I interviewed at the Chicago location in February 2018. My first interview was the standard panel interview and practically all in English. (This part was a cinch.) There were two native speakers and one JET alumni. We chatted for about 15-20 minutes and then I was sent to another room with another native speaker who had me give a short self-introduction, then had me read a short essay in Japanese and asked me some questions on it. This one was slightly more difficult.

It was a very hard interview because I was asked to answer many ALT questions instead of CIR. In the beginning of the interview, they asked me whether I read Japanese news, (being the extremely honest person I am) I answered "No, I don't but if it is a part of my job, I would do all I can to learn." However, they weren't very happy about it so my interview geared more towards the ALT side instead. (just my own reasonings, might not be actually "why" they decided to change topics) Most of the questions were in Japanese instead of English, making it extra difficult. As well, I was asked to give a japanese presentation on the spot. Although I was very prepared and have passed the N1 exam, it was still harder than I have imagined. Mock teachings are usually not a CIR question but I was asked to give quite a few on the spot. All in all, I don't think my experience was a "normal" JET interview. I haven't received the outcome yet.