I’ve read on Big Daikon that the US applications for the 2005 JET Program are now online. A year ago I was anxiously waiting for the 2004 application to be released so I could start working on it. As I documented here, it was just the first of many stages of waiting, and the second time around for me at that.

So, for those that are applying this time around, my main piece of advice is “patience”. Waiting is a large part of the process and you’ll go crazy if you don’t have patience. The long delays and waits are almost part of the application itself — a JET needs patience to deal with Japanese bureaucracy and personal matters like getting phones, etc. If you don’t have patience, you’ll annoy many of the Japanese people you deal with, thus demonstrating patience is as important probably as the application, transcripts or statement of purpose.

This patience merges with persistence as well. I didn’t even make it to the interviews the first time I applied, but I showed patience and persistence of interest by applying the second time. Another friend of mine is here starting her 2nd year after making it her second time as well. If you really want to be here, be patient and persistent enough to apply twice. Everything I’ve heard indicates your odds are much better the second time around.

One of the greatest sources of worry on the application is the statement of purpose. In two double spaced pages you have to sell yourself to the reviewers on how you can benefit the program and your interest in Japan. Additionally, since this is an application for an English teaching job, the English spelling and grammar needs to be perfect and the content well developed. But just knowing where to start can be confounding. So I’ve decided to follow the example of many other successful JETs and post my essay to give hopefuls some ideas.

NOTE: don’t bother trying to copy directly from mine, the program office is very good at picking such cases out and circular filling the offender’s application…

This is my first try, one that had more than a few problems. It was most likely what was responsible for me needing to try a second time. I thought it was pretty good at the time, but I really should have had other people look it over.

After six and a half years of work experience I feel it is time to broaden my horizons and perhaps open some new doors to future career advancement. My field of scientific programming now frequently involves projects with an international scope. Thus I feel that gaining a bit of experience working in an international environment would be useful to me. I’ve long had an interest in Japan’s culture and language and found JET when looking for opportunities there. Researching the program, it seemed that it provided an excellent opportunity to intergrate into Japanese culture while sharing my own. And the chance to teach students and interact with other faculty would be a welcome change from the more solitary experience of programming.

I feel that I have as much to offer to the JET program as it has to offer me. My differences from the traditional JET applicant (experienced professional instead of new college graduate) mean that I can better convey to students the importance of study to success in the “real world.” My work experience has also taught me how to perform as part of a team and the importance of communications. Since I have recently been a language student myself, I can relate to the difficulties that the students themselves are experiencing. I’ve greatly enjoyed the opportunities for language & cultural exchange I’ve had with native Japanese conversation partners and penpals during my studies. The aikido & animation screening groups I am part of involve people ranging from middle schoolers to the middle aged, so I am comfortable interacting with a wide range of ages. During my childhood my family frequently moved around the country, so I am used to adjusting to new places & situations.

My main teaching related experiences have been along the lines of public astronomy and rocketry demonstrations, as well as assisting in a friend’s model rocketry class. During those classes I would help show the middle school aged kids how to build their model rocket kits and supervise the safe launching of their rockets afterwards. For these classes and demostrations I did my best to express my enthusiasm for the subject as well as my knowledge of it. I believe that this is quite an important part of teaching.

My interest in things Japanese probably started in late elementary school when we studied haiku as part of a unit on poetry. I still love the concise way this poetic form expresses an ephemeral moment. More recently I’ve been involved with groups that present Japanese animation as a gateway to interest in Japanese popular culture. I have even subtitled some of the shows we screened, working with a Japanese native speaker on the translation. I also frequently read books and articles on Japanese culture, language and society. More formally, I’ve taken Japanese language classes when my work schedule has permitted it. And for the last couple years I have been studying the Japanese martial art of Aikido and greatly appreciate its non-violent philosophy as well as the awareness it helps develop.

Finally, I believe that I have many personal qualities that will make me a successful JET participant. I am a patient and open minded person who tries to see the similarities between people instead of just the differences. And when I disagree with a point of view, I still do my best to understand it. I feel that concensus is as important in decision making as decisiveness. These qualities have often made me effective at arbitrating differences between others.

I look forward to this opportunity to expand my cultural & language experience while sharing my own language & culture. Thank you very much for your consideration.

This was my starting point for the second time around. I went back through it, checking it over with both spelling and grammar checkers to ferret out the basic errors. Then I asked two people to help me correct and improve my essay. One was a former JET who is now a professor at the University of Arizona. His input on my grammar & usage was extremely useful. In particular he pointed out many places I was just plain too wordy. The other person was a Japanese professor at UA whom I’d helped out in the past. She provided excellent feedback on the structure and order of the essay, especially how to best organize it to present what the Japanese wanted to see most. For example, my interest in Japan was moved to the front, whereas how the program fit into my life was moved to the end. This is somewhat opposite of how the questions are asked in the instructions, but it flows more naturally this way.

So the resulting essay (hopefully) has fewer errors, tighter sentences and better organization:

My interest in things Japanese probably started in late elementary school when my class studied haiku as a part of a unit on poetry. I still love the concise way this poetic form expresses an ephemeral moment. Over the years, I have continued to read books and articles on Japanese culture, language and society. More formally, I have taken Japanese language classes when my work schedule has permitted it. Additionally, for the last few years I have studied the Japanese martial art of aikido and have greatly appreciated its nonviolent philosophy as well as the awareness it helps develop.

As an older applicant who has graduated and pursued a career, I have a unique set of skills and experiences to offer the JET program. I can communicate to the students the importance of their studies to success in the “real world.” Since I have recently been a student of Japanese myself, I can relate to the difficulties that the students are experiencing when learning a new language. My work experience has taught me how to perform as part of a team and the importance of communication. The projects I have worked on have involved people from varied backgrounds and areas of specialization. Thus, I have developed skills for understanding situations from the perspective of others and developing a consensus. I have also greatly enjoyed the opportunities for language and cultural exchange I have had with native Japanese conversation partners, aikido students and pen-pals during my studies. I believe that I will similarly enjoy conversing and working with students, teachers and community members in whatever town I may be placed in Japan. And while I may be older than the average JET, several of my interests (such as aikido and model rocketry) involve people ranging from middle schoolers to the middle aged, so I am comfortable interacting across generational boundaries. Finally, during my lifetime I have frequently moved around the country, so I am accustomed to adjusting to new places and situations.

My main teaching related experiences have been performing astronomy and rocketry demonstrations, as well as assisting in a friend’s model rocketry class. During those classes, I helped show the middle school aged kids how to build their model rocket kits and supervised the safe launching of the rockets. Expressing my enthusiasm for the subject, as well as my knowledge of it, was something I worked hard at. I believe that imparting this enthusiasm to the students is a very important part of teaching.

After seven years of work experience as a software engineer, I believe it is time to broaden my horizons and open some new doors to future career advancement. My field of scientific programming now frequently involves projects of an international scope. Thus, gaining experience working in an international environment would be useful to me. When I was looking for international opportunities, a friend who is currently a JET suggested the program. After I researched the program further, I found that it provides an excellent opportunity to learn about Japanese culture while sharing my own. I also feel that the chance to teach students and interact with other faculty will be a welcome change from the sometimes solitary activity of programming.

In summary, I believe that I have many personal qualities that will make me a successful JET participant. I am a patient and open-minded person who tries to see the similarities between people instead of just the differences. When I disagree with a point of view, I try my best to understand it. I feel that consensus is as important in decision making as decisiveness. These qualities have often made me effective at arbitrating differences between others. I look forward to this opportunity to expand my experience and knowledge of Japanese culture and language while sharing my own.

I also cleaned up the text on my application a little, but there wasn’t much more to do there. Hopefully having another example of a successful essay will help someone among the new hopefuls. I would also highly recommend reading over Importing Diversity: Inside Japan’s JET Program for many valuable insights into the JET program.

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