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If you have just received a packet in the mail asking you to come and interview for a teaching position at the Japanese Embassy or Consulate congratulations! That is wonderful. You got the interview! All that time of hunting around to get good letters of reference, of carefully crafting your application form to make yourself sound intelligent and witty-yet culturally sensitive and nurturing, all that energy spent late at night wondering and praying that you might be chosen for an interview has finally paid off.
You did it! But, you haven't completely done it. You still have to ace the interview. I am going to tell you how to do it. How do I know? Well, after finishing up my time with the JET program I returned to Canada and after getting involved with the JET Alumni Association I was invited by the Japanese Embassy to join them in interviewing prospective teachers. But enough about me, let's talk about you and how you can ace that interview and get yourself on a free ride to Japan.
The interview is designed to intimidate you. Remember this. They want to try to rattle your cage. Try to remain calm. I know it is hard but try anyway.
The papers you got in the mail ask you to be there at least thirty minutes early. Make sure that you are. There is a secretary in the lobby who is checking you in at the minute you arrive and the interviewers often know right away if you were able to make it on time. Don't show up an hour early. It makes you seem too eager, too desperate. Show up about 35-45 minutes early. Timing is important and you are being watched. Seriously, I am not kidding about this. The receptionist is checking you guys out and we get her notes later. Just stay cool. Relax and keep your mouth shut. That's the best advice I can give you for that situation. Pretend that you are soon to be questioned by the police, it kind of feels like that anyway.
As you are sitting around in the lobby with other prospective teachers and trying to size them up you may have the chance to have a cup of coffee or tea before the appointed time. If coffee makes you hyper you best stay away from it so have some juice instead. While you are waiting there is probably some informational video that is being played for you to watch with the other interviewees. Have a seat and actually watch it. The interviewers may ask you what you thought about it just to check if you actually followed the instructions of getting to the interview thirty minutes early.
The clock is ticking slowly and you are starting to panic and fret. It is natural. The process is designed to make you uncomfortable to a degree. The interviewers are also interested to see how you handle pressure, if you have natural grace and poise, and how well you do under this artificial “culture shock”. Be strong.
Finally, someone comes and gets you from the waiting area. It is usually a Westerner like me. And you are wondering, “I thought that I would be interviewed by the Japanese. Who the hell is this guy?” Well, this guy just finished up doing the job that you are trying to get. Just follow to the room where you are being led. Don't say anything rude to this guy. Although I tried to be nice to our next victim, there were other Western interviewers who took no small amount of delight in being unfriendly to candidates. Lame but true.
Once in the room you will likely see a couple of other people behind a table. There will be a Japanese person from the Embassy staff, an older and usually grouchier Westerner. The younger Westerner who you had just followed to the interview room will join them behind their table. You will be invited to have a seat in the only chair facing the panel of interviewers.
It is an unfair arrangement. The three interviewers are comfortably seated behind a table with their papers in front of them, copies of all the documents that you had mailed to the Embassy, and beverages. You, on the other hand, might have to get the chair from out of the corner and drag it over, have no table, no beverage, and have only your stellar personality to protect you. There is no doubt as to who is in the hot seat. It is you.
But relax. Really. The calmer you remain the better you will do.
These are the kinds of questions that we ask at the interview. Some of them will be no surprise:
These first five questions are designed to simply see if you have any interest in actually going to Japan. Lots of people come to the interview with the idea that Japan is a great place to get a cushy job, make stacks of cash, go on exotic vacations to other countries. Well, that's true. You'd think that they read this book already. Sheesh. But having an actual interest in Japan itself might also be something that the interviewers would like to see in the interviewees. The best way to pass these first questions is to just get on the Internet and read a little out of the Japan Times.
If time permits you may be asked if you have questions. You might want to ask these questions:
Getting the interviewers to talk for awhile is not a bad strategy at all. The more they talk the more you can just sit and look thoughtful and patient. Inside you are probably screaming, “Why am I here? I just want to fall to the floor in fetal position and die”, but on the outside you are sending the message, “I am a considerate listener and a person who you can confide in” while you sit calmly on your hotplate.
Just as you thought that merely being in the interview was torture enough, a part of the festivities includes asking the applicant a bogus situational question. The “hypothetical situation” they give you is so far removed from reality that you really shouldn't worry about it.
One of the favorite “hypothetical situations” relates to applicants who are married. They ask you, “Should both you and your husband be accepted for positions in the JET program and we asked you to live in separate towns would that be a problem?”
Of course it is a problem. No program is worth risking your marriage on. There are enough pressures that exist living in a foreign country without having to worry about how your distant spouse is doing alone, lonely (hopefully lonely anyway), and dealing with their own stresses. The natural and most humane answer would be, “One of us would quit JET. We are married. We decided to get married so that we can wake up every morning in the safe knowledge that the other one is there for us. Our married life is great. Neither one of would trade that for the world.” But don't tell that to the interviewers, OK? Your answer should be something like this:
Possible answer A: “We would make whatever sacrifices are necessary to be good participants for the JET program. We talked about that possibility before even coming to the interviews today and we decided that sometimes our careers need to come first. We are both willing to commit fully to the program.”
Possible answer B: “It might be a strain on our marriage but y'know, one of the things that my spouse and I just love about one another is our willingness to be flexible, to try new things, and to try to fit in well with others. We promise that we will do the best we can under the circumstances.”
Possible answer C: “When I was a little girl (say boy if you are one) I dreamed that I would one day go to Japan and learn about the wonderful culture and people there. It's always been a dream for me. My spouse knows this and shares in my dream. He (she if you are married to a woman) knows how much it means to me and is also excited to learn about Japan too. We would make whatever sacrifices are necessary. We are totally committed to doing whatever it is that you want us to do. Your wishes are our commands. Would you mind if I prostrate myself in front of you for a little while? I see that you aren't using coasters for your scalding hot beverages. Would you like to use the palms of my hands?”
The most important thing to keep in mind about this silly question is that the interviewers know that the chances of them actually separating you in Japan are about a billion to one. It just does not happen. It is impractical and not very thrifty to have two separate schools find housing, help set up their new ALT, arrange for separate hook ups for gas and electricity, and all the other little things that need to get sorted out. Married couples are a boon for the program. It's kind of two for one. Also, the element of the “dangerous” single guy in his own apartment potentially luring young things in school uniforms up to his love-nest is radically reduced. Anyway, should you both get accepted, one of you should take the JET job and the other decline at the last possible minute. The one that declines will find private work in Japan easily enough.
The key thing when answering this illegitimate question is to simply not tell them the truth. Yes, I know it is wrong to lie but this question is also a kind of lie as well. The interviewers want to test your loyalty and commitment. A fair question would be something like: “Please talk about how you feel you are committed to the program you have seen so far?” or “How does your commitment to the JET program fit in with your career goals and aspirations?” A trick question which is set up to make you feel stresses about loyalties in your life is not a good interview question. It is kind of a trick to make you squirm. Don't squirm, just fudge the truth a wee bit.
If you are a single guy the situational question will likely be something about unruly students and how to deal with discipline. They will say something like: “There is a rowdy boy in your class who has ignored your instructions. What do you do? What do you do?!”
The wrong answer is: “Well, I just grab that kid by his nostril hair and tell him that he better straighten up and fly right or by George I'll clobber him!”
The right answer is: “Wow. Y'know teaching kids can be a real challenge. Sometimes their shenanigans really can get me going. But I learned that it is important to be patient with youngsters. They've got a lot of growin' to do and I have to keep that in mind all the time. I understand that the ALT job involves 'team-teaching'. I think that it is a super idea to have two teachers working cooperatively in the same room. In that kind of a situation I would definitely talk with the Japanese teacher and see what kind of strategy could be arranged so that we can get that kid back on track. There might be other considerations, both cultural and societal, that I am not aware of. The key point is though, that I wouldn't just 'leap into action' but I would take the time necessary to try to get at the root of the trouble and then work with my teammates to find positive solutions.”
You can stop gagging now but that is the kind of answer you might think about using. Now, you don't have to start talking like a slack-jawed reminiscing old farm hand who talks about how those young'ins sure can act like a bunch of whippersnappers but this question is testing your ability to play well with the other kids. Also, they want to see if you are quick to impose a “Western” solution to a Japanese discipline problem. What they don't tell you in the interview is that lots of Japanese teachers just bash the kid on the head for being disruptive. You, however, are expected to solve problems like a true cultural ambassador, full of cheerfulness, open-mindedness, diplomacy, and patience.
The bogus situation question that is often posed to strong single women candidates refers to submission and the place of Japanese women in Japanese society. They phrase their nonsensical question like this: “Imagine that you are in the teachers room and suddenly all the female teachers gather to serve tea to the men. What do you do?”
Your answer, that is, if you really want the job, should be something like one of these three fictional responses.
Response A: “Personally, I love tea. I think that it would be just great to share my love for tea with others. Of course I would join in on the tea-sharing fun.”
Response B: “I'm sure that those men must get pretty thirsty after a long day of nurturing young minds. It's not a bad idea to have some tea to take your mind off the pressures of teaching the youth of today how to be good citizens of tomorrow.”
Response C: “Well, from a Western point of view, women no longer are required to serve tea to anyone and we no longer have the same gender roles that we did a few decades ago. Nevertheless, as I am living in Japan, in a different culture, I want my experiences of 'internationalization' to be positive, to be of a sharing nature, and to be for our mutual enhancement. Serving tea should not be a contentious issue and I wouldn't want to let it get in the way of my experiences or the opportunities of living and working in Japan.”
The real truth of the matter is that you will probably never have to serve tea or anything else to anyone. If there is a tea or coffee service bustling around your office the best strategy is just to look busy. When someone comes by your desk with coffee or tea for you, just look momentarily surprised and say something like, “Oh, how thoughtful. I love tea. How nice of you to share this with me.” This performance can be repeated daily and you'll never serve tea, ever. This question is so obvious in its attempts to try to weed out applicants who are feminist missionaries, who have political or sociological ideas about how the world ought to be run and who want to impose them on others. Maybe you are an advocate of a New World Order based on your politics or ideological persuasion. That is all fine and good. Just make sure that you are clever enough to dodge this last silly question.
Sometimes the interviewers get bored so if they focus on one thing in your interview and have you talk about that, it is probably a good sign that there is something working in your favor. I must tell you that after having the same discussion with forty people in a row, you start to look for some kind of distraction but even so, if your interview is scheduled late, just play things cool and don't get “too chummy” with the interviewers. Some of them are tightly wound and have some very specific ideas of what it means to be sent to Japan as a “cultural ambassador”.
Well, I hope that this gives you some ammunition for how to deal with the interview. I have to tell you, I sure learned a lot about interviewing from being on the other side of the table. And although it was kind of gross shaking all those sweaty hands, I had a lot of fun too.
Good luck in the interview.
Mark Groenewold
Kanazawa, Japan
June, 2003.
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