Posts tagged First Year Liaison

Join the HAJET Prefectural Council and Leave Your Mark! Here is how!!!!

Step 1: move to Japan. Complete.

Step 2: accomplish great things in Japan. Pending…

Here’s your chance. In the up-coming weeks we will be looking for a first year JET to join the HAJET Prefectural Council (PC) as the First Year Liaison!  The position is fairly straightforward but can be transformed into nearly anything the Liaison desires. You’ll find elaboration after the break.

On its most basic level, the First Year Liaison represents the priorities of first year JETs, though the ultimate goals behind the creation of this role are to place a first year JET in a leadership position and for that leader to spend the first part of his or her term building a general knowledge of PC functioning. In years when too many first time PC members are on staff, it can be very difficult to pass knowledge and experience and keep things running smoothly. For this reason, the First Year Liaison was proposed. The First Year Liaison is elected from October to August, rather than February to February like most of the other positions, in order to assure continuity across the PC from one year to the next.

The responsibilities of the First Year Liaison are: 1) writing a monthly article for the Polestar, 2) encouraging membership among other new arrivals, and 3) offering opinions and voting on PC issues. In the end, serving in this position is a resume-building experience with great personal rewards. It’s quite ideal for someone who is looking for a way to get involved or fill some down time at work, and even more ideal for someone who wants to stay connected and help others connect in Hokkaido.  Additionally, it’s an opportunity to get in on the workings of HAJET early, before regular elections in the winter.

Though the First Year Liaison’s term runs differently from other PC positions it’s designed to suit the needs of the Liaison. If the elected First Year Liaison decides to stay for a second year and wants to run for another position on the PC in order to carry into the next year, he or she is absolutely welcome to do so. Fortunately, the busiest time for the First Year Liaison is mid-JET year, which allows both time for settling in at the beginning as well as time for taking on a new position on the council at the end of the term when the PC changes. In short, at the end of the term it’s okay to hold two positions. It’s also not necessary to be re-contracting for a second year in order to hold the First Year Liaison role. Of course, we’d love to keep you, but we don’t expect new JETs to commit to two years in their first few months on the job.

Any questions? Please email nominations@hajet.org for more information or to express your intentions to run for the First Year Liaison position! The deadline is September 14th!

If you’re interested now, please send a picture of yourself and the following information with your intentions …

1- NAME:
2- HOMETOWN / COUNTRY:
3- HOKKAIDO TOWN:
4- RANDOM POINT OF INTEREST:
5- FAVORITE MOVIE and WHY:
6- PRIOR EXPERIENCE:
7- WHY YOU ARE THE BEST CANDIDATE:
8- WHY DID YOU JOIN THE JET PROGRAMME:

We’re looking forward to hearing from you!
The HAJET PC