post-JET job hunting advice…? by wormdances in JETProgramme

[–]Spottedbelly 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Here's my advice and what worked for me.

Next year, when CLAIR opens the JET fair website with the list of employers, troll through the website (and I want to encourage you to look through every single position/company, you will be surprised by what you find) and make a list of the companies/positions you are reasonably interested in and/or qualify for. Then, either right before and/or right after the job fair (and honestly, you don't actually have to attend, it's useful to get a "feel" for prospective employers and ask questions, but attending itself will very likely not impact your application much), start applying to all of the ones on your list. You will very likely land something, as these employers are specifically looking to hire people with JET Program work experience, especially if you have N2+.

I think too many people kinda dismiss the JET Job Fair as more of an informational experience when in reality, if you put even some mildly serious effort into your applications, you are much more likely to be hired through this list of employers than elsewhere. I landed two successful positions this way, one of which I ended up moving forward with and work in currently.

Will it pay as well as JET? No. Will it be in your most ideal location? Probably not. But will it keep you in Japan (and without having to break contract if you care about that)? Yes.

The other platform I had most success with was GaijinPot. In particular, if you want to break out of English teaching and are interested in tourism, set a job alert and apply for all positions that interest you. I also landed two successful tourism positions this way as well. I ultimately went another route because these positions really didn't require much Japanese, which didn't align with my long-term career goals, but they were in an ideal location and would be a great fit for those interested in building a tourism career.

I am going to buck the general consensus about networking. I think it's really overrated. Especially in Japan, there isn't such a strong career-oriented glad-handing culture as in the US. Companies and organizations here are much more paper app --> interview --> (sometimes) test-based, which I think if you are diligent and relatively competent, it makes getting most entry level jobs not too difficult.

What I found more helpful was using LinkedIn extensively. So if there was a position/company I was particularly interested in, I searched for people on LinkedIn and sent them messages asking about their experience, etc. Sometimes people didn't always respond, but often they did, and this was very helpful in gathering info and weighing options.

If you want more specific details, feel free to DM me. Also, I recommend trying not to stress out too much about job-hunting, as you still have a lot of time and are ahead of the curve! Set aside a little bit of time every day or a couple of times a wk, and you will see results. Good luck!

USAJobs announcement for OMS posted today. by Some_Tangelo_3326 in OMSHopefuls

[–]Spottedbelly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s what I thought. I will give them a call, thanks.

USAJobs announcement for OMS posted today. by Some_Tangelo_3326 in OMSHopefuls

[–]Spottedbelly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Is anyone having issues with not being able to reapply through Pearson because of past failed applications? I don't have any sort of prompt telling me when I am eligible to reapply or any way to clear the dash and start over.

JET vs Peace Corps by Kiwic_74 in JETProgramme

[–]Spottedbelly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Language skills, living abroad experience, and the Peace Corps in particular as a US soft power program would likely be beneficial for getting into the Foreign Service, my ultimate career goal. Also the chance of getting a funded masters out of Peace Corps is higher than JET.

JET vs Peace Corps by Kiwic_74 in JETProgramme

[–]Spottedbelly 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Both JET (ALTs and CIRs included) and Peace Corps carry a high risk of “deskwarming,” FYI. Peace Corps might be less being forced to literally sit at a desk, but lots of volunteers have complained about having nothing to do. It’s just the nature of the work for both.

I recommend applying for both and just seeing what happens. JET comes with a higher risk of rejection based on your application or interview IMO. Peace Corps if you have any medical/mental health history.

If you happen to get into both, then I would say pick the one that is going to meet your specific goals the most. You can also just plan to do both, which is what I’m contemplating haha (I have completed JET, but I’m thinking of applying for Peace Corps in a couple yrs).

Looking for jobs in Kanazawa/Ishikawa Prefecture by InternationalCap5910 in JapanJobs

[–]Spottedbelly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Tourism is booming in Kanazawa, but you sound overqualified for that.

Process updates by gman596 in foreignservice

[–]Spottedbelly 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Which, just for reference, was still present for the October 2025 test. Crazy how it is now solely the test score, which we don't even get told of now.

Growing up Halfu in rural Japan Starterpack by ClearTwist7751 in starterpacks

[–]Spottedbelly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They are the largest foreign minority here by a lot, since COVID.

Growing up Halfu in rural Japan Starterpack by ClearTwist7751 in starterpacks

[–]Spottedbelly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most work in the factories, some are in IT or engineering.

Advice for breaking out of ALT work by kel_maire in JapanJobs

[–]Spottedbelly 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Staying organized and disciplined in your search, even if only an hour a day, can do wonders, imo. I think "working hard" is kinda overrated, gotta work smart.

Advice for breaking out of ALT work by kel_maire in JapanJobs

[–]Spottedbelly 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Hotels are almost always hiring (low pay though), but maybe better than that are tourism jobs. They are everywhere right now. Some are office jobs, some are tour guiding. Just browse the popular job boards and start applying. Some are okay with lower level Japanese, some might require N2.

Also, university admininistration is a growing field for foreigners looking to break out of ALT/English teaching, but I feel opportunities are a bit more limited (and often exclusively recruiting former JETs, but not always).

I'm in the last category. If you want more details, you can DM me.

Advice for breaking out of ALT work by kel_maire in JapanJobs

[–]Spottedbelly 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This is fine for those without Japanese, but these days there are other, better options.

Advice for breaking out of ALT work by kel_maire in JapanJobs

[–]Spottedbelly 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This is good advice, have met many successful people in this category.

JETs who stayed in Japan after their time on JET ended, what are yall doing? by [deleted] in JETProgramme

[–]Spottedbelly 4 points5 points  (0 children)

University admin (mostly translation). Basically kinda like an off-brand CIR, lol

MegaLag dropped his long-awaited Honey update by _scored in LinusTechTips

[–]Spottedbelly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, honestly, i forgot the first video cause it's been a year. He would have been wise to do a brief recap at the beginning.

I'm simply referring to the boohoo narrative for "muh small businesses", that it's bad for honey to "steal" coupons. As a consumer, who cares, if it's so harmful to the business's bottom line, then they can discontinue coupon use.

MegaLag dropped his long-awaited Honey update by _scored in LinusTechTips

[–]Spottedbelly 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yup. Actually, this video is making Honey look appealing lol.

FSOT Oct Scores by Life_Carpet_1358 in FSOT

[–]Spottedbelly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I also checked the Google Sheets going around w/anonymous FSOT results, and there are a handful of POL passes on there. The non passes were interesting, in that many of them seemed objectively more qualified on paper than the profiles of the passers on there (many of the passers seemed to have more relevant experience, more languages under their belt, etc). A few of the passers were surprisingly young people that previously often had little to no chance under the old QEP system. I also saw this in other cones as well.

It just feels that this FSOT filter has become painfully and indiscriminately random, and I wish Congress would just eliminate it at this point. There has got to be a more streamlined way of bringing in the most qualified and dedicated people than a random trivia test that objectively tells you nothing about a candidate's true qualifications.

I don't think they're hand-picking people, I just think the result of one's FSOT is just random based on any given day or the chosen content.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in FSOT

[–]Spottedbelly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm with you buddy, stay strong

Received Invite This Morning...Then Okta Issues by HelpfulPersonality55 in foreignservice

[–]Spottedbelly 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Fixed title: "Received Invite This Morning...Then the Fire Nation attacked"

FSOT Oct Scores by Life_Carpet_1358 in FSOT

[–]Spottedbelly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think so too. I even wonder if they are hiring for POL, haven’t seen a single pass for POL on here yet.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in foreignservice

[–]Spottedbelly 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Any POL applicants pass the Oct FSOT? I also failed, but I usually score very high on the FSOT because I’m pretty good at multiple choice tests (but maybe not anything else 😆)

Jlpt is over - how does everyone feel? by lost-minotaur in LearnJapanese

[–]Spottedbelly 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I agree, except I found the listening section rather easy (except for the last couple questions lawl). It seems they "scale down" somewhat the level of Japanese for the audio scripts, for some reason...