I am currently about to start the final year of my master’s at a Japanese university, and I’m planning to stay and work here when I graduate. However, the course I’m in does not follow the Japanese school year and I’m scheduled to graduate in August/September. Some of the Japanese people I’ve talked to have insinuated I will have to wait for the next season, but that will leave a 6+ month gap. While I’ve heard you are allowed to stay in the country to look for a job for up to a year, I would need a way to earn money during that time. Does anyone have experience with job hunting in the summer/fall? I plan to ask my university for advise as well, but I would be grateful to hear from anyone who has been in the same situation!
Second question (thought I’d just add it here instead of creating two posts): I’m dumb and forgot to apply for the winter JLPT, and as such the only certificate I have is my N4 from like 10 years ago. I do speak Japanese to the point you would be able to tell I’m a foreigner if you didn’t see my face, but obviously I would have to make it to an interview for employers to even notice. So my question is, do employers/recruiters always ask for JLPT results, and when in the process would you have to submit them? I will still be able to take the test next year before I graduate, but I’m afraid it will become an obstacle for even searching for a job.
Sorry for long post, would appreciate any advise!
1 comment
>Some of the Japanese people I’ve talked to have insinuated I will have to wait for the next season, but that will leave a 6+ month gap.
They’re pretty much right but you’re actually worse off because you’re supposed to use the year you graduate to do your job hunting. So you’re off by 6 months but depending on the field the job hunt should finish during the same semester you’re graduating or over the next six months. But not being in school would be weird.
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>While I’ve heard you are allowed to stay in the country to look for a job for up to a year
That’s not exactly right. You can apply for a “special activities (job-hunting)” (特定活動) status for finding a job after you graduate. It’s not automatic by any stretch of the imagination. ([https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/publications/materials/nyuukokukanri07_00013.html](https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/publications/materials/nyuukokukanri07_00013.html))
you would need an agreement to be hired within 12 months and to be hired within 18 months.
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> I would need a way to earn money during that time.
You can get permission to work up to 28 hours on the job-hunting status
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>So my question is, do employers/recruiters always ask for JLPT results, and when in the process would you have to submit them?
Employers that often deal with non-Japanese will. Other employers will have no idea what it is.