Adventures as an ALT or a CIR...

[anrakushi]

For my references I got mine from a dean/professor at Ryukoku University in Japan and from an English school in Melbourne where i volunteer. This got me to the interview stage, which is what i guess it is helpful for. now i'm still waiting to see if i blew the interview or not, haha. i'll be getting a working holiday visa if i did blow it so all is not lost.

[SSJup81]

I have no idea who I could ask for a second reference. I was going to ask my Japanese instructor to be the first reference. That's a given, but, I'm finishing up my schooling online, due to full-time employment, so I don't have time to attend the "traditional" way. The only "offline" thing I do is the Japanese class.

Maybe I can get a letter written by my new employer...even though, I'd feel awkward asking for something like that. I personally don't want to tell anyone about the whole JET thing. Maybe I could get the guts to ask my employer from my previous job to write me a reference letter. At least they've had real contact with me. I don't think asking an online teacher to write a letter would hold much weight. What do you guys think?

What types of people aren't allowed to be references?

[samurai007]

Originally Posted by SSJup81

I have no idea who I could ask for a second reference. I was going to ask my Japanese instructor to be the first reference. That's a given, but, I'm finishing up my schooling online, due to full-time employment, so I don't have time to attend the "traditional" way. The only "offline" thing I do is the Japanese class.

Maybe I can get a letter written by my new employer...even though, I'd feel awkward asking for something like that. I personally don't want to tell anyone about the whole JET thing. Maybe I could get the guts to ask my employer from my previous job to write me a reference letter. At least they've had real contact with me. I don't think asking an online teacher to write a letter would hold much weight. What do you guys think?

What types of people aren't allowed to be references?

Family members, as far as I know, can't be a reference.

And while it's technically allowed I think, I wouldn't ask a friend or classmate. They prefer someone with some authority, such as a teacher or employer, not a buddy.

[SSJup81]

Makes sense. Anyway, I started my new job today. I hope I can keep it for a long time. My boss knows Japanese, which is cool. The agency that sent me to this place, went on about how I was studying the language. He said that he and his wife lived in Japan for six years as missionaries when younger. I told him that my Japanese wasn't very good, and that's when he said that it's better to learn it when you can apply it someplace, like in Japan.

He's a very nice guy, and I'm sure after he realizes that I want to join the JET program, that he'll probably be glad to write a reference letter for me. I hope so, anyway, since I don't have anyone else that I know of who can write me a reference letter.

Cross your fingers and hope I keep this job indefinitely.

Oh yeah, another question. Has anyone ever been in a situation where you end up with an interview panel where you knew one of the panelists? What would happen then?

I'd find it so ironic if I met up with the guy I met last year that's on the Tochigi Board of education if I ended up with an interview.

[samurai007]

Originally Posted by SSJup81

Makes sense. Anyway, I started my new job today. I hope I can keep it for a long time. My boss knows Japanese, which is cool. The agency that sent me to this place, went on about how I was studying the language. He said that he and his wife lived in Japan for six years as missionaries when younger. I told him that my Japanese wasn't very good, and that's when he said that it's better to learn it when you can apply it someplace, like in Japan.

He's a very nice guy, and I'm sure after he realizes that I want to join the JET program, that he'll probably be glad to write a reference letter for me. I hope so, anyway, since I don't have anyone else that I know of who can write me a reference letter.

Cross your fingers and hope I keep this job indefinitely.

Oh yeah, another question. Has anyone ever been in a situation where you end up with an interview panel where you knew one of the panelists? What would happen then?

I'd find it so ironic if I met up with the guy I met last year that's on the Tochigi Board of education if I ended up with an interview.

I think the panelist would either recuse himself, or they'd send you to a different panel. In SF, they had 4 different panels of 3 people each going at the same time, so they could just ask you to interview with another set of panelists.

[ChisaChi]

Wow O_o My city is quite small (the local alumni site says around 200 JET participants from my state in the history of the program...) so I'm expecting a really small interview round with only one panel. One person from here who interviewed this year said it was at a local highschool near my house, and one of the interviewers was the highschool principal. Should be an interesting experience, bit different from other people's.

Good luck on the job, SSJup81, sounds like your employer would make a pretty good reference by the time you need to send in your app.

Question! I know this is probably the least of my worries since I can't even apply for several months... but do most places JETs are sent to have access to internet? I just saw that someone was asked what they would do if they didn't in an interview, and personally that would be a bit of a nightmare for me >_> I could live without the recreation and professional interest I have in the internet if I absolutely had to, I suppose, but I'd be depending on it heavily to contact family, friends and boyfriend if I did get in. I have seen people posting on forums from what they claim to be very rural areas though, so maybe it's not too bad...

[aikochan86]

I think its really interesting to read that ALTs change schools a lot. I never knew this. I love change! I like things to be different and to go new places and meet many people.

Personally I'm more interested in becoming a CIR but I'm going to have to finish uni first.

[jasonbvr]

In the case of ALT's dispatched by eikaiwas, a lot of times you have to switch companies to get a pay bump. Either that or a lot of people just get sick of the town they're in and after a year working for a company you can get the choice schools your company has contracts with a lot easier.

Correct me if I am wrong JET alumns, but isn't it relatively difficult to change schools within the program? It isn't like you just put in for a transfer.

Another thing about dispatched ALT's, most companies pick up resigning bonuses if the ALT stays at the same school. Not that we would ever get a piece of that, not anymore anyways.

[SSJup81]

There are some who don't seem to change, either. To be honest, even though I know I'd have to do some changing, if it came to that, I'd prefer not to since that might include actually having to physically move to another apartment if it's really far off, right?

That aside, a question for the ALTs who have been on JET, are there usually more than one JET in a school or just like maybe one per school?

[samurai007]

Originally Posted by SSJup81

There are some who don't seem to change, either. To be honest, even though I know I'd have to do some changing, if it came to that, I'd prefer not to since that might include actually having to physically move to another apartment if it's really far off, right?

That aside, a question for the ALTs who have been on JET, are there usually more than one JET in a school or just like maybe one per school?

Nearly always only 1 per school (or more precisely 1 ALT for 2 or 3 schools), though I did know of 1 school in our prefecture that had 2 ALTs at once.

And yes, it's not easy to switch schools on JET... you need to give a pretty good reason, get approvals from both schools, etc.