I was a Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program Assistant Language Teacher for two years. By most accounts, I shouldn’t have been accepted. I graduated from a state school with a humanities degree, a handful of Japanese courses and a GPA that suffered from an impossible work-school juggling act. If this sounds familiar, this guide is for you. Inside you'll learn how to hack the admissions process with careful planning and strategic resume building in order to maximize your chances of getting accepted. More critically, you'll learn how to avoid the application landmines used to weed out candidates who approach them without caution.In addition to advice for each phase of the process - Before Applying, The Application, and The Interview - I've included an extensive list of experiences and skills to garner and develop before applying, the essay I submitted with my application in its original form, and interview questions from my experience and that of fellow JET participants.