top, I'd just like to get any cultural misunderstandings out of the way. How rude is it to you or in your culture to call someone a 'lackey'?

TLDR; co-ALT called me a 'lackey'. Is it considered rude in your culture?

On the tin. What kind of questions were asked when your were being interviewed for the CIR position? Please and thank you!

Basically, the title, and I know there’s no finding out until April. I just need to get this out somewhere. I feel like the interview was going well, lots of smiling, nodding, and understanding looks. There was also a lot of smiling while writing notes. But then there was a small Japanese portion and I completely froze up. I feel like my answers Weren’t bad, but they weren’t probably as specific as they would have wanted. Also, mine wasn’t the last interview of the day, and we went a little bit over so they didn’t ask me if I had any questions for them. I’m kind of scared, but I don’t know if I’m reading too much into it. I’m normally a very good interviewee I feel like that this is a B+.

How’s everyone else feeling?

Does anyone have any advice for my CIR interview in a few days?

Possibly a dumb question, but is it seen as unprofessional to use ear buds for the interview? To elaborate, my laptop has a built in mic and working speakers, I’m just a bit concerned that the feed from my speakers might get picked up by the laptop’s microphone so I’m trying to weigh if one would be worse than the other since I’m more used to in person interviews…

And I feel like I didn't do the mock lesson particularly well. The prompt was complicated, and so it threw me off guard. I know I definitely could've done way better, but...I didn't get frustrated or lose track of what I was presenting as the lesson? I don't know if I need to worry so much about this portion or not. And now what do I do, just wait 1-2 months in panic to find out if I got selected? I applied for early departure, and I've had a great feeling about JET up to this point, but man...that mock lesson lol It's giving me some doubts.

Ok, first of all, I hope everyone is having an amazing week.

So I have had a couple of friends who went through the JET Programme and based off of the high praise they have given it, along with my passive interest in Japan and it's culture, I have spent the last month or so really looking into this thing and how I might be able to have this amazing experience all while connecting and helping others.

Me? I'm 30 years old as of today, I have been a chef for 15 years, 5 of these last years as a lead, mentoring all the new hires, a lot of which were not English speakers and from different parts of the world. I had rough grades in college but saw it through and got the degree. I am beggining to slowly learn the Jaoanese language everyday and will be looking into filling my tiny windows of free time trying to volunteer or teach some basic English classes to foreign student via VIPKID.

My question: Do I even have a chance to get in and fuffill this crazy dream?

I can't use any academic references as it has been so many years and I honestly did the minimum to get out of college with the degree and start my work life. I have 0 teaching experience unless you consider mentoring new cooks on how to cook, a lot of the time, by learning enough of their language to streamline the process. I can probably get 2 letters of recommendation from my current job and anything else would be a basic cooking job but they would express that I was punctual and reliable ect. I've also been looking into trying my best to attend a few clubs in my area to immerse myself some more in Japanese culture but a lot of these are held on weekends where I work 8am-10pm.

I genuinly am interested in immersing in the Jaoanese culture and I know I enjoy teaching the new hires and watching them grow into well-rounded chefs, but I haven't taught children. I am also somewhat confident that I could write up a decent SoP with my own writing and the help of some family and friends for revision. I also like to think I'm pretty personable and much more high energy and energetic than monotone and boring.

I greatly appreciate any input, as this is truly a farfetched dream of mine that I am finally looking into after years of being sucked into my work, but I just don't feel that I would be accepted over the other much more qualified candidates.

Cheers, everyone.

Jet program seems to be my only option to my dream of teaching and developing my Japanese further. I had a very tough first year in college after my mother passed so I failed about 2 or 3 classes which I plan to retake in my second semester of my third year or one of the semesters of my fourth year in college. I truly have a passion for Japanese but because of pressure from my family its not my major and is only my minor. I tend to focus more on Japanese even during my free time. I bet most people will just say to apply and the worst case is rejection but I am just looking for a bit of light in the tunnel. How cooked am I?

UPDATE: Thank you to everyone who commented, hearing your perspectives has helped me work through my thoughts. I asked the question, "am I being unreasonable" and was open to hearing that yes, in fact, I am. My supervisor and JTE have different images of what my role should be. My supervisor wants me to be more involved with lesson planning. My JTE wants me to stay out of it. I just want to be used effectively. I don't want to spontaneously go to five classes a day where I barely have a role in the class. However, I would be willing to attend five classes that actually have a purpose for me. And I want the presentations I work on in my free period to at least be seriously considered before they're rejected. But trying to force what I or my supervisor wants onto my overworked JTE is not going to help anyone. ​If my JTE wants me to sit quietly at my desk until she decides she wants me to go to class, then I can do that. I was told by several people, including my other JTE and coALT that my concerns were valid. I will continue to evaluate my boundaries as needed, but this time I think I just need to accept that work sucks sometimes and that's life.

TL;DR I think 4 classes a day at 5 schools a week is a reasonable limit, with the exception of speical presentations and exams, which may necessitate 5 periods in a day. My current handler (JTE - but maybe fills a different role from what you're picturing) is poorly organized and regularly asks me to attend extra classes on short notice, usually 5 to 10 minutes before class starts. Am I right to stand my ground? What should I do?

I work alongside my JTE at 5 ES a week. She is responsible for scheduling and coordinating the lessons at all the schools, as well as joining in classes. But actually the homeroom teachers are technically the ones responsible for leading English class.

When I arrived last year I was basically expected to attend 3 classes a day, and would often take on a 4th class in order to help grade or prepare students for a presentation. Starting in April, our supervisor started experimenting with the schedule, and now I have 4 classes a day. Now I was a little upset about this; I was going from four schools a week to five, so I was already expecting an increase in classes. But no one told me that I would be expected to attend double the 6th grade classes until the very first day of school. I explained to both my JTEs (there are 2, they alternate schedules with each other every 6 months) and my supervisor that four classes a day is reasonable, but I'm concerned about the lack of flexibility. The curriculum thus far has been built around the fact that the ALT or JTE can jump into an extra class when needed. Not only is it necessary for grading, but working at so many schools at once makes it difficult to fund time for make-up classes.

So I consulted my area's block leaders who told me that prefectural JETs are limited to 4 classes a day (I'm municipal). One of my JTEs agreed that 5 classes a day should only happen sometimes, but too often is unacceptable. I told everyone that I accept that there are times when 5 classes would be necessary (exams, special presentations, a homeroom teacher is absent). My coALT - who for some reason they never enforced this new schedule on - also agreed that my limits were reasonable.

My second JTE however... Whether or not she thinks it's reasonable is besides the point. Her approach to the schedule is very disorganized and she is often unprepared. Not only does she still regularly ask me to cover a 5th period, but she does so 5 minutes before the actual period starts. I make it a point to review the next days schedule with her before I go home every day, but some how I am still not given notice of this. There have been times that I needed to remind her about the progression of the lessons in HER classes because I need to do a presentation.

My job as an ALT is poorly defined which means that the expectations for my work varies from moment to moment depending on my boss's mood. I want to set clear expectations and boundaries but it's very difficult. My JTE speaks very good English, but she isn't nterested in communicating with me. It's especially hard when she asks me to do things spontaneously. So I feel pressured to either go along with what she says or to just flat out say no. I've tried both of these methods but neither feels particularly good. If I say yes once, it turns into a hundred yeses. If I say no, I'm paranoid I will be accused of not doing my job. I'm at a loss for what to do, I care about my job but I find her work style to be exhausting.

-

One final point, I've seen on this subreddit that many people get asked to do 5 to 6 classes a day. That's sort of where the gray area is for me because I've been told in my area that's not typical. Whether or not you think 20 classes a week is a lot, I'm doing more classes in a week than my pred or my coALT. And this particular JTE hasn't been particularly appreciative. She hasnt said one positive thing about my work since we started working together. She was really close with my predecessor, and I get the impression that my predecessor was helping her stay organized. So when I showed up last year not knowing anything about what was going on she was really unhappy about it.​ Ive improved a lot at my job though. Sometimes I make mistakes that need to be fixed, but I honestly wonder why she keeps asking me to join extra classes if she doesnt like my work.

My previous post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/JETProgramme/comments/1i5juzb/can_my_contract_renewal_be_rescinded/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Today I received an email from my supervisor explaining to me that only 4th year ALTs that receive a certain score or higher score in every category can renew their contract to become a 5th year. My scores are all lower than the certain score, so I am technically ineligible for renewal. I will meet my supervisor to discuss the details and see what I can do to improve.

When I first came to my town, I was told that all ALTs in my town get five years automatically, but I guess recently the terms have changed. I assumed that because I didn't do anything terrible like smack or insult a child I would be fine, but I wasn't.

To everyone who responded to my previous post, thank you very much for comforting me.

To everyone else, work hard and don't get too comfortable.

I am a JET from a "minority country" (non-English-speaking country) and thus will soon have to take part in a councelling meeting with my supervisor and a person from CLAIR/Tokyo.

Could anyone here tell me what usually gets discussed during such a 面談? (Like for those of you who are from a minority countryand have taken part in a 面談, how was it?)

Also, I heard that sometimes, coworkers would participate in the meeting as well. Is this mandatory? Because I do have a coworker I work with everyday but since he's not a CIR, I guess he doesn't qualify to take part in the 面談. Depending on what will be talked about in the 面談, I feel like it might be beneficial for my coworker as well.

I just would love to hear your experiences in order to properly prepare for the 面談.

I very nearly applied for 2025 intake and literally deleted my application last minute as I decided to take a promotion at work. However I’ve regretted it as travelling is all I want to do right now and I’m not feeling super fulfilled with my job.

I’ve researched what JET are looking for and I think I fit it quite nicely? (Or I’m just assuming things lol) I have quite extensive experience working and volunteering in small communities around Eastern Europe and also stayed in Taiwan for a short while (and know a very very limited amount of Chinese).

I cope with change quite well and the thought of living in a rural town in Japan excites me (I love cultural exchange so much) however I don’t have any teaching experience really, nor do I know any Japanese at all. I’m mainly afraid about hating teaching or finding it overwhelming as to be honest it’s not something I’ve really thought about before! However I also think I could find it very fulfilling.

Is JET a good way to “try out” teaching or is it too risky? Should I maybe try and find some volunteer opportunities in schools or with young people or do TEFL? I’m just trying to support my application as I really want to get in this next round, if I decide JET is something I want to do. I live in the UK if that matters!

Thank you! 🙏

Last week the email said we'll get info this week. Has anyone received theirs?

I'm wondering if there are CIRs with any teaching background and were asked questions related to teaching like ALTs. Like for example, "How would you teach a lesson about your country?" or something of that sort.

Please and thank you!

For the Toronto consulate, we have to insert a digital photo on an interview voucher and print it out. I emailed them asking if I can take the photo at home on my phone and they said yes. However, there’s only one white wall in my house (yea my house is pretty colourful) and the photo I used has a silhouette. I followed their instructions to the letter but this silhouette is irking me. Do you think they’ll care all that much? Or am I just overthinking like crazy?

Hey everyone, first-time JET applicant here :). So I was doing some review for my interview and one of the questions was "What would your free time look like" or something along those lines. I would definitely join clubs, get involved in my community, and volunteer but I would love to add "sightseeing with other JETS", but would that answer be looked down upon?

I'm a very social/extroverted person and I really want to connect with my fellow JETS if by the grace of God, I get selected. I'm not opposed to making foreign friends, far from it, I just know it can be hard sometimes with the language barrier and from what I've read on this Reddit page, it can be hard to form connections especially if you live in the countryside 3 hours away from the closest city. I just don't know if JET wants every single ALT or CIR to be hyper-independent who are acquaintances at best with other ALTs or CIRS.

That's part of the reason why I selected to be placed in a city. I would love to be close to other ALTs/CIRS to form connections with them, I'd love to meet the JET applicants from outside my home country. Don't get me wrong this is for a job first and foremost and my duties to my work and school will always come first, but on weekends I'd love to be able to relax with other applicants. I want to host fun little get-together events, I do want to go out and have fun, plan movie nights, Friendsgiving, Galentines, fun city visits. I want to be a person someone can lean on if they ever get homesick and just need someone to talk to and while I'm not opposed to living in the countryside I just know it would be harder to do these things if everyone lived 3-4 hours away.

Again speaking only in hypotheticals, but would JET not consider me a good candidate if I told them I'd like to form connections with my fellow ALT/CIR. Would they not like it if I said part of my preference to be placed in a city is to hopefully live close to other JETS? I just don't want to come off as co-dependent/desperate or as somebody who wouldn't form work relationships or seek to form connections with the Japanese locals.

It might be a bit early to be sharing but I think I bombed my interview. It was for CIR and it was a lot more simply worded and conversational than I thought... And it made a lot of sense. They already have a lot of the information in the application and they probably just want to see how real and honest you are.

There were also no bad cop routine, just basic questions about who you are, while I kept the focus on connecting with people I think it got further and further away from being about Japan, CIR and cultural exchange. Oof. I think they figured out I'm a nervous wreck and an introvert.

My answers I prepared to sell myself on how I would be a good fit like in a traditional interview were kind of useless. I think my brain was stuck on whether to follow traditional Japanese interview advice, or to be "real, genuine and present" like a lot of JET Alumni seem to suggest. I tried to keep smiling and laugh at times but when I was answering I might've become unenergetic and deadpanned as I fumbled through my answers. And the Japanese article I just blanked out while reading the content, so I might've gotten the answers wrong ahhhh. While I did elaborate on my thoughts, I kept ending with すごくいい すごくいい 😃.

All in all I was unsure whether it was good to be "real" or I should've rehearsed and sold myself more haha. I don't want to be lying but at the same time what if they're like "oof this person was unprepared" which I did but just not in the right way 😭

Edit: In case anyone with upcoming interviews see this, I think it's good to just know your SOP and think about what you might say, reflect back to experiences regarding language or culture and what you want to share about your host country, what you like about Japanese culture (anime is ok but add other things) or what you generally do and when you've made an impact. Be prepared and not rehearsed like many others say. Just referencing the Tofugu guide and practicing in a mock interview (if you're inexperienced) is enough, you don't need to go crazy like me researching everywhere lol.

If I get asked "why did you start learning Japanese" or "How did you learn Japanese" how do I avoid it in my answer? I didn't mention it in my SOP nor in my application but if pressed, would it sound fake if I didn't talk about anime or denied watching it a lot? How do I keep it professional yet honest?

Edit: so much great advice and even had someone DM me with advice and encouragement. People are so nice 🥹