Job Discussion Forums

[Mikoan]

Has anyone been hired, signed a letter of employment, and then decided not to go? I've heard there's really no repercussions for doing this (other than maybe not ever being able to apply to that company again), but wanted to check.

Thanks.

[starteacher]

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

JET is a national program for entry level ALT work. It's basically just a human resources mechanism. Once you have signed and arrived at your placement, then you are an employee of whatever BoE you work for. You do not work 'for JET'. It is a well organized program and there is a lot of support available through your prefecture, though.

If you quit a JET contract having started it, then it's the same as having quit any other job. It is really very embarrassing for a BoE to have to report that an ALT has quit (because the idea behind the program is to have people show up in Japan, get paid more than others, get treated really well, and then go home to talk about how great Japan is, which in turn, will hopefully create business opportunities for Japan in the future, but the reality is that intercultural communication is not really a strong point of most Japanese teachers of English or BoE supervisors, and so problems arise).

If you quit before showing up, then the human resources job is not yet over. It's not really over until you are at your placement. If you have done the JET program, then you have a JET number (to keep track of everybody, you have a number). You cannot apply again. You get this number when a placement is found for you. So once a BoE takes you, you are given a JET number and the contract and other information about the placement is sent to you. This means that you actually have a JET number before you receive information about the placement. Often people will get an email from somebody in Japan, normally the current ALT, before they receive their placement information). Having had a JET number, you cannot apply again. So if you have refused a placement in place A, then that's that. JET is done for you.

The way each designated city (the city from which you leave your home country and through which you apply and interview) operates also functions independently. The people looking at the applications and interviewing you are basically trying to decide if you could represent not only the country, but their actual city (not that anybody in Japan actually cares about that type of thing, especially if you came from 'minor' country [anywhere other than America, and *possibly* England]). Often the person working at the JET desk of the consulate or embassy will be there a number of years, and if you've applied and interviewed one year, they may remember you. Or they may not. The people reading the paper applications will not know that you have applied to the JET program in the past, unless you tell them in your statement of purpose. JET looks favourably on people who have tried in the past, because it shows that you REALLY want to do JET, and so the likelihood of you making it through the year and staying for more than one year increases. If you have turned them down in the past, then even if it was before getting a placement, someone may think, 'Why should we put a lot of work into this guy, he may just turn us down again'. If you have a really good reason for having turned them down in the past, and they agree that it's a really good reason, then that wouldn't be a problem. The problem is that what you think is a really good reason and what they think is a really good reason may be two entirely different things.

[cvmurrieta]

I turned down JET in 2005 because the consulate had stuffed up by telling me that I had been shortlisted as an ALT when I had applied for the CIR position. They later admitted that I had actually been shortlisted for the CIR position. I applied again in 2007, and here I am as a CIR in Miyagi.

If you turn down a job after you have received placement, then you are not able to apply for the next year unless you have extenuating circumstances. BUT you could apply to go over two years after you had turned down that placement.

[Hoser]

[G Cthulhu]

[fat_chris]