Michael Page Japan

Michael Page Japan is another basic, run-of-the-mill, terrible recruiting company. From their website, they are a British company with about 1 billion pounds in revenue and more than 5,000 employees. They are listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Already, by the fact that they are a public company with large revenues and numerous employees, this should be a red alert to people. They are a churn factory, and what they do is push people to any number of random positions to meet quota. They will put a furniture worker for an IT data engineer role because, hey, wood working could actually be seen as an engineer of some sorts! Or they may put an English teacher forward for a country manager role, because, hey, this guy has lived overseas and is an international man of mystery!

I have used Michael Page Japan several times. I went to their shitty old offices in Kamiyacho where they tried to portray themselves as international-chic, but they are no more than a bunch of old JET and English teachers who are trying to find a way to stay in Japan without teaching English. It's as simple as that. The Japanese staff there, meanwhile, are washed up corporate rejects who are unemployable and have no skills other that goma suru and brown nosing their bosses, while working as loyal robots with no opinions of their own. Their former country manager is a Euro-dork who is completely clueless and is a passive aggressive moron.

In my next post, I will talk about specific examples of their ineptitude.

Another reason why I hate Robert Half Japan

Last month, I met one of their recruiters at an offsite place in Tokyo. She was nice enough, but invariably spewed the company line. "Robert Half is the leader in the industry, blah blah blah, we have contacts with all of the top companies, blah blah blah".

So I said ok, lets see what you've got. I put my resume for a job which I fit pretty well for. They said I should get an interview. I asked if this required native level Japanese skills, which I do not have. I am fluent, but I don't have quite the level yet to be considered native. They said no, all it requires is business Japanese and that they need a native English speaker to talk to the clients and staff. So this sounded great. I thought I was in.

One week pass, no response.

Second week passes, no response.

I start thinking something is fishy. I send email and phone calls to that recruiter. Nothing. Fuck that! I get fed up and then emailed their main email line and her. Not surprisingly, she responds in a few minutes. "Oh, they actually were looking for a native Japanese speaker. Sorry for this, but I will continue to keep looking for opportunities for you."

WTF! Why did you fucking waste my time and effort if this was the case?! Shit. I could have saved my paid time off instead of wasting a half day to go meet this chick. Piece of crap is what I say. I will add more stories in the future. This is just the tip.

Nikkei Career Net site

Nikkei Career Net site

This is a popular career website in Japan. It predominantly features Japanese companies and recruiters. Also, the majority of the postings are entirely in Japanese so I'd advise either being able to read some key words in Japanese or get an online translation of the sites. There are good selections of job posts, but as with most of these kinds of sites, strong Japanese ability is needed, at least for reading. Also, when you actually receive a email from these guys, more often than not, the email will be in Japanese as these recruiters can only function in that language. However, there are some great jobs.

Consider searching by keywords such as "English", "xxx English", or something to that effect. This site also requires you to register and upload your resume. This is actually a good, time saving tool which can allow you to mass apply with a click of the mouse.

Antelope Career Consulting

Antelope is a top recruiting company in Tokyo. Based in Hibiya, it has a network with most of the top financial firms as well as firms in other industries. However, it is primarily known as a financial industry and consulting industry recruiting firm.

Their staff is completely Japanese, but a couple of them speak decent English. One person worked in the US for a time, and he can hold conversation easily. Don't let the lack of Japanese language skills dissuade you from applying. I find most professional Japanese have a decent level of English comprehension although their speaking is something that requires work.

From their website, they work with the following types of companies:

Financial industry
Investment banks
Private equity/Investment funds
Asset managment/hedge funds
Venture capital companies
Commercial banks
Trust banks
Real estate finance companies
Government-affiliated finance compane

Consulting industry
Strategy consulting firms
Financial consulting firms
Recycling consulting
Human resources consulting
General/IT consulting
Medical consulting
Others

Site update

I've added a search box for jobs from Indeed, which is actually a Japanese company. This site searches and crawls for job postings based on keyword and location. What I recommend is to enter something broad like "English", "English speaking", and similar phrases in the keyword section, and of course location is up to you. Be aware that the huge majority of English speaking jobs will be in Tokyo, with Osaka and possibly Kobe, Fukuoka and other smaller regional cities with limited opportunities available. I will go into what companies you can find outside of Tokyo, with an emphasis on foreign, multinational companies. 

Book Recommendations

There are lots of online material out there, but I found that certain books still provide the most pertinent and relevant information. I reviewed several books prior to coming to Japan, and I found these to be the best in terms of depth of information, practicality, and knowledge. Check them out for more info.

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.)

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.

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.