Hi everyone! I posted earlier here that I want to move to Japan and got some answers about how I must learn N2 or even N1 Japanese to work there.
I have never visited Japan but there were days I spent only watching Japan walking tours or vlogs, because it makes me feel cozy.
I was born and raised in Istanbul/Turkey and got my bachelor’s degree in Germany. Now I can speak 3 languages: Turkish, English, and German, also have an International Business and Economics degree.
I’m thinking of getting some experience here while learning Japanese until N2 by myself. That’ll approximately take 3 to 4 years from what I have researched and calculated.
What I really want to ask you guys is, with my degree and the experience I will have with sales, marketing etc. what kind of a job should I go for? What’s in demand for someone who owns a degree of IBE?
Btw I don’t have IT skills like coding etc.
(Hopefully I will land in a job here in which they have quarters there in Japan and hustle until I’m transferred there)
…but still, do you have any career advice to have a decent life in Japan in case I apply to jobs directly?
4 comments
I think regardless of the field that you are going to go into, and since you have some time to study Japanese, it would be worth it to add some IT skills into there.
I have been working in sales for a bit, and while it is rewardin, your Japanese has to be perfect or you are judged and it kinda takes the wind out of your sails. With tech you have a much bigger leeway when it comes to that.
Finally, I would say contact recruiters like Michael Page and other people here in Japan. They will be able to properly give you direction versus people online.
Have you worked in sales in Germany? Can you imagine doing/finding such jobs without being able to speak German/English? Just asking.
I can’t speak for sales , but there are some (rare, but they exist) english speaking marketing & communications roles in Japan – I am in one.
Rare – because obviously these need to be roles with large global organizations, that are catering to more than just the Japanese market. But you could potentially look at sectors that Japan’s got some global expertise in (e.g. automotive – 3 big auto manufacturers here) , because they’ll be marketing to more than the Japanese market.
This is asked all the time. There jobs in demand are the ones you’re good at, enjoy doing, and (because this part is important to immigration) have a need to employ you, a foreigner.
Sales/Marketing require at least business fluency. I am in this industry so I can speak with confidence here. Finding a role without it is a unicorn.