This spring, I’m going to be teaching an elective course aimed at preparing university students for the job hunting process in English. I want to do an activity on the first day of class to introduce some of the differences between job hunting in Japan and English-speaking countries (specifically the US, as that’s where I’m from).
That being said, based on your experience, **what are some differences in the job hunting process between Japan and your home country?**
Be as specific or general as you like. Also, it’d be helpful if you could mention which country you’re from in your response. I mentioned English-speaking countries above, but anyone is free to comment. I’m looking forward to reading about your experience!
11 comments
Cover letters.
I don’t think I’ve had a Japanese company ask for one. Back home, you’d have to tailor the cover letter for each company and position, only to never hear back from them lol.
In USA, everything is effectively “mid career hiring” in Japan. No shinsotsu hiring (at least not that I have seen).
American here. Hiring manager in Japan, across Asia, and in America.
Some quick ones (note it is hard not to generalize a bit so FWIW)
* Much more reliance on recruiting companies in Japan and they are very expensive
* US has some on-campus recuitment but I would not say this is a major way people get jobs at the undergrad level
* More use of LinkedIn and sites I suppose in the US -both for recruitment and for checking out companies (e.g. Glassdoor)
* Internships with some relevance and other activities helpful in the US. Anyone moderately competitive is prepping themselves before they are even out of school
* Prepared with app knowledge such as Excel skills and presentation
* Americans are more likely to have some talking points about themselves – selling points – which would maybe sound boastful in Japan but you need to sell yourself in the US market
* You are expected to fit into the employer’s schedule for interviewing – not after hours or early mornings but rather whenever the employer is free
As a really general statement, I would say you generally have to hustle more, be better prepared and sell yourself more as a college grad or recent grad in the US. But then again, “better prepared” can be seen in the lense of culture, so…
No answer for you, but since I’ve only ever worked trades, and Japan is remarkably similar to the US in this aspect, it would be fascinating to hear the difference between countries in the corporate world.
US perspective, I’ve been in the hiring loop as an interviewer/skill assessment person/manager for many engineers both in the US and Japan. Interviewing is pretty different.
* Appear confident, “passionate,” inquisitive
* Accept criticism
* Say when you don’t know something instead of bullshitting
About the “passionate” thing: some international companies try to untrain US hiring people from focusing on this, since it’s so culturally specific to the US. But expect to be graded on this pretty universally.
Have some anecdotes prepared for the interview:
* A mistake I made that I learned from
* How I dealt with negative feedback from a manager
* A problem I had with a coworker and how I dealt with it
* What is my greatest strength/weakness
Better to have a couple of each prepared, because you might get asked the same question or similar if you have multiple rounds. Beware that this is a minefield. No humble-bragging, but don’t paint yourself as a psychopath (and then I put arsenic in the guacamole).
In the US you’re expected to send a thank you letter after every interview. In Japan no
In Canada I have to apply to 30-40 jobs before I get an interview to even 1, and then have to fight for that position. It takes months of hard work to get a job.
In Japan, I can apply to 5 jobs and have 3 interviews the next week. and get 2 job offers a few days after that.
Life is good in Japan.
In japan every HR manager asks same questions.
And japanese interviews are all copy paste
-please give us an example of one of your successes
-please give us a second example for one of your success
-please give us a third example for one of your success
-an example of your failure
-what to do if you are under stress
-is money important for you? (Always answer with a big “yes! But work satisfaction is more impotant”)
In American companies (in japan) you get better questions like;
-so you got hired, what are you planning to do in your first month
-explain what is the position you are applying for
-tell us what is the most important thing for this role.
In my home country, almost no company lists the salary on their JDs, and you are not supposed to ask about your compensation until the second or third round of interviews.
Fuck those companies.
Also, some companies will straight up lie to you about the salary: on the second interview they’ll be like: “your salary will be 68k”. Then, during the last round, they’ll be like: “Btw, we can offer you no more than 45k, and we’re already making a huge exception just for you”.
Fuck them as well.
Finally, some companies will list the salary in their JDs, but with ridiculously wide ranges, like 30k~125k.
Fuck them sideways.
Japan is definitely not a paradise, but job hunting is much better than in my home country.
In Japan, when my Japanese boss receives applications it always has a photo of a business suit attired applicant. In the US, this is prohibited.
Employers in the U.K. will want to see the class of your degree on your CV, and if you’re a recent graduate, your high school subjects and grades.
They also openly advertise salaries, at least in the teaching/ translation world. In Japan, at my current workplace, I didn’t know my salary until I started work. Obviously, I knew it was unlikely to be terrible, but it was strange not to have it written down.
I find that companies in Japan are more likely to provide extras that actually go a long way. One company in London didn’t cover my commuter pass, for example, leaving a hole in my monthly pay to the time of 150 pounds.
I can only really speak as a non-Japanese in Japan, though. Honestly, the lack of freedom in the whole endeavour here makes me kind of sad for my students. Those who missed out on studying abroad due to COVID, for example, are highly unlikely to take a career break to do so in their twenties (as I did).