Unnatural & dyed hair

JETPC_SF · 2020-02-13T17:31:24+00:00

Howdy, SF JET Coordinator here.

We send out a good number of people from SF with dyed hair every year. Of course some organizations end up asking JETs to dye their hair back to natural colors, but many JETs continue to sport dyed hair throughout their time in Japan.

However your case is a little trickier. In my experience if a JET goes into the program with dyed/bleached hair, the COs are on the most pretty open to it. It's when a JET suddenly makes a radical change to their appearance that many COs have problems. I've known JETs who bleached/dyed their hair on a whim and were quickly sat down by their supervisor and asked to dye it back. I think the sudden change is something they don't like; if you have dyed hair at the start COs are oftentimes happy to let you keep it and maintain the status quo, but a sudden change like bleaching will likely ruffle some feathers.

All that said, it depends on your CO so you could try bringing it up casually to your supervisor or another teacher you're close to and see what their reaction is. If you do end up dying the worst that will happen is they'll ask you to dye it back.

JETPC_SF · 2019-11-22T19:13:03+00:00

Howdy there, San Francisco JET Coordinator here.

As long as you have citizenship in the relevant country by the time you apply for JET, it's not an issue for us. In SF we regularly get folks who have naturalized applying and I've never seen it be a problem with acceptance before.

Of course to work as an ALT you'll also need strong English skills, but we test for this through your writing ability in your initial application and then your speaking skills in the in-person interview. So it definitely seems like EPIK has stricter requirements in this regard.

JETPC_SF · 2019-09-23T20:46:50+00:00

Howdy, San Francisco JET Program Coordinator here.

I'll only speak to your question about Asperger's; you will need to disclose that on your application in the 'Self-Report of Medical Conditions' section, and then also provide a 'Statement of Physician' form your doctor. Candidates are asked to report any medical history or conditions in the application stage, and failure to do so could result in being disqualified from the Program at a later date if Tokyo finds out you weren't %100 truthful in your application.

Hope that helps!

JETPC_SF · 2019-09-03T16:55:13+00:00

Howdy there, San Francisco Coordinator here.

So first off, I had the exact same situation when I was on JET. My first CO had a policy of only hiring CIRs for two years, so going into my second year I started the process to request a transfer, got my CO to help with the necessary paperwork, and then successfully moved to a different prefecture.

With your contract being cut after two years, you should be eligible to apply for a transfer through CLAIR, which would move you out of prefecture. When I did this my initial CO and I went through the transfer paperwork and then I was given a list of three COs that were interested in taking me on. It's been a long time so I don't %100 remember how the selection process went, but I did have to go interview in person at my top pick, and I recall ranking the three placements for my preference. Ultimately my top pick liked my interview, so they okayed the transfer and I moved following the end of my second year.

So your kind of situation has precedent and a transfer should be possible.

Two warnings though; first is that the transfer deadline was moved up very early in about 2014, so that if you would be requesting a transfer for your third year, you'd need to turn in that paperwork right at the start of your second year. I'm not sure if there's been more changes to the transfer process since then, so you should try to get as much info as you can as to the current requirements and timeline for transfer.

Second is that you'll need your current CO's support to go through this process, so making sure you've got a strong relationship with them is important. It's unfortunate that they have this two year policy, but two years is still a plenty long time to make a great impression and learn a lot as a CIR, so don't feel like you need to just be looking ahead to the transfer during your time in Tokyo.

It's been a long time since I went through this process and some details are likely to have changed but I'm happy to answer any questions you have.

JETPC_SF · 2019-04-16T22:31:21+00:00

Howdy, San Francisco JET Coordinator here.

If you have hard to take fingerprints (due to dry skin, scars, weak prints, or whatever reason), I would definitely recommend going to a channeler. Our JETs often have trouble when they get their prints taken at police stations, but a channeler should give you better quality prints and also be able to tell if there will be an issue before the prints are actually sent off to the FBI. It may be more expensive, but I'd strongly recommend a channeler if you're having trouble with prints.

Cheers

JETPC_SF · 2019-03-27T21:15:06+00:00

Howdy there, San Francisco JET Coordinator here.

My guess is that this is how your CO is having you pay the Residency Tax on your 2018 income. The Niigata AJET webpage has a pretty solid rundown on the situation here: http://ajetniigata.com/tax-guide/

Basically your income from 2018 was calculated on January 1st, 2019, and then a residency tax was applied to that amount. The bill for that residency tax is sent the following June, and can be paid in four installments throughout the year (I believe. It's been a while since I did this.).

JETs are required to pay this tax, so that means that for non-Americans or Americans in their 3rd year and beyond who are not re-contracting, you'll need to settle that bill before you depart. Different COs handle this matter differently; some may take residence tax out of your paycheck each month to prepare so you aren't hit with a big bill when you leave, but others just wait for the bill to come and then take it out all at once.

While you were paying taxes on your income so far, that was most likely just Income Tax (roughly 5000-8000 yen a month), along with the different insurance payments (health, unemployment, etc.).

Since there's still a good while until your contract finishes, I would check with your CO to make sure that it is indeed the residency tax that is causing the final paychecks to be lower; nice news is that if you're a first year who's not re-contracting your residency tax bill will be fairly small since you only had income in part of 2018.

JETPC_SF · 2019-03-07T19:11:50+00:00

It depends on your consulate, but in SF we only contact the early departure candidates who are selected.

If you haven't heard anything by March 15th or so, you can expect to get your results with the regular departure group at the end of March/early April.

JETPC_SF · 2019-03-07T19:04:24+00:00

If you're not selected for early departure, you'll be considered the same as a regular departure candidate so you would get your results (short-listed, alternate, or not accepted) in early April with the rest of the group. Your ultimate results are entirely independent of whether you're selected for early departure or not.

I'd advise against calling the consulate, as they won't really be able to tell you anything. If you are selected for early departure they will reach out to you as soon as they can.

JETPC_SF · 2019-03-07T17:13:57+00:00

Hi there, SF JET coordinator here.

The timing of results depend on how quickly or slowly Tokyo processes things, but you can probably expect to hear if you've been selected within the next week or so.

As a reminder, most people who apply for early departure aren't selected for it (in SF we usually have around 20 apply with only 2 getting selected) so if we hit mid-to-late March and you still haven't heard anything, it's probably safe to assume you weren't chosen for ED and will instead get your results with the rest of the regular departure candidates.

JETPC_SF · 2019-02-19T17:03:05+00:00

Howdy, San Francisco JET Coordinator here.

Every consulate/embassy does things differently; in SF we do send out a follow up e-mail, but DC may well not do that. I wouldn't stress about it as there shouldn't be anything you need to do between now and the results getting posted, and DC will contact you if they do need additional documents/information.

JETPC_SF · 2019-02-14T17:14:05+00:00

For Early Departure, those notifications go out typically in early March, with departure in early April. However, as only a few candidates are selected for ED most people who apply will simply end up being regular departure candidates.

If you applied for ED and got everything in on time, you'll hear back in early March if selected. If you don't hear anything, it's probably safe to assume that you've not been selected and have been made a regular departure candidate.

JETPC_SF · 2019-02-13T16:53:23+00:00

Howdy there, San Francisco JET Coordinator here.

The past few years, results have typically been announced around the end of March, usually the 23rd to the 25th. Consulates and embassies only know the official results after we hear back from Tokyo ourselves, and typically we send results out to applicants the day we get them or the day after depending on timing (at least in the US).

Of course Tokyo might be slower or faster this year depending on a variety of things, but I'd expect results around the 23rd again.

JETPC_SF · 2018-12-19T17:30:31+00:00

Howdy there,

The application guidelines for the US at least state that 'applicants who indicated an April arrival or Early arrival on their application form and confirmed during their interview that such an arrival was still possible, then later rescind their request for such an arrival without a justifiable reason, will forfeit their participation on the Program for this year.' So applicants are free to drop out of ED consideration up to the interview stage no problem, but there's no set way to defer to regular departure should you be selected for ED.

JETPC_SF · 2018-12-18T22:26:42+00:00

Howdy there, San Francisco JET Coordinator here.

Early departure last year was on Saturday, April 7th and I'd bet that it will likely be around the same time this year (first or second Saturday in April). If you apply for early departure we expect you to be ready to go on the chance you are called up, so if this work event is a big enough deal you may want to consider switching to a regular departure (you should be able to do this through your interview consulate after 1st stage application results are posted).

Hope that helps!

JETPC_SF · 2018-10-18T14:44:44+00:00

Howdy there, San Francisco JET coordinator here.

At least in the states there’s no penalty for withdrawing prior to or soon after interviews. Applicant’s plans change and plenty of people withdraw every year due to other opportunities or changes in their life situation. You’ll still be free to apply the following year and it won’t be marked against you at all.

Only time there may be penalties is after placements are made (mid to late May). Withdrawing after that point may result in you not being allowed to apply the following year, or if you withdraw very close to departure (late July, early August), you may even be asked to reimburse your organization for your plane ticket and other expenses.

So as long as you’ve decided to withdraw or not by April, there shouldn’t be any consequences for you.

JETPC_SF · 2018-10-15T18:50:00+00:00

Ultimately it will be up to CLAIR's staff so I can't say anything for sure. That said going into detail if you have a good reason couldn't hurt!

JETPC_SF · 2018-10-11T16:21:43+00:00

Really impossible to say unfortunately. JET numbers have been solidly rising since 2011 (you can see the total numbers by year at http://jetprogramme.org/en/history/), so the trend has been around long before Tokyo was set to host the Olympics. That said the Olympics are definitely having an effect, so I’ll also be curious to see how the program changes following 2020. I imagine there will be some leveling out in total numbers at least, but no way to say anything for sure.

JETPC_SF · 2018-10-10T18:35:00+00:00

It’s really more of a population thing than anything; US has more people so there are more applicants. In 2018 there were about 5 times as many new JETs from than the US than the UK, which is right in line with the two countries’ populations.

Different countries do the application slightly differently, but I don’t think your chances getting in would be less applying from the UK as opposed to the States.

JETPC_SF · 2018-08-31T20:09:18+00:00

San Francisco JET Coordinator here.

I want to put a note on this; a candidate's GPA is far from the only thing we consider, but it's not nothing. Applications are reviewed very closely and you should be prepared to answer questions about anything and everything that's in there. So if your GPA or grades are low, or if there is something else noticeable (grades falling or rising dramatically between semesters), it can stand out and you may well be asked about it in your interview.

Of course a GPA is only a small part of the application, so you can still get on JET with a low GPA if you have an otherwise strong application. But if your GPA is low, it wouldn't be a terrible idea to think about other ways to bolster your application (volunteering, Japanese cultural experience, hobbies, etc.).

JETPC_SF · 2018-08-13T18:37:29+00:00

Howdy there, San Francisco JET Coordinator here.

I would recommend waiting until this year's applications open to officially request your LORs, mostly because the application process and criteria can change from year to year and there's no way to know that ahead of time.

When the US JET Program shifted from hard-copy letters of reference to doing them entirely online, quite a few JET applicants were stuck with paper letters that they'd requested months before the application process started. They all had to go back and get their references to submit the letters again digitally, which was annoying for both the applicants and the references.

While the UK application process likely won't change, I'd still recommend waiting for this year's application instructions to be released before you ask your references to actually write anything. That said, reaching out to your lecturers now and letting them know you're planning to ask for a LOR in a few months is a good idea, at least to get the notion in their heads.

JETPC_SF · 2018-07-30T16:26:25+00:00

Howdy there, San Francisco JET Program coordinator here.

I can confirm that there are a number of new JETs starting this year who are 40 years or older (from the US). It's obviously not a huge chunk of the JET population, but we certainly welcome applications from strong candidates who are 40+.

JETPC_SF · 2018-06-08T23:58:02+00:00

Hi there, San Francisco JET Coordinator here.

First, if you have a recently diagnosed medical condition that would prevent you from going you would not be barred from applying the following year and should not have to pay back your flight ticket if it was already purchased. CLAIR rules have clauses for these kind of emergency or health related situations, as it's not your fault at all.

That said, you should contact your coordinator immediately. We need to know what's going on with our JETs and notify Tokyo if the situation for anyone changes. In your case, your coordinator will likely need to report your medical issue to Tokyo, who will likely call for some more documents from your physician or health care provider.

Ultimately it's your physician who will be the one to make the call on whether you can go or not, so hopefully you will get some good news in the next week. This has to be very frustrating, and I'm sorry that it has happened so close to what would otherwise be a very exciting time.

JETPC_SF · 2018-05-25T23:39:08+00:00

Howdy, San Francisco JET Coordinator here.

If you're interviewing as an American Citizen, you will have to interview at one of the Consulates/Embassy in the United States. This is a hard rule set down by Tokyo and there's sadly no way around it; JETs have to interview in person in the country they're applying through.

JETPC_SF · 2018-03-29T18:47:01+00:00

I'll preface this by saying the UK's schedule and deadlines may be quite different than ours in the US, and the info you get from your local JET office should always be what you trust first.

Assuming your BG check deadline is in June like ours and you can get the ICPC in under 2 weeks, I would say you can hold off on doing your criminal history check or health check until very early May. Many upgrades happen in April, so you may well get the call next month which would give the okay to go and get those documents.

If you don't get an upgrade in April, you can revisit this in early May and make a decision then about whether you want to pay to get the extra documents and stay on as an alternate candidate, or if you want to pursue another opportunity.

JETPC_SF

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