Obviously each company is unique and has its own processes but I was hoping to hear what it has been like for you, especially regarding English-speaking vs. Japanese-speaking portions of the process. I am not a recent graduate. Grateful for any information, no matter how small!
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Depending on the gaishikei (size, industry, how long they have been in Japan, and position). In my case, all my interviews were in English. I had 2-4 interviews in the process (again, depending on the size of the company and the seniority of the position).
My field is quite niche (not IT) with a limited pool of foreign talents, so the timeline from the first interview to the offer usually takes 2-4 weeks with 6 weeks as the longest in my experience. But if the company is completely new in Japan, expect longer than that as every decision is centralized to their hq.
Really depends on the company and the role. I’ve worked for multiple gaishikeis and the interviews have ranged from very casual and entirely in English to 6 or 7 interviews over a 2 day period, mixed in English and Japanese.
Current job I had 4 interviews. Two in English, one in Japanese, then a fairly casual “get to know you” type discussion with the APAC director for my area.
Some have the same process as in the companies in gaikoku. Some not.
Had 5 interviews, one in English with senior manager, the other 4 with HR and other people were in Japanese
So much variation. Some “gaishikei” are not dissimilar to domestic firms. For example, NCR has been here since 1920. As others have pointed out, the newer the company is to the Japan market, the more they’ll conduct the process like they would at their HQs in Europe or the US, etc. Once they grow and get established here, processes become a lot more localized.
As many said it varies greatly between companies and recruiters. While experience, skills and knowledge play a role, many will be interested in behaviors: integrity, drive, influencing others etc. They make ask questions where you need to give specific and real situations where you demonstrated these behaviors.
I have interviewed at a few gaishikei in Japan (IT). All of them use the same process worldwide, or at least there aren’t a lot of differences.
For my current job, I went through 3 whiteboarding rounds, 2 system design rounds, 1 code review rounds, 1 HR chat, and a few team matching interviews. Each one takes around 45mins to 1 hour. All were conducted in English.
Like everyone else mentioned, size of company, position, and responsibilities can change how many rounds you have.
I had an interview with a multinational tech company, and they told me I’d be going through 6-8 rounds with the local, APAC regional HQ, and HQ report lines. Even if I’m interviewing for a position in Japan, HR interviews are usually done in Japanese and everything else could be in English. Or, they like to keep all local questions in Japanese and leave English up to the regional / HQ.
Sometimes, they ask for you to submit some technical stuff, and usually being asked to submit in both Japanese and / or English (IMO a free sales / marketing strategy for them).
Also, some places do background checks. Be able to provide at least 3 people who can help you. Good to have a mix of Japanese and English referrals.
Best of luck with your interview!
International tech company 6 interviews all in English.
Most of the interviews at gaishi-kei were in English, although there was always at least part of an interview in Japanese for roles that including managing local (Japanese) staff. Usually had the first two interviews on the same day, then a week or so before the third (and, if needed, fourth) interview(s).
Usually three interviews – HR, direct boss, that boss’s boss.
Was generally pretty straight-forward and not necessarily all that different fron JPN firms, except that gaishi-kei in general did move a lot faster.