Dress professionally, even in a virtual interview. Suits are commonplace here, but people have been accepted after not wearing one. Use your best judgment.
Do general interview review. It’s impossible to know what you’ll be asked, and if you rehearse the same questions over and over you’ll probably just tell them the same answers they’ve heard 20 times that day. Know your motivations and what you bring to the table.
They can go however the panel feels. Some people get asked to present a lesson while the panel pretends to be children. Others get asked to present a lesson plan, or more how they’d do it. Just have some ideas ready.
Wear a full suit. For a mock lesson they’ll likely ask you to stand up and away from the computer (they told my group the day before that there had to be room to do this) so no pjs on the bottom. My mock lesson was to introduce yourself and your country. That was the hardest part of the interview. It is a little awkward and I wasn’t as prepared as I should have been.
I was also asked by twice by the interviewers what I would like to teach about my country or how I would teach it to children etc. That was kind of exhausting. You think you’ve answered it and they seems happy and then you get the same question again. Gotta think of another good response to almost the same question.
They also asked me things like “How does your current job impact your jet goals/ be an asset to jet?” “How would you deal with life in the countryside and homesickness?”
And other very generic questions. It’s really not a long interview at the end of the day especially when you add the Japanese section.
They’ll introduce themselves and I was so nervous I forgot their names. Not the end of the world but makes it difficult at the end when they ask if you have any questions.
I think the big thing too is that they’re rarely going just ask you a question directly. There’s normally a build up towards it where they explain why they’re asking it. So like with the current job question, because it was during covid he said thanks for your hard work, that must have been tough etc etc then got to the jet question. You need to take the hint on WHY they are asking, not just a prewritten response.
Also remember your statement of purpose. They’ll pull somethings out of that to question you on.
Finally, my internet is garbage so sometimes I missed bits of the questions so that sucked and made it harder. If you didnt hear enough, just ask them to repeat it.
Try not to be too nervous, try to be outgoing and happy. I was a super super late upgrade, only just scrapped in. There was definitely flaws in my responses but I got lucky.
Hope you all do well and best of luck!!
1. Just like any interview virtual or not you should still look professional and well kept. 2. It depends on your SOP. You can google general questions jet questions. There are many helpful online guides. For SOP related questions I would just make your own. If you want an example I can send you mine. 3. For mock lessons it depends on who is interviewing you. I didn’t get asked to do one but others did. If you are asked I would make a brief mock general lesson on something your into like food, hobbies, locations etc. Props are a plus.
Think of what you put in your SOP and your credentials. They usually ask questions about your interests and skills (for example, I was asked if/how I would use my theater background at school). For the mock lesson, my panel pretended to be high schoolers and I had to explain what adverbs were, and they asked questions about exceptions etc. I’m a language teacher, so maybe that’s why they tried to trick me, but they’ll most likely ask you something depending on if you’ve taught before or not. Biggest tip is to go back over your application and practice explaining certain points as well as your motivations. Doing a liiiittle bit of research about Japan (especially your placement requests) can be good too!
Dress and act as you would in an in-person interview. This means full business attire and appearance. Don’t assume you won’t have to stand up.
As for questions, truthfully, they could throw anything at you. I believe most interviews have at least one question designed to throw people off to see how they do under stress. Just answer calmly as best you can. Be genuine (or at least, pretend to be if you can fake it til you make it). They may ask you a question they know you won’t have the answer to, but if you just give it your best shot or simply admit you don’t know the answer, then it’s better than not saying anything at all or giving a pre-rehearsed answer that they’ve probably heard 100 times already.
There are lists of potential JET interview questions on the Internet, but the questions usually number in the dozens, if not hundreds. You simply can’t prepare for them all. They may not even ask you anything from those lists. However, I would still skim the lists, pick some random ones, and try answering them. This is especially true if you find a trickly or unconventional question.
What seems to ring true for a lot of people is they usually ask questions about your SOP or application, so know what you wrote and why. Be prepared to talk about the things you mentioned in both (they barely asked me about my SOP, but asked me about a job I listed in my application).
Mock lessons seem to be pretty common. I had to do one. They gave me a lesson topic and pretended to be students of a certain grade/level. Then I had to “teach” them about that topic for about two minutes or so. You’ll have no idea what the topic is ahead of time, unfortunately, but do take a minute to take a deep breath and think about things you would like to talk about for a minute. You do NOT have to begin your lesson right away. Remember to use simple English words and gestures/actions to help get your point across.
Since it’s impossible to predict what you’ll be asked, my biggest piece of advice is to read general interview advice. Sit up straight, smile, open body language, etc. Try to avoid talking about anything in an overly negative light. If you’re not used to conversing with strangers and talking about yourself to other people, find someone to practice with (ideally someone with experience with job interviews). Being able to speak naturally while under pressure is difficult, but it *is* a skill that you can practice.
Good luck!
Lots of good advice here already, so I won’t go on.
* Suit or equivalent formal attire, yes.
* Be genuine. Just be yourself.
* Don’t memorise answers, you’ll sound disingenuous and like you’ve researched too much and planned for everything, this makes it look like you’re not being yourself. Read previous questions and think about what you’ll say, but don’t script yourself. As soon as they ask you a tricky question it’ll be extremely obvious that the others were rehearsed, if it wasn’t already.
* **Most important** in my opinion. It’s okay to take time to think. Too many people start answering a question, realise they’re talking nonsense, then double down to save face. Take time to think about an answer. Make some vague *”hmm, that’s a really tricky question”* comment to give yourself a few seconds, then answer. Don’t do this for every question, but you’ll need it for one or two tricky ones.
* Read over your SOP so when they ask you about it you don’t say something completely different
If you got an interview it means they liked you on paper, just wow them with your personality.
7 comments
Dress professionally, even in a virtual interview.
Suits are commonplace here, but people have been accepted after not wearing one. Use your best judgment.
Do general interview review. It’s impossible to know what you’ll be asked, and if you rehearse the same questions over and over you’ll probably just tell them the same answers they’ve heard 20 times that day. Know your motivations and what you bring to the table.
They can go however the panel feels. Some people get asked to present a lesson while the panel pretends to be children. Others get asked to present a lesson plan, or more how they’d do it. Just have some ideas ready.
Wear a full suit. For a mock lesson they’ll likely ask you to stand up and away from the computer (they told my group the day before that there had to be room to do this) so no pjs on the bottom. My mock lesson was to introduce yourself and your country. That was the hardest part of the interview. It is a little awkward and I wasn’t as prepared as I should have been.
I was also asked by twice by the interviewers what I would like to teach about my country or how I would teach it to children etc. That was kind of exhausting. You think you’ve answered it and they seems happy and then you get the same question again. Gotta think of another good response to almost the same question.
They also asked me things like
“How does your current job impact your jet goals/ be an asset to jet?”
“How would you deal with life in the countryside and homesickness?”
And other very generic questions. It’s really not a long interview at the end of the day especially when you add the Japanese section.
They’ll introduce themselves and I was so nervous I forgot their names. Not the end of the world but makes it difficult at the end when they ask if you have any questions.
I think the big thing too is that they’re rarely going just ask you a question directly. There’s normally a build up towards it where they explain why they’re asking it. So like with the current job question, because it was during covid he said thanks for your hard work, that must have been tough etc etc then got to the jet question.
You need to take the hint on WHY they are asking, not just a prewritten response.
Also remember your statement of purpose. They’ll pull somethings out of that to question you on.
Finally, my internet is garbage so sometimes I missed bits of the questions so that sucked and made it harder. If you didnt hear enough, just ask them to repeat it.
Try not to be too nervous, try to be outgoing and happy. I was a super super late upgrade, only just scrapped in. There was definitely flaws in my responses but I got lucky.
Hope you all do well and best of luck!!
1. Just like any interview virtual or not you should still look professional and well kept. 2. It depends on your SOP. You can google general questions jet questions. There are many helpful online guides. For SOP related questions I would just make your own. If you want an example I can send you mine. 3. For mock lessons it depends on who is interviewing you. I didn’t get asked to do one but others did. If you are asked I would make a brief mock general lesson on something your into like food, hobbies, locations etc. Props are a plus.
Think of what you put in your SOP and your credentials. They usually ask questions about your interests and skills (for example, I was asked if/how I would use my theater background at school). For the mock lesson, my panel pretended to be high schoolers and I had to explain what adverbs were, and they asked questions about exceptions etc. I’m a language teacher, so maybe that’s why they tried to trick me, but they’ll most likely ask you something depending on if you’ve taught before or not.
Biggest tip is to go back over your application and practice explaining certain points as well as your motivations. Doing a liiiittle bit of research about Japan (especially your placement requests) can be good too!
Dress and act as you would in an in-person interview. This means full business attire and appearance. Don’t assume you won’t have to stand up.
As for questions, truthfully, they could throw anything at you. I believe most interviews have at least one question designed to throw people off to see how they do under stress. Just answer calmly as best you can. Be genuine (or at least, pretend to be if you can fake it til you make it). They may ask you a question they know you won’t have the answer to, but if you just give it your best shot or simply admit you don’t know the answer, then it’s better than not saying anything at all or giving a pre-rehearsed answer that they’ve probably heard 100 times already.
There are lists of potential JET interview questions on the Internet, but the questions usually number in the dozens, if not hundreds. You simply can’t prepare for them all. They may not even ask you anything from those lists. However, I would still skim the lists, pick some random ones, and try answering them. This is especially true if you find a trickly or unconventional question.
What seems to ring true for a lot of people is they usually ask questions about your SOP or application, so know what you wrote and why. Be prepared to talk about the things you mentioned in both (they barely asked me about my SOP, but asked me about a job I listed in my application).
Mock lessons seem to be pretty common. I had to do one. They gave me a lesson topic and pretended to be students of a certain grade/level. Then I had to “teach” them about that topic for about two minutes or so. You’ll have no idea what the topic is ahead of time, unfortunately, but do take a minute to take a deep breath and think about things you would like to talk about for a minute. You do NOT have to begin your lesson right away. Remember to use simple English words and gestures/actions to help get your point across.
Since it’s impossible to predict what you’ll be asked, my biggest piece of advice is to read general interview advice. Sit up straight, smile, open body language, etc. Try to avoid talking about anything in an overly negative light. If you’re not used to conversing with strangers and talking about yourself to other people, find someone to practice with (ideally someone with experience with job interviews). Being able to speak naturally while under pressure is difficult, but it *is* a skill that you can practice.
Good luck!
Lots of good advice here already, so I won’t go on.
* Suit or equivalent formal attire, yes.
* Be genuine. Just be yourself.
* Don’t memorise answers, you’ll sound disingenuous and like you’ve researched too much and planned for everything, this makes it look like you’re not being yourself. Read previous questions and think about what you’ll say, but don’t script yourself. As soon as they ask you a tricky question it’ll be extremely obvious that the others were rehearsed, if it wasn’t already.
* **Most important** in my opinion. It’s okay to take time to think. Too many people start answering a question, realise they’re talking nonsense, then double down to save face. Take time to think about an answer. Make some vague *”hmm, that’s a really tricky question”* comment to give yourself a few seconds, then answer. Don’t do this for every question, but you’ll need it for one or two tricky ones.
* Read over your SOP so when they ask you about it you don’t say something completely different
If you got an interview it means they liked you on paper, just wow them with your personality.