Recontracting Interview Part 1
Somedays it seems like I have been here FOREVER. Somedays it seems like this adventure has only just begun. On Thursday, the day of my first recontracting interview, I felt as though I had only just gotten here. How on earth could we already be talking about whether or not I wanted to stay another year.
Like most things with JET, the recontracting process starts early. After all, they have many hopeful JETs filling out the applications now, and come spring they will need to know how many positions they have for the newest batch. Not only does it start early, it also appears to be a fairly long process, which is also not surprising.
The recontracting process consists of an evaluation, two interviews, and then a final meeting (in February) to make a final decision. My first recontracting interview was held last week, and it went very well.
At the first interview we discussed, primarily, how I was feeling about my placement. Whether or not I was happy with my work, my job, my apartment, and Japan. For the most part, my answers were positive. After all, I have had a really good experience so far. Once that had been established, we moved onto discussing my goals, both personal and professional, for the remainder of the year.
Before the interview, they asked me to write a list of my personal and professional goals for the rest of this year. I am always good at doing this sort of thing, and embraced the opportunity to really think about what I wanted to gain from this experience. I came up with a few things.
Personal Goals
Professional Goals
Once I shared my goals, they took some time to share the things that they have really enjoyed about my work so far. A few things, specifically, came up.
First, they were really pleased that I seemed to have developed a good relationship with the teachers and other staff members. This has taken time, and certainly didn’t come as easily as I had initially hoped, but I am glad that it seems to have worked out.
Second, they are happy that I have gone above and beyond my duties. They really like my bulletin board, my work with the speech contest students, and the beginnings of the pen-pal program. Glad that my extra efforts have been noted.
Third, they like how “genki” I am. They like my classroom energy. Some days this is a little tougher than others, but I always try my best. I was a little nervous that I was too excited or too loud, but I guess I was worried for nothing.
In November, I will have my second Recontracting Interview where they will share the results of my evaluation and we will discuss the pros and cons of staying a second year. I look forward to seeing how I do on my formal evaluation, and I am excited to receive some more feedback.