Popular career search sites

As mentioned in an earlier post, there are several major recruiters/headhunters in Japan that assist with foreigners in looking for positions in Japan. My default location will be Tokyo as most of the positions will be here. I will review some of the major recruiting firms as I have had interactions with all of them. For now, I will also share some popular websites that post jobs. Today I will talk about CareerCross. CareerCross is the flagship website of C.C. Consulting in Tokyo, established by a foreigner. It is the first such site from a foreigner and is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, job sites in Japan.

Pros
The site has numerous postings ranging from industries, language levels, locations, and other attributes. They provide an extensive and broad selection of career opportunities.

Cons
The majority of the job posts are done by recruiting firms. There is a group of the usual recruiting firms who dominate this site with their postings.Often, the same position is posted by several of these recruiters. Also, another major negative is the lack of knowledge about the posted position by these recruiters, of whom many are newly hired former English language teachers.

In my next post, I will talk more about CareerCross and how to find specific jobs, use certain keywords, and sort out the useless companies.

Specialized study/ training in a traditional Japanese cultural activity

The Cultural Activities Visa is available for participation in advanced or specialized training in a traditional Japanese artform, including (but not limited to): ikebana, Japanese tea ceremonies, martial arts or fine art.

This visa requires both sponsorship by an artisan or educational institution in Japan willing to sponsor your study, as well as proof that the applicant can financially support themselves while living in Japan for the length of the visa. (This is done by providing bank statements or other similar documents.)

Studying in Japan

Studying in Japan requires a Student Visa, which is obtained via the school in which the applicant will attend while residing in Japan.

 

Individuals may receive a student visa via several options, including: University study abroad year/semester (check with your college study abroad office); attending a Japanese university; or, attending a Japanese language school that offers visa sponsorship.

 

Certain individuals may be allowed to work part-time.

 

You must apply to and be accepted by your respective program or school in order to receive this visa. You cannot receive a student visa without having proof of acceptance or enrollment in a valid visa-issuing program.

I want to work in Japan

Americans who want to work in Japan

 

Japan is home to several U.S. military installations. Active duty military may be deployed to these installations depending on your branch of service, among other factors. Please note that all active US military are required to live on-base while stationed in Japan.

 

Many civilian (non-military) contract and full-time positions in Japan are available to US citizens and can be found on USA Jobs. Rules regarding living on base vary by installation. As most of these positions are on military installations, there are very few opportunities in or near large cities, including Tokyo.

 

U.S. citizens working for the U.S. government in Japan (including diplomatic employees) do not receive a working visa. The U.S. and Japan has a special diplomatic agreement called SOFA that governs these unique individuals.

 

Australia/NewZealand/Canada/Korea/France/Germany/UK/Ireland/Denmark/Taiwan/Hong Kong/Norway/Portugal/Poland/Slovakia/Austria and want to live in Japan

 

Are you between the ages of 18 and 30? Are you a legal resident of one of the above countries? Then you qualify for the Working Holiday Visa. This visa allows you to live and work (with restrictions) in Japan for up to one year.

 

This visa requires a round trip ticket to the applicant's home country, as well as proof that the applicant can financially support themselves while living in Japan for the length of the visa. (This is done by providing bank statements or other similar documents.)

 

The following requirements are needed:
•For a national of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Poland or Slovakia, an applicant must be currently residing in his or her country of nationality; for a resident in Hong Kong, an applicant must possess a valid HKSAR or British National Overseas passport; for a resident in Taiwan, an applicant must possess a valid passport of Taiwan.
•Intending primarily to spend holiday in Japan for a specific length of time.
•Between 18 and 30 years of age both inclusive at the time of application for the visa; As for Australia, Canada and Republic of Korea, an applicant should be between 18 and 25 years of age except in those cases where the competent authorities of Japan agree to extend the limitation of age to 30 years.
•Not being accompanied by dependents or children.
•Possessing a valid passport of his or her country/region and a return travel ticket or sufficient funds with which to purchase such a ticket.
•Possessing reasonable funds for the maintenance of his/her stay during the initial period of stay in Japan.
•In good health.
•Never having been issued a Japanese working holiday visa in the past.

Common questions

I want to work in Japan

If you wish to work in Japan in any capacity, you will need a work visa. Work visas are divided in several categories, and each specific working visa subset generally requires its own unique requirements to be issued. Work visas require the applicant to have a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) issued by the applicant's prospective employer. You will not be able to obtain a work visa without the COE. A COE is essentially equivalent to a job offer; you can't have one without the other. No job offer? No COE and no work visa. You can obtain a job offer (and thus, a COE) by applying for jobs with Japanese employers while overseas. This also includes teaching positions as an ALT or eikawa English instructor. With the exception of a few very unique working visas or very unique exceptions, almost all work visas require the applicant to have a four-year college degree.

Indeed.com

Indeed.com is the best online job board for finding jobs. I have looked at several sites and after experimenting and testing other sites, Indeed has proven to be the best by far. You can search by keyword and city/location. I prefer to set the keyword to "English" and city to "Tokyo" for example to get the most results possible.

Indeed Job Search

キーワード:

勤務地:

からの求人

Other ways to find a job

Networking

Meetup, various social events in Tokyo and major cities, community events, etc.

 

 

Side jobs

Voice actor

Voice recording

Stand in/movie extras     

Convenience store worker

Delivery workers

Teaching English

Scouting sports—especially soccer, basketball for real time data

Tokyo American Club: various jobs including lifeguard, receptionist, graphic designer, teacher, etc.

Freelancing jobs

Another way to make money while living in Japan after you secure your job is through freelance work. I highly suggest looking for supplementary income as the pay in Japan is generally lower than what you would expect.

A site I recommend is Legit Writing Jobs which has helped me get some additional work. I have made enough at times to pay my bills or even a whole month's worth of groceries. Consider this as a good way to prop up your earnings.

More Ways to Find a Job

Tokyo Employment Service Center for Foreigners

http://tokyo-foreigner.jsite.mhlw.go.jp/english.html

The Tokyo Employment Service Center for Foreigners (Nishi Shinjuku Center) is a public employment office specializing in providing job counseling and placement services for non-Japanese students holding a STUDENT 留学 status (visa) and non-Japanese specialists or technical experts holding a corresponding status (visa) who live in Japan and seek employment in Japan.  The center is run by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

 

The Nishi Shinjuku Center (Tokyo Employment Service Center for Foreigners) administers the following services:

·Job counseling and placement services for non-Japanese students who desire to work in Japan after graduating

·Job counseling and placement services for non-Japanese specialists or technical experts holding a corresponding residential status (visa) such as ENGINEER 技術,SPECIALIST IN HUMANITIES/INTERNATIONAL SERVICES人文国際, SKILLED LABOR技能, INSTRUCTOR教育

· Immigration advisory services

 

Interpreters are available in English and Chinese by appointment between 9:15 am - 5:15 pm

 

The Kabukicho Center (Shinjuku Foreigners’ Employment Assistance and Guidance Center) provides similar services:

•Job Counseling and placement services for non-Japanese job seekers whose status has no restrictions on occupation such as SPOUSE OR CHILD OF JAPANESE NATIONAL日本人配偶者等, LONG TERM RESIDENT定住, PERMANENT RESIDENT永住

•Job counseling and placement services for WORKING HOLIDAY status (visa) holders

•Job counseling and placement services for STUDENT留学 and DEPENDENT家族滞在 status(visa) holders seeking a PART-TIME job

• Immigration advisory services

 

Interpreters are available in English and Chinese by appointment.

 

For hours, location and map, select the Shinjuku Foreigners' Employment Assistance and Guidance Center

 

Other Employment Service Centers for non-Japanese job seekers:

Osaka Employment Service Center for Foreigners

Nagoya Employment Service Center for Foreigners

 

 

Another Way to Find a Job

Boston Career Forum (BCF)

 

It is the preeminent career forum for bilingual Japanese-English fresh graduates to look for employment with top firms in Japan. It is held in November every year in Boston, and many executives from top firms come here with the sole purpose of giving out job offers during this time. It is also open to mid-career professionals as well, although most of the positions being offered are geared toward new graduates or young professionals.

The recommended qualifications are:

•Japanese-English bilingual (minimum conversational level) and one of the following: •Graduated from or currently enrolled in a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Ph.D. program outside of Japan

•Graduated from or currently enrolled in a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Ph.D. program in Japan including at least one year of study abroad

•Mid-career professionals

In the most recent BCF in November 2015, 195 companies participated including some of the biggest names out there such as Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Deloitte, Sony, Hitachi, Toyota Motor Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui, Mitsubishi Corporation, McKinsey, Konica Minolta, Softbank, and others.

 

I attended the forum as a graduate student a while back, and I was able to secure a couple of interviews with consulting firms and financial institutions which eventually led up to additional rounds of interviews but, unfortunately, no offer. My biggest weakness at the time was my complete lack of Japanese skills. I only knew a few words, but I had a desire to live and work in Japan as my wife is Japanese and I wanted a new experience.

How to Get these Jobs

Recruiters: Michael Page, Robert Half, Intelligence GlobalSearch, Vision Consulting, JAC, Robert Walters, Recruit, EnWorld        

Caveat: I have dealt with nearly all of these recruiters in my time here. Frankly, most of them are rather useless although I did get my first job at a large financial services company through one of them. The key is to find a niche or a specific job description where your skills fit in, either roughly or very specific. I will explain what I mean. These recruiters are tasked with finding bilingual English-Japanese speakers for their clients. Given that many Japanese are very poor in English speaking, some companies will be more lenient with foreigners who have limited Japanese skills yet have a strong background and matching skills for the position. Modifying and targeting your resume by emphasizing your financial analysis skills or your years of legal experience, and mitigating the weakness of your Japanese skills (if that is the case) by showing a determination to learn and apply what you have learned helps a long way to securing an interview. I have had interviews done completely in Japanese, even with my limited skills at the time, as I had shown an interest in learning Japanese, improved my reading and speaking skills to the point where I could read newspaper articles and have full conversations without any hestiation

 

Job sites: Careercross, Daijob, Glassdoor, Nikkei Career, Tenshoku En World, Linkedin, Career Engine, Gaijinpot, Twitter: search by “Tokyo Jobs”, jp.linkedin.com, search by “ネイティブ英語”

Typical Jobs Part 2

Public Relations/International Marketing

Overseas business development

IT-server/network admin/developer

Translation

 

Specialized financial/legal positions

Front office sales and trading for investment banks often only require conversational Japanese and fluent English. However, these are far and few in between recently with the market moving overseas and jobs being cut and not returning.

Consulting

Expat

U.S. military- many civilian positions on base and around.

Tokyo American Club

Typical Jobs Part 1

English teaching

Assistant Language Teacher (ALT)

A foreign national serving as an assistant teacher in a Japanese classroom, particularly for English.
It is also known as Assistant English Teacher (AET), English Language Teacher (ELT) and Native English Speaking Assistant (NESA). ALTs assist in teaching English in schools in Japan. Some ALTs do teach other languages.

ALTs are required to be university graduates, but they are usually not certified teachers like their Japanese colleagues.

JET program

This is a Japanese government initiative that sends native English speakers who are university graduates to Japan as either an ALT, Sports Education Advisor (SEA) or a Coordinator for International Relations (CIR) in capacities in local governments or boards of educations. This program draws candidaes from more than 40 countries.

Eikaiwa (English conversation schools)

These are privately operated English conversation schools with the major chains being ECC, GABA, Nova, GEOS, AEON, Berlitz.

Many people find full time jobs with them or supplement their income with doing part time teaching.

 

 

Types of Visas

Working visas

Professor (Examples: university professor, assistant professor, assistant, etc.)

Artist (Examples: composers, songwriters, artists, sculptors, craftspeople, photographers, etc.)

Religious activities (Examples: religious people such as monks, bishops, missionaries, etc.)

Journalist (Examples: newspaper journalists, magazine journalists, editors, news cameramen, announcers, etc.)

Business manager (Examples: company presidents, directors, etc.)

Legal/Accounting services (Examples: attorneys, judicial scriveners, public accountants, tax accountants, etc. certified in Japan)

Medical services (Examples: physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, etc. certified in Japan)

Researcher (Examples: researchers, investigators, etc. at research institutes, etc.)

Tsukuba University is well known for hiring many international researchers as it is attempting

Instructor (Examples: teachers, etc. at elementary schools, intermediate schools and high schools)

Engineer/Specialist in humanities/International services (Examples: scientific engineers, IT engineers, foreign language teachers, interpreters, copywriters, designers, etc.)

Intra-company transferee (Examples: people transferred to the Japanese branch (head office of the same company, etc.)

Entertainer (Examples: musicians, actors, singers, dancers, sportspeople, models, etc.)

Skilled labor (Examples: chefs specializing in the food of a foreign country, animal trainers, pilots, sports trainers, sommeliers, etc.)

 

General visa

Cultural activities (Examples: unpaid internships, people studying the tea ceremony or Japanese flower arranging, etc.)

Student (Examples: college students, pre-college students, etc.)

Training (Examples: trainees in a local government, etc.)

Dependent (Family stays) (Examples: The spouse and children of a foreign national with working visa, etc.)

General visa: Technical intern training (i)(a)/(b) (Examples: Technical intern)

 

Specified visa

Spouse or child of Japanese national (Examples: spouse of a Japanese national, biological child of a Japanese national)

Spouse of permanent resident (Examples: spouse of a permanent resident)

Long-term resident (Examples: persons with Japanese ancestry, Indochinese refugee settlers, the spouse or children of Japanese nationals left behind in China, etc.)

Designated activities (Examples: foreign nationals who wish to enter Japan as personal help privately employed by diplomats, etc., foreign nationals who wish to enter Japan for a working holiday or for paid internships, candidate nurses and care workers who wish to enter Japan based on an EPA, etc.)

Designated activities (Long Stay for sightseeing and recreation)

 

Diplomatic visa

Diplomat (Examples: diplomatic agents, diplomatic couriers, etc.)

 

Official visa

Official (Examples: administrative and technical staffs of diplomatic missions and members of the service staff, etc.)

Overview of Japan Visa System

Certificate of Eligibiligy (COE) application, switch to work visa

What is a Certificate of Eligibility?

 

A COE is issued before a visa application by a regional immigration authority under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice as evidence that the foreign national meets the conditions for landing in Japan, including the requirements that the activity in which the foreign national wishes to engage in Japan at the time of the landing examination is not fraudulent and is an activity that comes under a status of residence (excluding Temporary Visitor Status) stipulated in the Immigration Control Act. Application for the COE by a proxy in Japan is allowed.

 

 

Japan Visas

For most visas, a degree is necessary. Companies may choose to sponsor potential employees if they have the requisite skills and experience for the position. Such positions typically are found in the technology or computer related industries, including animation, 3D, games, programming.

For more info:
http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/

Working in Japan part 2

The common stereotype and perception is of a native English speaker, typically from the United States, England, Canada, and other western countries, teaching English at an eikaiwa (English conversation school) or in other English or language related venues.

 

My experience is not dissimilar to that of many foreign nationals living here in Japan. I have lived and worked in Tokyo for the past decade, and I have experienced a wide variety of professional occupations prior to coming here. While in Tokyo, I have had the fortune of having had two professional jobs and I have never taught English. I first worked at an international financial institution with its headquarters in New York.  In this role, I barely used any Japanese and conducted my work exclusively in English as I interacted with clients and colleagues from all over Japan, Asia, and the rest of the world. Unfortunately, such roles these days are rare and increasingly non-existent.

 

The reality of the situation is that if you don’t have fluent Japanese language skills, the odds of you finding a fulfilling and challenging position is low. Improving your Japanese skills to Level N2 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) will work wonders in helping you find a position with a company. This will indicate not only your communication skills, but also your desire to pursue a lengthy career in Japan. As job hopping is not common and even frowned upon in Japan, employers are seeking a person who can communicate and has the mindset of staying committed to the company for the long term. Now, whether you agree with this or not, what is most important is to get the job and the visa first, and then if you are not interested in staying for much longer, then start searching while being employed concurrently.

Working in Japan

Working and living in Japan is a desire that many people share. In this ever increasing globalized world, an overseas experience not only helps one’s life experience but also can prove beneficial to a professional career. Japan has become extremely popular recently with the proliferation of the manga and games industry, as well as the Cool Japan initiative promoting cultural aspects of modern Japan. Japanese pop music along with lifestyle trends populate popular magazines all around the world, and people have gravitated to this. Not to mention, the traditional culture of the country also attracts an older, more professional group who are looking to explore and experience the tranquility and famed politeness of the society. There is no shortage of reasons to live and enjoy Japan, but the main issue is how exactly to do so? We will answer a few of these questions. Unless you are married to a Japanese national, holding a college degree is a requisite in obtaining a working visa. There is the exception for non-Americans from countries including the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, etc. to come to Japan on a working holiday visa which allows such individuals to work in Japan for a limited period of time.



Start Your Life in Japan does a good job of summarizing the main points of how to find a job and move to Japan. Check it out.