There you go XD; Depending on what Chiba is looking for, you might be requested there. XD; It really depends. I know my city prioritizes Japanese ability above everything else, so sometimes we end up with really weird breakdowns depending on who applied that year. Last year we had almost all girls, and this year we have almost all Americans. So... yeah. It can be really surprising XD;
Obviously since I don't work for the JET programme, I really can't say for certain, but in my experience, they're looking for someone who studied abroad and has teaching teaching experience. I think that in the past, they had a lot of people who got to Japan and then bailed because they couldn't deal with living abroad or with being in front of a bunch of kids all day, so they want to know that the candidate can do those things. The people I've known who didn't get in are the ones who emphasized their general knowledge of Japan or their love of Japanese culture too much, rather than more relevant, less esoteric qualifications. Personality wise, I also think it plays to your advantage to seem versatile and flexible rather than confident. They almost always ask something in the interviews about what you'd do if you were placed in the exact opposite placement as you wanted, and they don't seem to like people who present themselves as people who would know what it will be like without going first. They rather seem to prefer someone who seems up to a challenge and realizes that every part of Japan and every school system is different, and the experience may be different than their own abroad or previous Japan teaching experience, and they're ready to tackle that.
But that's just my way-more-than-two-cents worth based on the people I've known who got in and didn't get in (I've known quite a few of both from college, so that's my compare-and-contrast pool XD). I'd be more than happy to read your SoP if you want, and give you my opinion, if you wanted ^^ Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help~
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2013-11-15 06:06 am (UTC)Obviously since I don't work for the JET programme, I really can't say for certain, but in my experience, they're looking for someone who studied abroad and has teaching teaching experience. I think that in the past, they had a lot of people who got to Japan and then bailed because they couldn't deal with living abroad or with being in front of a bunch of kids all day, so they want to know that the candidate can do those things. The people I've known who didn't get in are the ones who emphasized their general knowledge of Japan or their love of Japanese culture too much, rather than more relevant, less esoteric qualifications. Personality wise, I also think it plays to your advantage to seem versatile and flexible rather than confident. They almost always ask something in the interviews about what you'd do if you were placed in the exact opposite placement as you wanted, and they don't seem to like people who present themselves as people who would know what it will be like without going first. They rather seem to prefer someone who seems up to a challenge and realizes that every part of Japan and every school system is different, and the experience may be different than their own abroad or previous Japan teaching experience, and they're ready to tackle that.
But that's just my way-more-than-two-cents worth based on the people I've known who got in and didn't get in (I've known quite a few of both from college, so that's my compare-and-contrast pool XD). I'd be more than happy to read your SoP if you want, and give you my opinion, if you wanted ^^ Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help~