Job Discussion Forums

[stefanreynolds]

why do interac recruit for aug as well as march. I have been offered a job in august, although I appplied for the march job. they said there were too many good applicants, so therefore august. is it because they envisage people dropping out in august? i wonder if someone could clarify this for me?

[Bread]

JET finishes in August. Why? Because it's stupid.

[Samurai]

Dispatch companies need to have people lined up to replace a certain percentage of ALT's who decided to quit at then end of July. They may quit for several reasons...but regardless of these reasons the dispatch company has to prepare for a number of sudden vacancies. Hence they like to have potential replacements lined up. The thing with this is that you might not have many options with regards placement;certainly not as many as you would have had had you been taken on at the start of the school year.

[OneJoelFifty]

They offered me the same. It's difficult to rely on the offer though, they've obviously got plenty of applicants and the number of positions that are available in August depends on matters that are beyond their control. They told me to contact them in May if I'm still interested.

[Shiggy]

Can you tell me a little about your experience interviewing with Interac? Were you required to present a lesson plan?

[seklarwia]

There is a group seminar/presentation followed by a personal interview. In the time between the two, you need to do a written personality test and a short grammar test.

In the personal interview, the first part will be videoed and consists of three sections:
1) a self intro that you are encouraged to use some Japanese for.
2) reading from a script/text (which were sent to us before hand).
3) A 5 min demo lesson where you should teach/review a topic for ES aged kids. (We were given 3 to chose from before the interview day. I chose to review colours). You do not need to demonstrate all the elements of a whole class, but you must include an activity/game/song and not simply drill the entire 5 mins.

We were given the choice to do all 3 sections one after the other or with short breathers inbetween. Some people from other interview sessions told me that they were allowed to re-record sections, but I wasn't given this option (this depends on your interviewer and how much time they have).

In the 2nd part of the interview, you're interviewer will do standard interview type questions, a few more personal questions (I was asked about my religious views, alot about my time abroad and teaching experience and about any difficulties I experienced how I dealt with them - she was particularly interested in things to do with me not being caucasian nor male), will talk about placement preferences and will give you time to ask any question that you may have thought of either before the interview or during the seminar but not had the opportunity or thought it was appropriate to ask then. The second (non-videoed) part of the personal interview is quite laid back, but you should remember that it is still an interview and no matter how friendly the interviewer is they are judging all you verbal and non-verbal responses.

[Shiggy]

Thank you.

First of all, I'm planning on attending the interview/seminar wearing a suit and tie and to conduct myself in a professional manner.

Second, I was under the impression that we were asked to create a lesson plan and present it at the interview.

Are you implying that they expect you to throw together an impromptu lesson presentation without much planning?

Overall, how difficult was the interview portion of the application process?

[seklarwia]

I think you mis-read. I said we were given the choice of topics before the interview day, so yes you should have prepared and practiced the lesson before hand. But unlike with Aeon interviews where you write and submit a 30min lesson plan and perform 5mins of it, with Interac they won't ask for a a whole lesson plan; only a 5 min demo.

Sure, be professional, but don't be a stiff. They want you to demonstrate good people skills and show that you're outgoing enough to develop rapport, not only with students but with your Japanese collegues (who may be very reserved) too.

I'm a languages and linguistics major so the grammar test was very easy, but most of the others at my session struggled a bit.
I don't know if the grammar test is changed often/ever, but mine consisted of spelling, error spotting and required an understanding of the difference between passive and active untterances.

I have a lot of experience with interviews since I performed many interviews for new apprentices and French/Spanish/German employees for my father's company, so I felt quite at home during the process. One of the girls at my session was trying way too hard from word go (I was cringing every time I heard her voice in the seminar which was every 3.5 secs) and one guy couldn't have cared less and came across as really lazy.

Although they want you to demostrate a particular type of personality, you should just be yourself; it's quite easy to spot a faker.

The questions you will likely be asked are not very difficult, but they will require you to have done a little background research into Japan and teaching in Japan. I mean if you are asked "Why do you want to work in Japan?" be prepared to say a little more than, "Because I like anime, manga and computer games." And when you speak about preferences, unless you are going to say that you can say that you will take anything, be prepared to justify your preferences so you don't come across as a spoilt brat.

The interview itself, in theory shouldn't be difficult, but in practice it will depend a lot on you and the mood/personality of the interviewer. And even if the interview goes well, you might still get rejected simply because there are too many decent applicants. Try not to mess up the videoed section, since the people at HQ in Japan will make the final decision on whether you are employed or not based mostly on that video.

[Shiggy]

Awesome. I received a 'D' in Grammar. Hehe. However, I'd like to believe I'm technically sound when it comes to writing and English.

Although, one of my weaknesses is using passive voice. Personally, I hate limitations and rules. I think writing should be free and unhindered and allowed to facilitate creativity.

Why do I want to work in Japan? Because it's f**king Japan! Haha. I want to experience all it has to offer. I will, literally, live anywhere. I have no preferences.

Thank you for the advice. My interview with Interac is April 17 in Seattle.

[seklarwia]

[Shiggy]

Heh. Of course I'm not going to give that response. I only did it for your amusement.

And, while I have my own teaching philosophies, I would certainly never teach material that wasn't approved.

[seklarwia]

I did have a good chuckle, thank you.

But you'd be surprised; what may seem like common sense to most just simply doesn't occur to some. I've seen and heard some quite memorable responses to interview questions. And even during our seminar there was quite a classic incident. It never would have occured to me that somebody could be such an idiot.

When our interviewer was talking about how the Japanese will often avoid confrontation and may not tell you directly if they are displeased with something, one girl at our session's response was, "That's sounds really two-faced to me!" She then continued to make crazy remarks about how she always confronts people if she has a problem with them and that it was stupid not to do so. She didn't even notice the shocked silence, the sounds of jaw hitting tables or how everyone started averting their attention when she looked at them seeking agreaance. Needless to say, she wasn't hired.

[Shiggy]

Awesome. Hopefully my seminar is filled with people like that.

[stefanreynolds]

im going to apply to EPIK as a contingency. but if i get accepted for both, then whichever job i reject i will then get blacklisted..... what to do.....?

[Shiggy]