Olivia Lee | Interview with JET Internship Participants

Why did you decide to participate in the JET Internship Programme?

I decided to participate in the programme, because I plan to find a job in Japan outside of JET in the future. Since I’ve experienced working in a government office for a couple of years as a CIR, I was especially interested in seeing what the working culture was like at a private company in Japan. My placement is more rural so I was also interested in what the work culture would be like in a larger city.

What type of work were you expecting to do before the internship?

I was set to intern at a small company which works with inbound tourism and I expected to do work with writing tourism content on the company’s website or SNS accounts.

What type of work did you experience during the internship?

At the internship, I mainly worked on translating documents related to sightseeing spots and products, from English into Japanese. I also helped make a video to introduce a sightseeing spot and a tourism initiative of the company. The experience let me work closely with the company staff, and I was able to explore some new areas of Tokyo as part of filming the video.

What did you get out of the programme?

The programme gave me insight into what it would be like to work at a small private company. I found it interesting how different the company’s atmosphere and work culture was from my office with the JET Programme, such as the differences with technology in the office, or with rules in the office.

After participating in the internship, how do you feel about working in Japan in the future?

I would like to work in Japan in the future. After learning about what it would like to work at small private company through the programme, I would like to consider applying to small companies when I start my job search outside of JET. The experience also gave me a glimpse into what work life in Tokyo, or a larger city would look like, which also makes me feel more prepared if I were to work in a large city in the future.

Message to JET Programme participants who might consider participating in the JET Internship Programme in the future:

I think participating in this programme makes for a good experience to see what a different work culture is like from your current workplace as a JET participant. For JETs who didn’t have much work experience outside of JET, the experience could help guide you in your job search after JET, as it can give you insight on what kind of workplace is right for you. Furthermore, depending on the type of work you do at your internship, you can also use it as an opportunity to challenge yourself and try new things.