# How did you get your job in Japan



## ssaku

Maybe it’s just me but I’ve been trying to get employed in Japan for about half a year now and I have been a bit down on my luck. I would really want to read about how you made it? 
Last year I did a 5 month student exchange and a 6 month internship in Japan. My Japanese is not perfect but I can get my point across and I am at the “new” JLPT 3 Level. I have a degree in International Business and some working experience in Japan and in Canada. Now I am back in Canada and job hunting.
I am not rich or anything and have my student loan debt hanging over my head so I can’t just get up and go to Japan but I would love to find work there. 
I would love to read some of your stories mainly for motivation…to see that it does happen . 
So…. please…share


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## larabell

ssaku said:


> I would really want to read about how you made it?


This is my second time moving to Japan and both times I was sent over by a US-based employer (the second time around they actually hired me with the express intention of sending me to Japan because I had lived here before). That would be my recommendation. Find a company in Canada with a significant presence in Japan and continue to work on your Japanese. Most Western companies who do any significant business here need someone from the home office to help with communication between the cultures. Having been here before, you'd be the obvious choice. Of course, you might have to wait for times to become a bit less tight for the actual move, but you'd at least have a chance. (It took more than two years between the time I initially voiced my interest in moving to Japan and the time my company actually found a position here that I could fill -- you may have to be patient.)

My current employer is actually a company that bought my previous employer (from before I moved here the second time) and they were willing to offer me a job working with a group in the States but telecommuting from Japan. I have a friend from the UK who is in the same position -- he came over on a "working holiday" visa and about six months later his UK-based employer offered him his old job back but working from Japan. Of course, that's more common in tech fields than in business but your degree means that you should be a valuable commodity for any company that does business on both sides of the Pacific -- it's just that right now isn't a good time to be looking for a job on either side.

The guy who replaced me at my previous company came here as a transferee. One reason companies are reluctant to send people overseas on assignment is because housing, taxes, and other benefits can get expensive very quickly. If you make it known to any prospective employers that you'd be open to a transfer without all the expensive benefits (assuming you actually are open to that), you might have a better chance, even in the current economy.

Of course, you could always start dating Japanese girls and see what happens...


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## djrajn

i also need some help motivating hands.
i want to settle in japan.. Thinking of finding job or getting admission on study basis..

Any can tell me about getting scholarship?? Or any corrrespondence study university/College for automobile/electrical/mechanical engg?


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## drifting79

Why are you so keen on moving to japan


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## Rube

Does it matter?


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## GeorgefromBG

Same story here as with the OP! So please guys and girls, don't be shy and share. Everybody here started somewhere else.


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## Rube

When I came to Japan you could pretty much get a job just by showing up to an interview because there were so few of us here. People were practically begging to throw 10,000 yen at any foriengner just to talk for an hour and call it a lesson. Girls used to stand on coffee tables and super short body tight dresses and wave feathered fans around till the sun came up. Times have changed.


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## Guest

have moved here in October this year, went to TESL course and got my TESOL certificate so I can be more marketable as a Teacher of English, I could also teach German, my native language. You just have to peruse the sites that offer jobs for foreigners. Here is one: ???????????????? Daijob.com????????????? ???????????????????????????
This one lists jobs for foreigners, the qualifications, etc in all sectors of economy. I think that since so many foreigners have left Japan after the 2 recent natural disasters it will work to anyone's advantage who is new here or for the ones coming. I am here to stay!


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## GeorgefromBG

marzipan did you go on a working holiday visa or you got a proper sponsored one.
I kind of envy you guys for that working holiday visa. I don't have that option.
I wish I could say that last thing you said there too.


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## Guest

*how did you get your job in Japan*



GeorgefromBG said:


> marzipan did you go on a working holiday visa or you got a proper sponsored one.
> I kind of envy you guys for that working holiday visa. I don't have that option.
> I wish I could say that last thing you said there too.


No, I don't get a working holiday as a US citizen. I'm here on my own money trying to find a job, have an interview with a private school next week. It's hard to get a sponsorship from overseas when you're not in the younger crowd anymore. Once I got here, I went to TESOL school and got my certificate, so I'm more marketable now and also could teach German. 
Anyway, some schools online claim that you have to have a native 12 year English education, according to the Japanese Dpt. of Justice but that is not true!!!
My teachers, who have been here for over 20 years and taught in the public school system here, told me of a man in his 40's getting a teaching job at a school.
I came here for an interview with a language school/ company. When they found out that I don't have a work visa they didn't hire me.


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## Guest

*how did you get your job in Japan*



GeorgefromBG said:


> marzipan did you go on a working holiday visa or you got a proper sponsored one.
> I kind of envy you guys for that working holiday visa. I don't have that option.
> I wish I could say that last thing you said there too.


I don't have that option either. here is a website that lists a lot of very specific engineering rubrics and some of these as openings in Tokyo and Japan:
TNT World Wide KK
gumbatte!


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## GaijinBuddhist

I have a similar question - does anyone know any resources for getting teaching jobs other than teaching English? I'm a university teacher but not teaching english. In the USA we have the Chronicle of Higher Education that lists virtually all university teaching jobs - anything like that or any job service for educators in Tokyo?


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## Guest

*how did you get your job in Japan*

I have only seen the listings for English teachers on the university levels. Try googleing it. Of course, if you use dogpile the search response might be more comprehensive. For teaching subjects on the university level you might be asked to be at least on the conversational level in Japanese and have a certain number of years experience in teaching. There are many Universities here in Tokyo. They just opened up a new English speaking program at a Kobe University, has to do with business, I believe. I don't know the details, just saw in in browsing by. Good luck or gumbatte!


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## Kathrinjapan

Not sure what your university teaching subject was, but if you do not find takers on the university, Kumon or private international school level, then you may want to look into private tutoring.


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## nevaeh

Gaijinpot is OK, but if you are applying for an English teaching position or something that requires no Japanese, be prepared to be one of 2000 candidates. Have you guys tried careerjet? Search for your keyword (in Japanese AND English). I've found it's the best site, and not only for Japan.

I usually search for "Legal English" and I get about 5 results a day. If I search for the same thing in Japanese it's about 30.


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## Guest

I know .... that is how gaijinpot operates. you have to compete with overseas people, kids just out of college and their native English might be nothing but peculiar slang! there are numerous other websites also. English teaching might not be the route for those of us whose native language is NOT English. Some schools here are very picky. Also, only those with a college/university degree get a visa sponsorship offered.


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## Lila87

I don't know why, but me personally, I don't feel a need to visit Japan - Europe is a better option for me..


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## Guest

I don't know why you even wrote a comment here as this thread pertains to jobs in Japan


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## lorgnette

Was scouted while vacation in NZ. COE took less than 3 weeks and reached me after Christmas. Delayed start date due to busy NY holidays. Contract renewed. Terms were generous.


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## Guest

*how did you get your job in Japan*



lorgnette said:


> Was scouted while vacation in NZ. COE took less than 3 weeks and reached me after Christmas. Delayed start date due to busy NY holidays. Contract renewed. Terms were generous.


You must be a 24 year old just out of college. People like you don't have any problems with that.


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## lorgnette

People like you don't have any problems with that.[/QUOTE]

Unbelievable but yes, the current decade has been kind to my family and I. Tokyo is a challenge in space, language and culture. Our initial months were tough but once we earned their trust, we work and live well over here.

Our needs simplified and we learn to live with minimalism- sleep well on tatami mats and futons. We adopt simple Japanese and English exchanges, without sarcasm.

You are right, I have no issues. I enjoy the people and its crafts. Was recommended and enjoyed the local meats esp black beef and pork takyubin-ed from Kagoshima. Have you tried?


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## Guest

Tokyo is not typical Japanese, but the rest of Japan is. I don't eat black beef, neither do I sleep on a tatami mat, but sleep on a Western bed.
There are big issues involved with English teaching here in Japan. So, since this is a thread about jobs in Japan, I will address myself to this theme specifically...
When you're just out of College, you can get a job here teaching English with no problem, no matter how your accent sounds like as long as you are a native speaker. 
The overall situation has gotten so bad by now that
the rest of Japan is getting very demanding in their requirements, even downright rude.
I posted my resume on a very reliable site for ESL and had a recruiter from Korea after me. Unbelievable benefits and a very positive tone.
I didn't come here to Japan to get laid, be drunk in Public, make fun of Japanese culture or the people but for permanent settlement.
There is more to Japan than the initial top layer some people experience. IF I were a 24 year old "native" speaker with a college degree, yes, there wouldn't be any issue. Since I am older, have beyond the asked for qualifications but no work visa AND am living off of my own money, I don't take this lightly.
SO, excuse me if your earlier comment comes of as boasting to those of us who are trying hard as if to say: " I got a job in Japan immediately, what's wrong with you?"
One school explained the tough situation in Japan like this: Because of economic troubles worldwide, many English speakers seek employment overseas, and the bust of one of the major language companies in Japan left thousands of ESL teachers jobless here, the competition is very fierce this year.
Anybody, who's reading this comment, I give some advice: don't look at gaijinpot. That website is for the birds. Find links that offer more listed and where employers aren't so picky.


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## lorgnette

IF I were a 24 year old "native" speaker with a college degree, yes, there wouldn't be any issue. Since I am older, have beyond the asked for qualifications but no work visa AND am living off of my own money, I don't take this lightly.
SO, excuse me if your earlier comment comes of as boasting to those of us who are trying hard as if to say: " I got a job in Japan immediately, what's wrong with you?"

It was never meant to be a boast. It was unbelievable when they made an offer, and initially I declined. We discussed the trust they had given especially Japan being conservative, normally preferred face to face interviews and they accepted me based on C.V and teleconference. 

so the next day, I humbly apologized and accepted the position, fortunately they graciously agreed. It made me doubly humble although I respected their conviction in shortlisting me as a sole candidate. 

Our first day, when we looked down the streets and saw ladies lined up on streets in lovely kimonos on Coming to Age day, it was like a dream and many days later, it still was. 

Like you, I am older not 24. Where did you get the idea?


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## Guest

Perhaps you don't realize how some people struggle to get employment in Japan, so when you posted your comment, it can be viewed as a boast. You are just extremely lucky. When I wrote that you must be 24 and just out of college and have no issues, your response was that you didn't have any, so I assumed you were that age. I am a lot older than that. When you struggle like I have been and then somebody comes here and writes how easy it was for them what do you think people feel like who are in a situation like mine?
Not everybody is as lucky as you have been!


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## lorgnette

*...good evening*

When you struggle like I have been and then somebody comes here and writes how easy it was for them what do you think people feel like who are in a situation like mine? Not everybody is as lucky as you have been![/QUOTE]

You are correct. Yes, job hunting is tough especially on your dime in a strange country without support systems, and I feel your pains. However my reply was never meant as a boast, just a clarification that sometimes, we happen to be in the right place in a right niche.

...and your time will come, meantime just enjoy the journey and the destination.


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## Guest

After having lived in the US so long, it still throws me for a loop when people are so direct and cut through levels that for Americans don't exist.
I don't think you can feel my pain, since you got the job without any efforts and I DO have a support system, but they're all expats with jobs here in Japan. I know my time will come but better sooner than later, money doesn't go very far in Tokyo, over $ 2.00 for 4 bananas, indeed! 
I hope you live on the outer rim of any "ku" of Tokyo, inside is where it;s expensive.


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## lorgnette

marzipan said:


> After having lived in the US so long, it still throws me for a loop when people are so direct and cut through levels that for Americans don't exist.
> I don't think you can feel my pain, since you got the job without any efforts and I DO have a support system, but they're all expats with jobs here in Japan. I know my time will come but better sooner than later, money doesn't go very far in Tokyo, over $ 2.00 for 4 bananas, indeed!
> I hope you live on the outer rim of any "ku" of Tokyo, inside is where it;s expensive.


I feel your pain because I did not always have "the job without efforts". Yes, in US, I have a great support system. Probably you missed the point--it is not about cutting through levels -it is on building stable relationships and effective interpersonal communication.

Actually in Tokyo we did not live in the rim. We stayed walking distance to Ueno. Within an expat crowd, it will surely be expensive to be where expats live and eat, however when you have a local support system Tokyo is immensely affordable ( even for expats).


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## Guest

I don't miss the point, I'm an educated woman!
What I meant was how you can get so familiar with me here since we are strangers, but it's typical American. Anyway, it appears you are no longer in Tokyo and I don't know how long ago you were here. Things on the foreign ESL market have changed in Japan, especially in the past year.
Have a nice weekend
I'm not responding over the weekend


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## lorgnette

I don't know how long ago you were here. Things on the foreign ESL market have changed in Japan, especially in the past year.

We left mid April 2012 with beautiful vision of cheery Cherry blossoms in full season, to start work the following morning in Singapore. 

We miss Japan despite a warm welcome in Singapore!


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## EverydayWanderer

I applied for the JET Program in the U.S. last year and I didn't get selected for an interview. I was upset for a few weeks, then I decided to book a flight two weeks from that day. I contacted and confirmed a homestay family three days in advance of my flight. 

After a few days, I happened to go by an English conversation school for ages 0-15 and I asked for the contact information for an interview (They were Japanese, but the Japanese teachers spoke English). I made and sent my resume to their recruitment email and I was screened in two interviews.

The first interview was a general Q&A interview; I assume to get to know my disposition and motivation for coming to Japan. After that, I had a second interview for a demonstration lesson for the basics (I have zero teaching experience, but I researched a little and put together a small lesson).

A day or two later I received a call saying I was hired.

Notes:
I do *-NOT-* suggest just winging it to Japan on the off-chance you will hired. I was *extremely* lucky to get hired both on my first interview and outside of the normal hiring season. I did not come here on a shoestring; I had been saving money since February 2012 especially for this goal. I paid an arm and a leg for my just-in-case round-trip ticket for $2000 USD. Lastly, I was greatly helped by not needing extraneous expenses over paying for a month's stay in advance for my homestay. If I were to get an apartment, I would have to pay even more with key money and more.


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## lorgnette

I am happy another visitor made it with a job he wanted. You have a combination of positive planning and bellyful of guts and you won. congrats-lots!

Saitama is a wonderful place. Have a joyful time in Japan!


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## metallica.kyoto

I got it after after finishing my internship with a company in kyoto


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## sakura

You needed a proper visa to work in Japan. There are many job offerings you can find around. You can go to Hello work and search for jobs that suits you. But again you need a working visa. I am a member of a group called " ETJ " you can google it . It is all about English teachers in Japan maybe you can get more information there. 

Goodluck! Hope it helps.


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## Clasevilla

hi all, I'm new here. It's a pleasure to meet you all. I just finished the registration phase and now I'm onto my first comment here at the forum. This is a nice topic, I got a job as soon as I came here in japan as a caregiver, a family friend got the referral for me so here I am..


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