Interac Application Process

Since the news that I am indeed now in Japan, I thought I'd make a post about my application for Interac UK. I wrote this months ago, and it's been sitting in my draft since. I didn't want to post it in its entirety because 1) I was still waiting for information from the company, and 2) I didn't want to jinx anything. So the timeline or the things mentioned might be a little off. But you'll get the gist of it.

Here's to anyone who is interested in applying for the same company, and get their foot into ALTing in Japan.

ALT and Interac, what are they?
ALT = Assistant Language Teacher. As far as I'm aware, in the Japanese context these are always English teachers, but correct me if I'm wrong. As for Interac, according to their website:

Founded in 1972, Interac is Japan’s largest private provider of professional foreign teachers to the Japanese government through its ALT program. Interac is also a significant player in providing professional teachers for commercial and government organizations.

Interac is one of the largest non-government employers of foreign nationals in Japan. It employs nearly 3,000 staff in Japan across a network of 13 offices. Around 2,750 of these employees are non-Japanese. (Source: Interac: About Us)

It's one of the many companies recruiting and sending English ALTs to Japan. Just Google 'ALT Japan jobs' and you'll likely find a list of companies, both private and government-led. But in this particular post, I will be talking about my application process for Interac.




Online application
The first time I heard about this company is through my university. A representative told us that they have open applications throughout the year, but essentially they send recruits twice a year -- mostly in March, in time for the start of Japanese school year; the other being around September or in the middle of the Japanese school year.

I had second thoughts about applying since I wasn't sure if I wanted to go back to Japan this soon. I had only been back in the UK for over a year during my final year in uni, and maybe I wanted to find work in the UK first. (Which I actually did!) But I suppose Japan still has a draw for me.

In terms of requirements, there are only 2 things you really need to have:

1. A Bachelor's degree
2. 12 years of education in the English medium

Initially, I thought I couldn't apply, but I just made it in terms of 12 years of English education. Who'd have thunk my 6 years of university life would work to my advantage. I probably would have pushed for Philippines being a bi-lingual country to be fair.

(Disclaimer: These are the requirements for Interac directly. Those applying from the Philippines through a different company appears to have a stricter set of requirements. So make sure to check before you apply.)

With those two requirements met, head to their website and apply. Their application form is quite long and you'd need quite a lot of details. Like any job application, you have the personal details, references, work experience and education to provide. On top of that, you need a cover letter of some sort, along with extra boxes for explaining your language details (if applicable), and your preferences for areas in Japan and education level to teach.

(Things that could help your application are: a fully working driver's licence, teaching experience, and teaching qualification. Of course, being able to demonstrate your English fluency is essential so make sure your application is spotless!)

So I sent my application around April, and on the same month, I got a reply saying that I got through the initial screening. Woohoo.

Initial screening
So you've now passed your initial screening, congratulations! Of course you did! You'd get an email telling you to attend a seminar-interview or have a Skype interview if you were applying outside the UK. You would have options of seminar dates, and these are held in York, London, Dublin, Oxford and Edinburgh. Take your pick or if you can't attend any of them, arrange a Skype interview.

Before the interview though, you also need to fill in a questionnaire which they'll attach to that invitation email. This has questions like what your experiences are with living in Japan, your teaching experience if any, and awareness of what being an ALT is like in Japan. Easy stuff.

Seminar-interview and documents
So you've sent your questionnaire and your interview preferences. Now you wait. For me, I was getting antsy after 2 weeks of silence so I sent them a follow up email. They replied by week 3 apologising for the delay and confirming my attendance date and location. Mine was about 3 weeks after receiving that email, which left me with plenty of time to prepare.

Prior to the seminar, you are asked to collect a couple of documents, some of which you're supposed to bring to the seminar (or send via post to their office) and some to upload on your online application. Easy enough. The only issues you're likely to have are

• obtaining a Japan-specific visa photo which are different from your generic UK passport photos. You'd need to go to your local Snappy Snaps or Jessops (do they still have this?) or anywhere that can print and cut to a specific size
• The other one is the confirmation letter from your university of when and what you studied during your time there. They ask for either an original document of your transcript or a graduation letter (normally called a 'To Whom It May Concern' letter') stamped by your university

Another thing you might want to do prior to the interview is pre-record or practice your demo video. One big part of the Interac application is doing a 6-minute demo video of yourself carrying out a short lesson. Having done it, I can say now that it's not a big deal. But with my 3 weeks of preparation before my interview, I can tell you I was constantly worrying about it to the point of questioning whether it was all worth it. But honestly, it's not as bad as it seems.