About 7 months ago, I [posted](https://www.reddit.com/r/movingtojapan/comments/a0ej24/seeking_advice_for_finding_nonteaching_jobs_in/) here asking for advice on finding a job in Japan, and unfortunately, I haven’t found anything yet, so I’m here to seek advice again on how to improve my search.
In the last post, I received advice on going to the Boston career forum, but instead, I signed up for the Tokyo career forum, which I attended about a week ago. I had applied to only three companies and landed only one interview, which I did not advance through. My background is in Computer Science (BS and currently working on MS), and I work full-time as an IT Specialist/Programmer. I passed the JLPT N1 and felt comfortable interviewing in Japanese even though my speaking ability is a bit rusty. Ideally, I’d like some sort of R&D/Software engineering position, but as time goes on, my expectations are loosening.
I’ve been told many times that my background and Japanese ability would make me a great candidate, but yet I’m struggling to land something. I think a big part of it is that I’m quite picky– I was aiming at well-known companies like Panasonic and Hitachi, but they did advertise entry-level positions (Hitachi– the one I interviewed with– specifically was looking for no more than 5 years of work experience), so I’m not sure what to think.
I like to research the companies that I see advertised because working conditions are important to me. I understand that Japan isn’t exactly a model country for exceptional working conditions, but I have personal reasons for wanting to move there, and as long as the conditions are reasonable, I’m willing to be flexible (some overtime is understandable, pay doesn’t have to be great).
I’m back to looking at jobs on Indeed Japan and LinkedIn, staring at a list of jobs at companies I’ve never heard of, hoping that something will catch my eye. Is this just the way it is, or is there a better process of finding something?
7 comments
>I think a big part of it is that I’m quite picky– I was aiming at well-known companies like Panasonic and Hitachi
Well here’s the problem. You’re picky. If you’re skipping over companies you are unfamiliar with and are sticking to only companies you have heard of in the US then you’re likely not going to get anywhere in a foreign country to you.
The CS market is getting more and more saturated and even JLPT doesn’t mean much. If you apply for smaller companies it might stand out but if you stick to the top of the line companies; you’re not going to get your foot in the door.
Yes your background of having a degree, some experience, and passing N1 makes you a decent candidate but not a great one. There are many many many people here with the same qualifications if not more than your own these days. Lower your expectations. Apply for more than 3 jobs.
Being picky is almost certainly the root of your problem. Students graduating from elite universities in Japan routinely apply for 10, 15 or even 20 companies during the job-hunting cycle, with the understanding that the interview process for each company is lengthy and has a large number of steps, with the attrition rate for candidates at each step being high.
To be blunt – you turned up as a foreigner with no residence status (immediate risk factor for many companies, especially older and more traditional firms) and self-confessed “rusty” Japanese, applied for just three of the most famous companies in the country – specifically three of the most sought-after entry level positions, which probably have an applicant-to-position ratio of 50, 100 or even more, with many of those applicants being graduates from the country’s most prestigious universities – and you’re now wondering if there’s some secret back-door application process you missed out on. I apologise for laying it out in harsh terms, but you can see the gap in the logic, right?
So basically yes – the list of jobs at companies you’ve never heard of *is* the way it is. It’s your career and you need to be willing to put the effort into it – you research those companies as thoroughly as if you were going to invest in them (because in a way, you are), find out what they do, how they’re run, what sectors they’re active in and where they’re expanding, etc., and then you apply to a bunch of the ones that look interesting or promising to you. Nothing is going to leap out at you from just staring at the names – you’ve got some serious homework to do I’m afraid.
(FWIW, the career fair is really just a way to compress that process – when our students attend those fairs we always tell them to spend a bunch of time beforehand finding out about all the companies that will attend (the list is online well in advance of the fair) so that they get to the fair with a list of companies in their hand that they have extensively researched and intend to talk to. Turning up to a company’s stall at a career fair and starting with “hi, so what do you guys do” is a guaranteed way to get your CV binned the second your back is turned – you’re meant to have done the legwork in advance.)
You can try looking at websites like [https://japanjobs.dev/](https://japanjobs.dev/) and [https://www.tokyodev.com/jobs/](https://www.tokyodev.com/jobs/).
Hitachi: they want people who are not going home soon. Hence they need newkids that they can mold into the perfect corporate soldier.
When you were waiting to interview, were there many other foreigner men waiting with you?
What about foreign companies? Or the likes of Rakuten and Line people talk so much about?
Hip tech companies like Google, Spotify, Twitter, etc. are hiring here like crazy. With native (?) English and N1, you seem like a shoo-in for these places. Have you not looked there? And if not, why?
Hang in there man. It just takes time. I was in a similar boat as you. I am half Jap half american (with very limited japanese – no JLPT certs) and was able to land a job in Tokyo. It took me about 8-9 months but I was able to pull it off. Sometimes timing/luck is involved especially for my case. If you have the N1, something will def come along.