So, I’ve been having a tough time trying to land a job in Japan even though I have a Bachelor’s degree in International Business with a specialization in Supply Chain Management which I had hoped would be a study that could give me career opportunities within Japan. I also have experience working with SAP/ERP systems and spent a semester studying in Japan. Despite this, it seems like finding a job in Japan as a foreigner is almost impossible. I’ve tried all the main Japanese employment providers and rarely get an answer back and when I do have to be N1 level for the job and I’m only N4 level. Does anyone have any tips or advice on how to make my job search more successful? I’m open to any suggestions or personal experiences you may have!
5 comments
The language of business in Japan is Japanese. If you’re not able to communicate at a high level in Japanese then you’d need to bring enough value to the organization that it makes sense to hire someone(s) to speak Japanese for you.
So either focus on getting your Japanese up to business level or focus on advancing your career enough that it makes sense for an employer to work around your inability to communicate with the rank & file (and your customers/suppliers/etc).
Do you speak Japanese?
>Does anyone have any tips or advice on how to make my job search more successful?
With your degree and current level of experience my advice is to achieve N1. Most companies hiring candidates for entry level business roles will conduct business in Japanese and will depend on their employees abilities to converse at a functionally native level. Roles where English is accepted tend to be higher level management at foreign headquartered companies or highly technical roles such as specialized engineers and high level programmers at such companies
You’re not getting a business level job in Japan without speaking business level Japanese. It’s super simple
Logistics and shipping in japan is extremely Japanese in terms of day to day business. Even supporting foreign logistics from overseas. Hoping and dreaming N4 is a metric to get a job isn’t realistic in that field. IT or back end support in foreign companies, maybe, but even most are asking N3 at a minimum.
And being in japan.