So, I’ve been reading posts here for quite some time, yet despite being considered for an ALT position being an option on CIR applications, I haven’t seen anyone here say that happened to them. Does it really happen?
It happens especially when CIR candidates have poor Japanese skills. It’s not uncommon.
It also happens after a CIR placement. For example, small towns sometimes request a CIR for the language skill but only really have ALT work. It requires less work for the BoE if they can guarantee that their ALT speaks Japanese, so they request a CIR instead. Not supposed to happen but certainly does!
Yes, an ALT in my BOE had applied as a CIR but ended up with an ALT position.
I applied for CIR, but they didn’t like how low I had rated my reading ability, so they called me before interviews were released and asked if I wanted to switch my application to ALT.
The same thing happened to a friend of mine, and someone he knew (who I think was in someway connected to the hiring process or JET in the past) told him to switch. They said it meant they liked his application, and wanted him, but just that his Japanese level wouldn’t be high enough for CIR.
In hindsight, I wouldn’t have been ready to function as a CIR at that time, so it’s good I did switch.
This happened to my predecessor back in 2011-ish. She was a CIR alternate and was offered two positions both as an ALT. The second she accepted because it was a mix of ALT and CIR whereas the first one was ALT only.
Yes this happened to my friend who I met on JET. She originally applied for CIR but was offered ALT instead. She wasn’t too thrilled about teaching, but she wanted to come to Japan so she accepted the ALT position.
During her breaks she was constantly studying Japanese and luckily for her a CIR position opened up in the same prefecture. She applied and got it from her 2nd year on JET
7 comments
Yes.
It happens especially when CIR candidates have poor Japanese skills. It’s not uncommon.
It also happens after a CIR placement. For example, small towns sometimes request a CIR for the language skill but only really have ALT work. It requires less work for the BoE if they can guarantee that their ALT speaks Japanese, so they request a CIR instead. Not supposed to happen but certainly does!
Yes, an ALT in my BOE had applied as a CIR but ended up with an ALT position.
I applied for CIR, but they didn’t like how low I had rated my reading ability, so they called me before interviews were released and asked if I wanted to switch my application to ALT.
The same thing happened to a friend of mine, and someone he knew (who I think was in someway connected to the hiring process or JET in the past) told him to switch. They said it meant they liked his application, and wanted him, but just that his Japanese level wouldn’t be high enough for CIR.
In hindsight, I wouldn’t have been ready to function as a CIR at that time, so it’s good I did switch.
This happened to my predecessor back in 2011-ish. She was a CIR alternate and was offered two positions both as an ALT. The second she accepted because it was a mix of ALT and CIR whereas the first one was ALT only.
Yes this happened to my friend who I met on JET. She originally applied for CIR but was offered ALT instead. She wasn’t too thrilled about teaching, but she wanted to come to Japan so she accepted the ALT position.
During her breaks she was constantly studying Japanese and luckily for her a CIR position opened up in the same prefecture. She applied and got it from her 2nd year on JET