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[senza_vavoom]

Hello fellow Nova applicants!

I just got back from a NOVA interview and I would like to help those who applied and are scheduled for an interview in the near future. My interview was held in Toronto, just 2 weeks ago, so please bear in mind that a) IT IS RECENT and b) IT MAY DIFFER IN OTHER CITIES OR COUNTRIES as NOVA recruits worldwide. Here are the exact steps to the interview that I had and many helpful hints.

THE INTERVIEW IS DIVIDED INTO 3 SECTIONS

1.Information session on NOVA company, pay & schedule details and living in Japan in general ( Activities included in here, so participate! )
2.Written test
3.Personal, one-on-one interview

INFORMATION SESSION

IMPORTANT THINGS TO BEAR IN MIND:
1)Participate in all the ACTIVITIES
2)Write notes down
3)The information session is quite long ( 3 hrs ), so make sure you went to the bathroom, ate your breakfast or lunch and do not get up for anything
4)The group ( applicants like you ) called for the session is very small, only roughly 6 people, so DON'T BE SHY TO PARTICIPATE

PART 1 : ACTIVITIES

Activity 1 : Introduction and Knowledge of Japan activity
-The information session starts off with an activity
-You will be asked to get up and introduce yourself to the group
-You will then be required to give ONE IMPORTANT SOCIAL CUSTOM of the Japanese
-You will NOT be allowed to repeat a social custom that a person has already given out
-So make sure you know Japanese customs very well ( e.g. bowing custom, dinner etiquette, gift-giving, how to handle business cards that are given to you in person by business individuals, how to approach a Japanese person when you need help on something such as directions or instructions etc )

-THE INFORMATION SESSION BEGINS AFTER ACTIVITY 1
�The recruiter will talk about NOVA as a company
�Types of schools, schedules and pay is also mentioned here
�Types of students ( children, young adults and adults ) will be mentioned here
�Pay attention to the information about pay ( I will not mention it here, bc I don't want to create a bias )
�The recruiter will then talk about Japan and living in Japan in general
�DO NOT FORGET TO WRITE NOTES IF NECESSARY. IT SHOWS INTEREST AND CAPABILITY TO HANDLE INFORMATION IN AN ORGANIZED MANNER.

Activity 2 : Looking at Pictures on a slide and describing it to class
-This activity requires you to stand up and look at a picture for 5 seconds.
-You are then asked to describe the picture in great detail to the class in 45 seconds
-You will be timed on this activity, and so, listen very carefully and look at the picture well ( the picture will stay up as you describe it to the group )
-Make sure you are descriptive, interesting and precise

-THE INFORMATION SESSION CONTINUES ( see all the info above. I believe that they divide the information by the activities they throw in throughout the session )
�In here, you will be shown the teaching materials that NOVA uses
�The lesson plans are very rigid and organized -> Just read instructions carefully

-Activity 3 : " Teaching the Student "
�In here you will be given one sheet with illustrations and conversation ( for the student ), and your answer sheet ( teacher's instruction guides )
�You will be divided into pairs. One will role-play as the teacher and the other will be the student.
�You have to read the instructions very carefully and make sure you follow the instructions to a TEE.
�The recruiter will be going around to check each pair and to give points.

-Activity 4 : " The Price is Right "
�You will be shown a picture of a food item or material object and will be asked to either guess if the price in Japan is higher or lower
�You will be surprised at the results

PART 2 : WRITTEN TEST

IMPORTANT :
�The test is exactly 15 minutes long. You will be timed!
�Make sure you finish on time
�The recruiter will go into an office behind you and view the group during test time. I believe this is to see if you are cheating, or if you are going too slowly on the test.

-The written test has 3 parts:
�Multiple Choices ( You will be asked to take the role of the teacher, communicating with two students. The student questions are posed, and the choice in answers, are the best responses that you, as a teacher, can give. Therefore, this part tests to see how you would respond to a student with an issue, comment or question )
�Grammar Exercise ( There will be roughly 20 sentences with grammatical errors. You are asked to circle the INCORRECT phrase or word used in the sentence. Therefore, this is to check your grammar skills. Make sure you polish up before you go )
�2 Short Essay Questions ( The questions have to be answered in short essay form. This will test to see how well you can think and transcribe your thoughts on papers ASAP )


PART 3 : PERSONAL ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEW

IMPORTANT:
�The interview takes roughly 20 � 30 minutes
�Be prepared to know yourself well and to answer well under pressure of time

a)Questions on yourself ( past experiences, education, travel etc )
-This is the basic component of interview questions that you will find in everyday job interviews

b ) Test on HOW QUICK AND PRECISE you can answer
- The recruiter will give you clear instructions on what to do so LISTEN very carefully
- In this part, you will be given 20 � 25 questions to answer
* You can only answer in 3 words
* You have to answer what is the best thing that pops into your mind that pertains to the question
* If you HESITATE before answering the question, the recruiter will skill onto the next question
* The questions you left out ( where you HESITATED before you answered ) will be returned to after all the questions are asked
* You will then be asked to answer these " left-out " questions in detail, without the timer on

e.g. ) Recruiter : What are your best qualities?
Applicant : Leadership, interesting, energetic ( ONLY 3 WORDS )

e.g. ) Recruiter : What annoys you?
Applicant : ( hesitation )�Um-
Recruiter : What is your biggest accomplishment? ( next question )
� in here, you will have an opportunity to answer the question you hesitated on after the 25 questions are asked, in detail and no time constraint.

C ) Questions on your personality

D ) ROLE PLAYING : YOU ( THE APPLICANT ) ACTING AS THE TEACHER AND THE RECRUITER ACTING AS A STUDENT.

IMPORTANT :
-This is not as easy as it sounds
-Make sure you are alert, patient and creative
-This part tests your ability to teach students who do not know how to speak English
-You will be given a lesson plan ( similar to Activity 3 in the information session )
-You will be asked if it is basic, intermediate or advanced level
-You will be asked 3 words in the dialogue that YOU think that the student will have problems with
-The role playing begins

-You will assume the role of the teacher and teach the lesson
-The recruiter will pretend that he does not understand the words. He will assume an accent, a certain type of behaviour. The recruiter was so believable, he made me believe that he was actually Japanese ! ( NOTE : The 3 words that YOU picked out initially in the dialogue )
-Make sure you know how to paraphrase or give an alternative meaning of the word
-Make sure that in the role playing, you are very ENCOURAGING, PATIENT AND UNDERSTANDING
-Make sure that you do what is necessary to make the lesson interesting and to the point without overwhelming the role-playing student

E ) Assessment of your Role Playing as Teacher
- At the end of the role play, you will be given pointers, constructive criticisms and you will be asked to role play a part of the dialogue that you had trouble on ( if you did in fact have trouble )
- You will be asked what you could have done differently

F ) Questions on what you hope to gain in your teaching experience in Japan

-INTERVIEW ENDS
-You will be notified of the decision by letter within 10 business days

Ok, that's all folks! Hope this helps the future nervous applicant!!!


[/list]

[PAULH]

You might want to come back and tell us if you get hired or not.


What people often forget is to do an evaluation or post analysis of how they did in an interview, perhaps blame the interviewer, did something that 'doomed' their application or not look at how they could have done better.

Too many people take is personally when NOVA turns down their application which they do on a regular basis.

[senza_vavoom]

To Paul H,

Yes, you're right. I should have included that piece of information on my post. I did actually get the job.

However, I am not sure whether I want to commit to it, as I am still waiting for JET.

[jimbo8282]

i interviewed in the uk and had quite a different experience - practically no group activities whatsoever, just introducing the person sat next to you. then the test and the wait for the interviews.

during the initial briefing they told us that, in order to save on plastic cups, we all had to write our names on them in marker pen. when we got back after our first break we were to use the same ones.

imagine the costs incurred by thousands of thirsty applicants - dry mouthed nervous wrecks after the gruelling character probe that is the interview. didn't get the job, for whatever reason, although i think i may have involuntarily snorted a small laugh at the mention of the cups....

not recommended perhaps...

[junk'n]

I was in your exact situation a couple of years ago. I went along to the fancy nova interview and was offered a position. When I tried to clarify some details about arranging my own flight one of the women in the Brisbane office came back with a particuarly catty response. I took this as a sign of things to come and declined the offer.

I was still very interested in going to Japan however so I applied for JET and that is where I am today. My JET experience has been fantastic and I would encourage you to apply if you have any real interest in Japan, which judging by your thoughtful post you probably do. The JET job provides a good salary, your own apartment (often cheap), an opportunity to work in a Japanese school, speak Japanese on the job and best of all you get to work with Japanese high school students. Also, it's a weekday, nine to five type job so it leaves plenty of time to socialise with not only with the locals but with people from all around the world. You'll have your flights paid for and attend conferences throughout the year. They even have a Japanese language course to take.

The way I see it nova is so far away from this its not funny. You don't have to look far to find out what people have to say about this company.

All the best....enjoy Japan!

[rai]

Five years ago in Chicago, a group of ten of us sat around a table while the two Nova guys told us about the job. The applicants asked a few questions, then they interviewed us one at a time. My interview lasted less than five minutes.

I got hired and when I showed up at Kansai airport, it seemed like my entire interview group from Chicago had been hired. They seemed more worried about how much you really wanted to go to Japan than your teaching experience. No tests, no grammar questions, nothin'.

How times have changed. I guess the job market really is tightening up...

[PAULH]

[Jizzo T. Clown]

[senza_vavoom]

Hello Juk'n,

You're DEFINITELY right. I have already applied with the JET programme and I made sure that the application process and the proper collation of paperwork was followed to a TEE. I have done a fair bit of research on all the ESL factions and I do believe this is how I see it:

# 1 Choice : JET ( Pending : For Toronto, we get interviews on February )
# 2 Choice : AEON ( rejected )
# 3 Choice : Earlham College ( Interview coming up )
# 4 Choice : Berlitz ( Interview coming up )
# 5 Choice : NOVA ( offered )
# 6 Choice : ECC ( Interview coming up )
# 7 Choice : WESTGATE ( Rejected )
# 8 Choice : GEOS ( Interview coming up )
# 9 Choice : Independent schools in Japan

So, as you can see, I have applied for all, and I am scheduled for many interviews. I am really just hoping on JET though, as it is through the govt of Japan, and the opportunity will be better for me.

[senza_vavoom]

I was wondering if we can talk about the JET programme more in detail. I am very interested to know about your experiences at JET. As far as I know it, I have a friend who was a JET alumni and he said that my personality and my education are what they are looking for.

Here are some of my qualities:

1) B.A. in Political Science and English
2) M.A. in Political Science - Currently enrolled in my 1st year of M.A ( most of my courses concentrating on Japanese Politics and Government )
3) Well-travelled ( I lived in 3 different countries, and vacationed in many others )
4) Young ( 26 yrs old ), single ( never married, no fiance, no children )
5) More interested in rural areas ( part of my fascination with shogunate history and also I have been a city girl most of my life )

Any tips?

[ejectseat]

this walk-through is identical to my interview I just had in Boston. I printed it and took it with, and everyone (seven of us) agreed it was dead on for the personal interview as well. I was the only note taker, and I participated in everything more than everyone else, so we'll see this week if that gets me the job...

Out of the 7, I was one of two with a degree. The other holder was a film student, and I am a History major.

[sallycat]

my interview for nova many years ago was one guy in a hotel room. he showed me a page from the textbook, asked me what tense it was (me: it's past tense. him: which one? me: the simple one. him: yes, it is actually called the simple past). then he asked me which vocab words on the page i thought might be difficult for students. then he asked me if i would actually go to japan if he offered me the job.

3 minutes.

so yeah, i guess standards have risen. btw i think the hourly rate is the same, it's just that the hours have been cut back. so i don't know if you can strictly speaking say that wages have fallen.

[Jazz1975]

If only it were STILL that simple...

[sallycat]

to be honest, the current interview system sounds a lot more practical and interesting than the old one.

some more pros and cons of working for nova now as opposed to nova years ago:

+ the textbooks have vastly improved and are designed around the latest research on language aquisition. there are lesson management plans, but you will be encouraged to deviate from them and adapt your own lessons as soon as possible.

- because the company is in financial trouble, they are cutting down on training time. this means that you'll get far less follow up training than you should be getting.

[PAULH]