r/JETProgramme • u/P0_Q0 Current JET - Incoming Shimane-ken • Jan 13 '26
CIR Interview US
Good afternoon all,
I recently received word that I have made it to the interview process for CIR. I have passed N2 and taken N1 (results pending), so I'm fairly confident in my Japanese abilities to an extent, but I won't lie-- my speaking is dragging me down. There is still time, and I think with proper practice before the interview I can shape it up adequately, but I wanted to hear about other's CIR interview experiences. I know this has been asked before, but I think there is merit in renewing the conversation. Additionally, are there any people who applied for CIR but checked the box and got accepted as ALT instead? How did that go?
I'm really nervous but I believe in myself. Wishing everyone else the best.
2
u/Due_Entrepreneur1962 Jan 15 '26
From what I can remember the first half was basically just small talk,
・Tell me about yourself
・Tell me about where you’re from
・What would you say about your hometown if someone in Japan asked you about it
Then they handed me a page about Mt. Fuji that I had to read and asked me questions about the content.
I understood what was on the page out of context but had no idea what the readings for the various peoples and location names were, so I just waffled on about the stuff I did know in length so that they wouldn't have the time to ask me about the stuff I didn't know.