I work in general affairs/office management at a medium-sized company and have only ever taken N3. However, I’ve been in Japan for almost 9 years and I worked 5 of those at a small Japanese company so my spoken Japanese was pretty good when interviewing for this role I’m in now.
Never taken the JLPT, can’t read or write without my smartphone. Full time at as an engineer, pretty much all work-related stuff done in Japanese
i’ve had 2. the secret is find a black company or one run by a crazy old 社長 with early onset dementia, lol.
I don’t have either though I informally passed n2 on a university language level placement test a looong time ago. I doubt I’d pass n1 because I haven’t taken the time to study the esoteric kanji, though I regularly read text in Japanese, so who knows
I work full time in tech in Japanese. The qualifications have never been an issue as I interviewed in Japanese and it was clear it wasn’t going to be an issue
I got N2, but I didn’t even put it on my resume, took the 教員採用試験 passed, got hired as a regular teacher.
The test itself is more than enough evidence for someone’s Japanese skill
It’s funny how many freelance translators/interpreters I’ve met who’ve never even taken the JLPT
Full time engineer for many years in multiple companies . Even promoted to engineer management ring without reading or talking lol. Besides me everybody else were Japanese with no English
Stopped taking them after N3, now I work in the hotel industry (worked up to upper management).
Took the N3 2 years ago and passed, but I don’t think I could quite pass the N2 yet. 3 years as an Engineer in a mostly Japanese speaking office, which has been a bit of a struggle at times, but luckily everyone is pretty understanding. Occasionally use DeepL if it’s something I don’t understand, but that’s been pretty infrequent in the last year or so. If it’s related to my job, I can talk about it pretty well, but anything outside of that and everyday conversation and I struggle a bit.
Not that hardcore but, sometimes I need to subtitle videos, and I’m really happy to know hiragana and katakana, so, I can pinpoint what they’re saying and when, without really understanding what they’re saying. (sometimes I learn new kanji from these).
Even if you have N1 and a proven history of translation work, your coworkers are going to write to you in hiragana as if you were a moron in my experience.
No JLPT. Grew up in Japan from 5-9 years old. Came back after 21 years. Now 31. Working with multiple Japanese companies, my reading is shit for kanji. I speak like a native (almost) but last I Used Japanese was when I was here at 9 years old. Never taken any JLPT. Just interviewed using my Japanese speaking.
Never took the test. Just did the interview in Japanese. That’s all they really need to see, and there is no way to fake it. Paper language qualifications mean nothing.
Work in 100% Japanese from slack to meetings last few years
Me
Though I’m taking N2 tomorrow and fully expect to fail
Never taken the JLPT, but work full time with all internal stuff and communication with other Japanese labs and such in Japanese.
Never did any JLPT or any other qualification. Interviewed in Japanese and got a job at a totally Japanese company. I proved speaking/listening skills in the interviews and proved reading/writing in the CV/resume I prepared for them
Passed N3 2 years ago and in Japan on a working holiday visa now. I’m nearing N2 level and planning to take it the next time it is held. Worked at a Japanese game company as a localization specialist in Kyoto (translating Dutch>Japanese) and now got hired as a hotel manager in Izu. I’d say, as long as you can prove in the correspondence through e-mail and interview that you understand Japanese well enough to do those, you should be fine.
When my prospective employer asked me for JLPT I said I have none but I will prove it with a full Japanese interview. I think it was a success because I’m working with them now
I work in corporate sales for a foreign software company. Every single day, lots of client facing work, all in Japanese. No JLPT.
I work in corporate sales for a foreign software company. Every single day, lots of client facing work, all in Japanese. No JLPT.
Me! The hardest part was landing the first job. After that, just having the experience of working at Japanese-only companies meant that JLPT status was pretty much never discussed.
I worked at two Japanese companies as a graphic designer for 4.5 years, and I now work as a contract freelance illustrator/designer with pretty much only local (Japanese) clients.
Never taken JLPT work in a Japanese speaking workplace. I doubt they’d know what JLPT is.
No JLPT. No degree. Work in a bilingual role, lead meetings in Japanese daily. Pay is pretty good.
JLPT literally has no meaning or value except as a self esteem tool.
Early on, learning Japanese as a foreign language, it is a useful metric for evaluating a degree of literacy relative to standardized secondary education equivalency…. Other than that? Doesn’t matter.
Never took the test. 100% normal, all Japanese language corporate environment here
Yes, I never saw the need to take a test.
If you can write a Japanese resume, and communicate with the recruiter in Japanese, and pass the interview in Japanese, what’s the point?
I know people with N1 who can barely hold a conversation.
Based on sample tests I’ve seen, I could pass N1 were it needed for some reason.
Neither and I manage translation
Yea here. Never saw the value in paying for a test if I can prove the ability in an interview.
I haven’t spoken a word of English for years at work and only have N5. I work at buchou level at a well known company in Japan and haven’t once been asked to provide proof of my language proficiency. If you can clear 4 rounds of interviews in Japanese what’s the point of a certificate.
Full time worker, work part in English, part in Japanese, no JLPT certs of any sort.
I never taken the JLPT . Work at Day Care as an English teacher but speak all Japanese to staff. Conversational Japanese , grammar bumps here and there. No one in the company speaks English .
I have N1 and still feel wildly under qualified most of the time. I don’t think jlpt is relevant at all and I hate when people act like N1 means I’m great at Japanese. I’m very much not. I speak it decently but could be so much better, and anyone who’s been working in a Japanese language environment for a few years is almost certainly far better than me. Jlpt doesn’t test production so is useless as an assessment tool for communication ability…plus the listening section is laughably easy. I passed it easily but have trouble following my coworkers conversations when they’re in a group together. Such a different ballgame…
I work at a Japanese company and speak/read/write business level plus. but am self taught and have never officially tested at any level.
I work corporate in a client facing role. Never really been an issue…
Never taken jlpt test. I am being interviewed on the spot in japanese. Working in 100% japanese environment.
Never taken a test and never studied Japanese. I’m a cook in only japanese speaking restaurant. Can’t write but can read hiragana/katakana and some kanji – mostly food related.
I’m working full time as a front end developer without ever taking any JLPT, it’s 100% in Japanese and I only talk and message in Japanese, I wouldn’t say this is an ideal scenario but I’m learning everyday and plan on reaching fluency in as fast of a time as possible.
I believe my level is basic conversation at best and I have to focus really hard to understand technical meetings.
Got N2 first try, failed N1 by two points on the grammar section but am somehow a thousand times more proficient in Japanese than every single N1-passed Chinese person I’ve met in my field of work.
Hello! I work in a fully Japanese-speaking role, leading meetings, writing documents and yelling at people (kidding). Took JLPT many years ago, it was N3, but nobody ever asked for it.
Failed N2 for about 5 points or so. Been working in mostly full Japanese environment for 7 years now.
At the beginning it was hard, but you get used to your industry jargon and improve quite fast just by being immersed in the environment.
I’ve (American) never taken the JLPT and have been working for a Japanese publisher for 20+ years. I’ll say > 90% of my daily communication at work is in Japanese.
Hello, been working here full time, permanent position (正社員), since April 2017. Never have any N1 or N2. Got in because I was interviewed in Japanese and they don’t feel the need to request any Japanese certification. To begin with even since documents screening they never mentioned about language certification requirements. The recruitmen was conducted around a year before my graduation. (March-June 2016)
Role: Design Engineer in automotive industry
Education: master of engineering
Experience may differ depending on location, expertise, and major in university.
41 comments
I work in general affairs/office management at a medium-sized company and have only ever taken N3. However, I’ve been in Japan for almost 9 years and I worked 5 of those at a small Japanese company so my spoken Japanese was pretty good when interviewing for this role I’m in now.
Never taken the JLPT, can’t read or write without my smartphone. Full time at as an engineer, pretty much all work-related stuff done in Japanese
i’ve had 2. the secret is find a black company or one run by a crazy old 社長 with early onset dementia, lol.
I don’t have either though I informally passed n2 on a university language level placement test a looong time ago. I doubt I’d pass n1 because I haven’t taken the time to study the esoteric kanji, though I regularly read text in Japanese, so who knows
I work full time in tech in Japanese. The qualifications have never been an issue as I interviewed in Japanese and it was clear it wasn’t going to be an issue
I got N2, but I didn’t even put it on my resume, took the 教員採用試験 passed, got hired as a regular teacher.
The test itself is more than enough evidence for someone’s Japanese skill
It’s funny how many freelance translators/interpreters I’ve met who’ve never even taken the JLPT
Full time engineer for many years in multiple companies . Even promoted to engineer management ring without reading or talking lol. Besides me everybody else were Japanese with no English
Stopped taking them after N3, now I work in the hotel industry (worked up to upper management).
Took the N3 2 years ago and passed, but I don’t think I could quite pass the N2 yet. 3 years as an Engineer in a mostly Japanese speaking office, which has been a bit of a struggle at times, but luckily everyone is pretty understanding. Occasionally use DeepL if it’s something I don’t understand, but that’s been pretty infrequent in the last year or so. If it’s related to my job, I can talk about it pretty well, but anything outside of that and everyday conversation and I struggle a bit.
Not that hardcore but, sometimes I need to subtitle videos, and I’m really happy to know hiragana and katakana, so, I can pinpoint what they’re saying and when, without really understanding what they’re saying. (sometimes I learn new kanji from these).
Even if you have N1 and a proven history of translation work, your coworkers are going to write to you in hiragana as if you were a moron in my experience.
No JLPT. Grew up in Japan from 5-9 years old. Came back after 21 years. Now 31. Working with multiple Japanese companies, my reading is shit for kanji. I speak like a native (almost) but last I Used Japanese was when I was here at 9 years old. Never taken any JLPT. Just interviewed using my Japanese speaking.
Never took the test. Just did the interview in Japanese. That’s all they really need to see, and there is no way to fake it. Paper language qualifications mean nothing.
Work in 100% Japanese from slack to meetings last few years
Me
Though I’m taking N2 tomorrow and fully expect to fail
Never taken the JLPT, but work full time with all internal stuff and communication with other Japanese labs and such in Japanese.
Never did any JLPT or any other qualification. Interviewed in Japanese and got a job at a totally Japanese company. I proved speaking/listening skills in the interviews and proved reading/writing in the CV/resume I prepared for them
Passed N3 2 years ago and in Japan on a working holiday visa now. I’m nearing N2 level and planning to take it the next time it is held. Worked at a Japanese game company as a localization specialist in Kyoto (translating Dutch>Japanese) and now got hired as a hotel manager in Izu.
I’d say, as long as you can prove in the correspondence through e-mail and interview that you understand Japanese well enough to do those, you should be fine.
When my prospective employer asked me for JLPT I said I have none but I will prove it with a full Japanese interview. I think it was a success because I’m working with them now
I work in corporate sales for a foreign software company. Every single day, lots of client facing work, all in Japanese. No JLPT.
I work in corporate sales for a foreign software company. Every single day, lots of client facing work, all in Japanese. No JLPT.
Me! The hardest part was landing the first job. After that, just having the experience of working at Japanese-only companies meant that JLPT status was pretty much never discussed.
I worked at two Japanese companies as a graphic designer for 4.5 years, and I now work as a contract freelance illustrator/designer with pretty much only local (Japanese) clients.
Never taken JLPT work in a Japanese speaking workplace. I doubt they’d know what JLPT is.
No JLPT. No degree. Work in a bilingual role, lead meetings in Japanese daily. Pay is pretty good.
JLPT literally has no meaning or value except as a self esteem tool.
Early on, learning Japanese as a foreign language, it is a useful metric for evaluating a degree of literacy relative to standardized secondary education equivalency…. Other than that? Doesn’t matter.
Never took the test. 100% normal, all Japanese language corporate environment here
Yes, I never saw the need to take a test.
If you can write a Japanese resume, and communicate with the recruiter in Japanese, and pass the interview in Japanese, what’s the point?
I know people with N1 who can barely hold a conversation.
Based on sample tests I’ve seen, I could pass N1 were it needed for some reason.
Neither and I manage translation
Yea here. Never saw the value in paying for a test if I can prove the ability in an interview.
I haven’t spoken a word of English for years at work and only have N5. I work at buchou level at a well known company in Japan and haven’t once been asked to provide proof of my language proficiency. If you can clear 4 rounds of interviews in Japanese what’s the point of a certificate.
Full time worker, work part in English, part in Japanese, no JLPT certs of any sort.
I never taken the JLPT . Work at Day Care as an English teacher but speak all Japanese to staff. Conversational Japanese , grammar bumps here and there. No one in the company speaks English .
I have N1 and still feel wildly under qualified most of the time. I don’t think jlpt is relevant at all and I hate when people act like N1 means I’m great at Japanese. I’m very much not. I speak it decently but could be so much better, and anyone who’s been working in a Japanese language environment for a few years is almost certainly far better than me. Jlpt doesn’t test production so is useless as an assessment tool for communication ability…plus the listening section is laughably easy. I passed it easily but have trouble following my coworkers conversations when they’re in a group together. Such a different ballgame…
I work at a Japanese company and speak/read/write business level plus. but am self taught and have never officially tested at any level.
I work corporate in a client facing role. Never really been an issue…
Never taken jlpt test. I am being interviewed on the spot in japanese. Working in 100% japanese environment.
Never taken a test and never studied Japanese. I’m a cook in only japanese speaking restaurant. Can’t write but can read hiragana/katakana and some kanji – mostly food related.
I’m working full time as a front end developer without ever taking any JLPT, it’s 100% in Japanese and I only talk and message in Japanese, I wouldn’t say this is an ideal scenario but I’m learning everyday and plan on reaching fluency in as fast of a time as possible.
I believe my level is basic conversation at best and I have to focus really hard to understand technical meetings.
Got N2 first try, failed N1 by two points on the grammar section but am somehow a thousand times more proficient in Japanese than every single N1-passed Chinese person I’ve met in my field of work.
Hello! I work in a fully Japanese-speaking role, leading meetings, writing documents and yelling at people (kidding). Took JLPT many years ago, it was N3, but nobody ever asked for it.
Failed N2 for about 5 points or so. Been working in mostly full Japanese environment for 7 years now.
At the beginning it was hard, but you get used to your industry jargon and improve quite fast just by being immersed in the environment.
I’ve (American) never taken the JLPT and have been working for a Japanese publisher for 20+ years. I’ll say > 90% of my daily communication at work is in Japanese.
Hello, been working here full time, permanent position (正社員), since April 2017. Never have any N1 or N2. Got in because I was interviewed in Japanese and they don’t feel the need to request any Japanese certification. To begin with even since documents screening they never mentioned about language certification requirements. The recruitmen was conducted around a year before my graduation. (March-June 2016)
Role: Design Engineer in automotive industry
Education: master of engineering
Experience may differ depending on location, expertise, and major in university.