Back in July I was offered a position as an Interac ALT through LinkJapanCareers starting in March 2024. I accepted but haven’t signed a contract, and LJC has the materials to send to Japan for my Certificate of Eligibility. I see that JET just started taking applications so I was thinking of applying to that as well for the chance at a slightly better deal, but this paragraph from LJC’s website has me second-guessing that:
*\*Please be aware that having more than one Certificate of Eligibility application in your name will cause one or both of them to be rejected by Japanese immigration. Therefore, if you have recently declined a position with another company please verify with them that they have not submitted any immigration paperwork on your behalf. Failure to cancel any other CoE submissions will delay processing your CoE for your position with Interac, and may cause your arrival to be delayed.*
So yeah, this makes it sound like if I did apply to JET and get accepted, then it wouldn’t work out and the Interac thing would be messed up as well. If I get accepted by JET but LJC has already sent in the materials for my CoE then both applications could be rejected and neither job ends up happening. The cynic in me thinks this sounds like some BS made up to prevent people from applying to other companies, though. Anyone have experience with this?
11 comments
I’m a JET currently, and I kind of wish I had gone with interac. Desk warming sucks and having the option to get breaks off sounds worth the lower pay.
I think you should apply for JET. I’m at JET but my BOE also has contracts with Interac so I’ve spoken to some of the Interac ALTs directly. Their biggest issue seemed to be the pay. If you are US, you won’t get your visa for JET until summer. This is the reason why JETs application process requires so much paperwork. I have heard of ppl who got into Interac and were in middle of the visa obtaining process who dipped out when they got shortlisted for JET. But idk if those ppl were as far as COE stuff being sent when they dipped. You can try asking the reddit if anyone has experience with this because it does happen.
A lot more money with JET. That would be my first choice; Interac my last choice.
If you have a lot of money saved Interac is nice for traveling. The pay is usually 215,000 a month. I had a whole month out of school in August. 3 weeks out of school end of December-mid January. When I arrived in March, I came a week before training started so I was in Japan a month before starting the job. But I’m stationed in Toyama so maybe that’s because of my location. Also Interac doesn’t tell you your location until you arrive in Japan. But I think JET tells you location in advance and you’d start in the Fall. Also you don’t get any choice with your apartment for Interac and the rent is kind of expensive at LeoPalace. My apartment is nice (small) but it’s 74,000 yen a month. Idk how JET does housing but I hear they subsidize rent and you might get a bigger place. So it’s all about what you want out of your experience. More days out of school, okay with less money, starting in the Spring, okay with being placed anywhere, not too worried about housing, would make Interac a good option.
Yes. It’s a much better gig.
Interac is one of the worst companies I have ever worked for, and I have worked for some pretty bad companies. I wish I listened to the online negative reviews!
Accept, go through the JET process, and drop out if you interview well and get an offer (not sure when they send the offer though so it might be too late).
It’s up to you, but I wouldn’t be worried about screwing over a company. They do it to employees all the time (personal experience)
Apply for jet but be prepared to not get accepted. By which time interac will have found a replacement
It would be criminal to not even try for JET.
All Interac ALTs are JET rejects. You would be the only one who didn’t try.
iirc, you won’t find out if you make Jet until around April 2024. The application is a long ass process. I think I interviewed in February?
I’ve done both JET and Interac – currently on Interac. They won’t lodge your COE until you submit the COE application form, but if you’re scheduled for a March 2024 departure, they’re probably going to want that application by January at the latest. If you’ve already given them all the materials, though, they might have started it early since it can get a little backed up.
With JET, they usually process applications through the end of the year and notify you if you’ve gotten an interview by late December/January. You will learn interview results February/March, which is when they would probably start their COE process with you. You’d be cutting it REALLY close, so it would probably be wisest to stick with Interac for as long as possible until you have a JET job offer in hand.