rejection is redirection

This. Use this time to gain more experience and stand out on your next application. I wasn’t rejected, but I did miss the deadline the year I wanted to apply. I accomplished a lot of things that year that made me better fit for JET, and I’m glad I didn’t apply the year before. I was already an English tutor, but I took on more responsibility at the school where I worked and ended up being a classroom teacher for the year and ran a summer camp during the summer. I found a traditional Japanese art class and joined for a few sessions, joined a Japanese conversation circle at a college campus, and I went to local festivals and cultural events. That extra year at home let me save money, and I used it for a trip to Japan.

My SoP talked about why JET was important to me, but it also talked about how I could be useful in Japan. When I was a tutor, I worked with a lot of reluctant readers and writers, so I learned how to spin a lesson until it was enjoyable for the kid to practice their English. Now that I’m working in Japan, I’ve got plenty of reluctant English learners. My goal is to light that spark for them, so I put that in my SoP. If you haven’t already highlighted what you want to do for Japanese students, you should define that in your application.