~Article and photos from Laura Massingham, Vice President, JETAA Queensland~
On Thursday 1
0 March, JETAA Queensland committee members manned a booth at the Griffith University career fair to promote the JET Programme to soon-to-be university graduates.
We spoke with some great potential candidates from a range of disciplines. Some of our visitors already knew of the JET Programme and were keen to speak with us about our amazing experiences. Others were totally unaware of the Programme, spoke no Japanese, but went away with a new option to consider after they graduate. This is the first year we have attended the Griffith University Gold Coast careers fair. We have had a booth at the University of Queensland (UQ) careers fair in Brisbane every year for more than ten years, and we have found it to be a valuable promotional activity for the JET Programme.
At this year’s JET Programme interviews, several candidates mentioned that they heard about the JET Programme at the UQ careers fair. That was us! Hearing that comment from quality applicants who have made it to the interview round reaffirmed in our minds that our annual careers fair activity is achieving one of our keys goals to promote the Programme. This year we thought we’d try a different university, and sure enough, the experience was just as successful. It is a tangible reward to see people’s faces light up when they realise what a great opportunity the JET Programme offers, and that they have a real chance of being a part of it.
Next year we plan to ask CLAIR for funding for booths at both the UQ and Griffith careers fairs. We strongly encourage other chapters to do the same at their local universities.
Special thanks goes to Koike-san from CLAIR Sydney for joining us at the booth and providing the promotional materials.