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Lyrajean
Joined: 19 Jul 2006
Posts: 109
Location: going to Okinawa
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 Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2006 12:10 am Post subject: Re-applying to JET? Worth it? |
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Last year I applied to JET and was unfortunately turned down. Question is since it's "that season" again, should I bother applying again, since their application is a major pain-in-the-you-know-where.
Just a note: I am not their "typical" applicant. I'm 32, and have an MA.
Of course, I have no idea why I was rejected the first time. Could it be the 5 different college transcripts. 2 degrees (my BA is written in Latin too), or something else. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2006 12:27 am Post subject: |
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G Cthulhu here will tell you that JET is looking for more experienced types these days, so your academic record is probably not in doubt. You might want to consider how you conducted yourself in the interview and improve on that.
Did you wear a suit?
Did you claim something on your resume and fail to describe it well or at all in the interview?
Did you slouch?
Did you not speak clearly enough?
Were you too gabby?
Etc. |
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kdynamic
Joined: 05 Nov 2005
Posts: 562
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2006 2:44 am Post subject: |
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| Try to figure out why you didn't make it last time and address those issues, and try again. It's free to apply so why not? I think if you go in there saying "I didn't make it last time so I spent the last year improving myself in this way and that way" they will appreciate that, and appreciate the dedication shown by coming back and applying again. |
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moot point
Joined: 22 Feb 2005
Posts: 441
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| Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2006 8:51 am Post subject: |
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| May I suggest an English translation of your Latin degree? |
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Lyrajean
Joined: 19 Jul 2006
Posts: 109
Location: going to Okinawa
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| Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2006 2:42 am Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
G Cthulhu here will tell you that JET is looking for more experienced types these days, so your academic record is probably not in doubt. You might want to consider how you conducted yourself in the interview and improve on that.
Did you wear a suit?
Did you claim something on your resume and fail to describe it well or at all in the interview?
Did you slouch?
Did you not speak clearly enough?
Were you too gabby?
Etc. |
I should have made myself a little clearer, I didn't even get to interview. so obviously something was missing from my application that they were looking for. Since I've applied last time I've completed 10 credits in Japanese language. And a TEFL certificate from a small private Vermont college with a very long and good reputation for TESOL and several exchange programs with Japanese colleges. |
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ripslyme
Joined: 29 Jan 2005
Posts: 481
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2006 3:16 am Post subject: |
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What did you write about in your essay?
How are your GPAs, from all 5 different colleges, 2 BAs and your MA?
Where did you get your letters of recommendation from?
Which embassy did you apply to? (this is more of a numbers game than anything, places with a lot of applicants will be more competitive)
What kind of work experience do you have? Any of it related to teaching?
I realize these are some pretty nit-picky questions but since you didn't even get to the interview, it has to be something in your application packet that they didn't like. |
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kdynamic
Joined: 05 Nov 2005
Posts: 562
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2006 4:02 am Post subject: |
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From everything you've told us so far, I see the two most likely reasons for not getting an interview as
1) you failed to follow some rule for the application and it was thrown in the trash on a technicality (they are very strict about their rules)
2) something in the attitude of your essay turned them off |
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Mosley
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Posts: 158
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| Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 1:28 am Post subject: |
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| Many years ago I applied to JET and was rejected. A few years later I gave it another shot & was accepted. Worth it? Damn straight-best 3 years of my life. But if the OP is serious about re-applying, then someone has to really get their butt in gear: for Canadians, anyway, the application deadline is Nov. 17! |
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G Cthulhu
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Posts: 1373
Location: Way, way off course.
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| Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 4:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Lyrajean wrote: |
| Glenski wrote: |
| G Cthulhu here will tell you that JET is looking for more experienced types these days, so your academic record is probably not in doubt. |
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Yup, I would say exactly that. :)
| Quote: |
I should have made myself a little clearer, I didn't even get to interview. so obviously something was missing from my application that they were looking for. Since I've applied last time I've completed 10 credits in Japanese language. And a TEFL certificate from a small private Vermont college with a very long and good reputation for TESOL and several exchange programs with Japanese colleges. |
Okay, and obviously I all say this without having seen your application, but if you didn't get to the interview stage then I would suggest that either your references were lacking or your Statement of Purpose was. Nothing else really matters all that much at the application stage. GPA is not an important factor, despite the importance Americans attach to it.
The references you should check before you send in. Yes, I know they require them to be sealed and signed, but you should check them before they are sealed: don't use them unless they are glowing. It always amazes me that people would send in a reference they haven't actually seen, but they do.
The second thing is the SoP. Of the two, _IMO_, the SoP is the more important because it displays what _you have to offer the programme_ and does so in your own words. Remember, it's the only thing they'll have on which to base a judgement about _you_ as a person. While it is a bit of formal writing, it's not an essay. Keep the language clear, simple, concise, and to the point. They tell you outright on the application form what they want to hear in the SoP. Hit each of those points, even do it in the exact order they list them. Check the grammar, check the spelling. Check them again. Read it out loud to yourself and see how it sounds. Get someone else to do the same thing. Lots of people don't do those things so you'll automatically be ahead of the majority if you've got those points nailed down. Hit the points they ask for, without sounding like a fanboy, and you'll have done all you can and assured you're ahead of the majority.
Lastly, make absolutely sure you have included everything they ask for, in the form they ask for, in the order they ask for. You don't need to worry about a translation of the Latin texted degree. If it really concerns you then simply get a letter of convocation of the degree from the uni and include that with the degree copy. Paying for a translation is just overkill.
Send the whole thing via 1-2 day registered mail and give yourself at least a three day margin on expected delivery. Arriving late because the US Postal Service sucks, even if you sent it with plenty of time, is not their fault and they won't care.
Good luck. :) |
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Toosey-Jay
Joined: 09 Jun 2006
Posts: 28
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| Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 11:57 pm Post subject: |
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| Very surprised you didn't get an interview Lyrajean. Totally second what G Cthulhu is saying.... spot on |
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GambateBingBangBOOM
Joined: 04 Nov 2003
Posts: 2021
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 8:06 am Post subject: |
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You probably didn't focus on what you can do for a board of eduacation in Japan so much as what you would get out of JET and the experience you already have in things related to Japan.
The SoP is still a cover letter, after all. You need to sell yourself and what you can do.
Keep in mind that it's an exchange programme that is supposed to have you helping teach your own culture in the language classroom. That's not what you do when you are here, unless your own culture is somehow the equivalent of "all Japanese men are either samurais or ninjas". The interview is really for a job that only exists in an 'ideal' situation (one that a lot of BoE's, Japanese teachers etc don't even know about). The purpose of the paper application is to get you to that interview. |
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Lyrajean
Joined: 19 Jul 2006
Posts: 109
Location: going to Okinawa
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| Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 3:31 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for all the advice guys and gals! I did make the deadline, just barely. I would have gotten the application in sooner had my grad school not tried to sabotage me. I still fail to see why they need those transcripts as my grad degree is not in English or TESOL or anything else that would add to my qualifications as a teacher 
I did rewrite my essay, and I think managed to put a lot of little details on my app. that may help.
Another bummer, seems Earlham College's program has been discontinued. That was one of my backup plans... |
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