I made a post here today on the state of my company and it is slowly becoming more and more a reality that I will need to change jobs in the near future.
I would love to hear from people who have been in my position on what the options are moving forward.
I worked as an English teacher for a few years then moved to a Japanese company where I am head of international sales. I use English and Japanese and just like I would in a western company have to take care of overseas clients and oversee sales and imports/exports.
My only options I can think of are either to do the same job for a different company, move to an international company or try to become an account manager at a larger company.
Unfortunately my skills are limited to language and sales, I wish I could say I studied coding and my skills are in demand but they simply aren’t.
Anyone in my position what did you do? Did you ever find success from here?
I can always go back to teaching which would kill me though no doubt would be a LOT less stress.
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12 comments
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With your limited skills in Japanese, sticking to international sales is your best bet.
There are many trading companies looking for international staff, you do not necessary need to work for a manufacturer.
Look out for Daiichi Jitsugyou, Toyo, Nihon Denkei, Elematec, Nagase Sangyo…
You can also try your luck with those Tenshoku agent, such as Bizreach, En-tenshoku, Ambi…
I was in international sales in the tourism industry for a number of years and then the ‘vid hit, basically freezing the company I worked for.
I managed to pull a front-end developer job whilst on furlough and moved on. I didn’t have any real experience but the place needed an English speaker and I knew the basics of HTML, CSS, Javascript, React.JS etc.
Honestly, my wage went down a bit but the new place is super chill. 40hrs of overtime a month and regular international trips (they get old quickly) turned into no overtime, flex hours and a lot of working from home.
Only people I know that were in similar situations went and got a MBA. One is doing consulting and the other is starting/started his own business.
Currently international sales at a small manufacturer.
Currently studying web development…lol
I was working in international sales for about 6 years when I decided to move to a more rural area. I asked for my position to be changed to a fully remote one since I was already working from home 4 days a week but they declined.
I also had no other skills except being fluent in Japanese/English/Russian and obviously sales experience so I was worried when I was looking for other jobs. But in about 2-3 weeks time I landed a job in a international media company in a business operations role, fully remote and all.
I also received offers for consulting and account management positions so the market 1 year ago was good for bilingual speakers even if you come from sales and wanted to switch industries but can’t say if it’s the same now.
> Unfortunately my skills are limited to language and sales,
Sales is one of those positions that is regularly in demand, even if you don’t like it, you can always pivot around with a bit of effort.
My career path looks like this:
* International Sales at Domestic Company
* Project Management at International company
* Account Management at International Company for Domestic Clients (Multiple Companies)
* Operations Director at International Company
My most valuable experience was account management, as they took place at international companies that were starting up in Japan. I’ve had to start the account management team from scratch multiple times, establish new processes, etc. Aside from that, I’ve generally been able to negotiate higher salaries with companies looking to hire the “right person.”
>I am head of international sales
I’d be careful using “head of international sales” if you don’t have 10+ years of experience in sales. It’s easy to disqualify yourself because the recruiter thinks you’re overqualified.
My boyfriend who is Japanese worked in international sales he is fluent in English. He ended up working in the hotel industry afterward
I did a complete shift and moved into advertising / marketing. Wouldn’t recommend. Work was way more interesting, but the pay and hours were atrocious.
Good sales people are always in demand, so you could always try a company that makes things you actually care about?
I also interviewed with a few trading companies while international sales was still hot on my resume, so you might be able to get a foot in there if it’s something that interests you.
You can never predict where you’ll be in a few years from now, and all experience is good experience. I fell into consulting, which is something I never thought would happen. I’d say to just follow what seems good for you right now.
Hey man try to get experience coaching and training others. I have heard companies are lining up to get bilingual sales managers
Volcano insurance
I’ve been in international sales for 25 years. Any links to recruiters/companies in Japan that you can share? MBA too fwiw 🤣 Currently EU based but want to live in Japan