Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
After JET: plan your next career step with JLPT and SPI
Translate your JET experience into clear evidence, check a role’s requirements, and prepare for the assessment it actually uses.
- Start with
- A real job description
- Show
- Your own contribution
- Prepare for
- The named assessment
What to do after the JET Program
CLAIR offers career support for current participants and alumni, including career events, internships and job-hunting guidance. Check its current notices for eligibility and timing; participation does not guarantee employment.
Choose two or three job descriptions that interest you. Record the work, required Japanese, experience and selection stages. This gives you a useful preparation list whether you plan to work in Japan or elsewhere.
Describe your contribution in concrete terms
Original example: “Helped with school activities” gives a recruiter little detail. A more useful version might be “Adapted a pair activity into three difficulty levels with the classroom teacher, then revised the instructions after observing where learners stopped.” Use this structure only with your own truthful experience.
Keep a private evidence log: task, collaborators, your action, outcome and what you would change. Use numbers only when you can substantiate them. Avoid retaining student names or private school records in a personal portfolio.
JLPT and SPI answer different questions
JLPT evaluates Japanese proficiency through language knowledge, reading and listening. Its results can be used in employment contexts, but an employer decides which qualifications it asks for. Spoken interviews and written tasks may require separate preparation.
SPI is a recruitment assessment from Recruit Management Solutions, with ability and personality components and several delivery methods. Check the employer’s invitation for the named test and format. JET experience alone does not mean your next application will use SPI.
If SPI is required, begin with a small ability set
Use a short verbal or numerical practice set to locate a specific gap. For numerical work, record whether the issue was interpreting the condition, choosing a method, calculating or pacing. Review the method before adding more timing pressure.
Original numerical example: an event has 80 attendees, and 25% need a translated handout. That is 80 × 0.25 = 20 handouts. If attendance becomes 100 with the same proportion, calculate from the new total rather than adding 25 to the original answer.
RubricMark’s SPI practice supports verbal and numerical ability work. It does not provide a personality-test answer profile. Follow the actual assessment’s instructions and answer personal questions honestly.
A four-week preparation outline
Week one: compare real roles and identify evidence you already have. Week two: draft and review two experience examples. Week three: practise the language task or assessment named in your target application. Week four: rehearse explanations, review recurring errors and check every submission requirement.
This is an adaptable planning example. If the deadline is closer, prioritise the required application work. If no employer has named an assessment, spend the time strengthening your role research and examples before committing to a test-specific plan.
Finish with one concrete next action
Choose a task small enough to complete today: revise one experience paragraph, attempt a Japanese reading exercise, or review one numerical method. Keep the role description beside you so the activity stays connected to your goal.
Select JLPT practice for Japanese comprehension, or SPI practice for a relevant employer assessment. Review the result and choose the next task from what you found difficult.
Try it yourself
An employer’s invitation names SPI. You answered 16 of 20 practice questions correctly, but all four errors involved percentages. What should your next session focus on?
Show the answer and explanation
Review percentage bases, then try fresh percentage questions before repeating a timed set.
A topic-specific error pattern gives you a useful next task. The 80% practice accuracy is a description of that set, not an employer pass mark or a JLPT score.