The Interview

Despite trying to divert my thoughts elsewhere, I had been wondering about my JET fate for months. I desperately wanted to proceed to the interview stage to get closer to my goal of being accepted onto the Programme. Applicants were advised that we would hear in mid January whether we had been selected for interviews so I kept a close eye on my e-mails. Finally, I checked them on 10 January and saw I had received an email from JET only minutes earlier ( I wasn't kidding with the frequent email checking). I frantically skim read the email and saw that I MADE IT TO INTERVIEWS! I told my husband and we jumped around victoriously! I replied to confirm my interview in record speed and then got onto the list of required documents to bring along. I also started thinking of where to get a nice blazer that would hopefully see me through to Tokyo orientation (I found a nice black blazer which was on sale from $150 down to $56!!!). A few days later, the hard copy of my interview notification appeared in my letterbox.

The day of my interview finally arrived. 

I prepared by reading blogs written by former JETs and their interviews which were very helpful! The questions reported in these blogs weren't exactly the questions I encountered but it did help me to get in the best frame of mind for my interview.

The night before 'the big day' I wrote out answers to these questions, practiced them, and then the morning of the interview I ran a mock interview with my husband to build my confidence. I also reread my application and SoP just incase they referred to this.

I slicked my hair into a bun (including a hair net!) to ensure I looked tidy and was not distracted my mop. I applied natural make up and then got into my interview outfit about 20 minutes before leaving home. As you can see, I went for a simple black blazer, black skirt, and a comfortable light blue blouse. I'm not very comfortable in heels while I'm at work so I wore my trusty Wittner brogues #nonewborngiraffewalkhere. My husband kindly dropped me off about 30 minutes before my interview to save me the stress of finding a carpark and I headed up to the JET office to check in and collect myself. The staff were lovely and took my necessary documents before showing me to the waiting area where a video about Japanese gift wrapping and cardboard boxes were playing?! Xan, the wonderful lady who checked through my application in November, came over to calm my nerves and offer some advice such as warning me not to have over-rehearsed answers and to have confidence in myself. I met another applicant in the waiting area and we chatted briefly. Before I knew it, Xan had come to get me for the big moment. I walked into the same room where I have my Japanese lessons so I felt relatively comfortable.

There were three people on the panel: a Japanese lady, a Kiwi lady, and the First Secretary of the Japanese Embassy in Wellington. They were smiley and invited me to sit down across the table from them. They began by asking me to introduce myself which I did in Japanese! They seemed to appreciate this and advised that I was the first person so far who did this (yay!) Here's what I said:

はじめまして。                                                                      Hajimemashite (nice to meet you/it is a beginning).

わたし　は　シボン　です。                                               Watashi wa Shibon desu (my name is Siobhan).

Wellington の　しゅっしん　です。                                   Wellington no shusshin desu (I am from Wellington).

しゅみ　は hockey と baking  と　muay thai です。        Shumi wa hockey to baking to muay thai desu (my hobbies are...).

どうぞよろしくおねがいします。                                       Douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu (please treat me favourably).

The rest of the interview seemed like a blur. Here's what I can remember:

Why Japan?

How did you first hear about JET?  

What is the difference between "house" and "home"?

You're an experienced teacher. How would you cope not being as utilised as an ALT?

How long have you been learning Japanese for?

Why haven't you been to Japan before?

How would your husband cope in Japan?

How would you make a disinterested student see the relevance of learning English?

Why did you pick your specific placement?

How would you feel about teaching primary aged students?

How would you teach a lesson about colour?

Why is JET something you're looking into at this point in your life?

How will you settle in?

What will you do at work in between classes?

Then I was asked to correct six sentences and explain why I had made those corrections.

From what I've read, I was lucky to have friendly interviewers. I finished my interview by saying どもありがとうございます/domo arigato gozaimasu (thank you very much) and then sighing with relief as I closed the door behind me. Xan was waiting in the hall for me and asked how I felt it went. I asked how many people were being interviewed but unfortunately she could not divulge that information.

...and then the long wait for results began.