I have a JLPT N2 (I know it’s just the beginning), and a fully remote tech help desk job for a gaishikei company in Tokyo which I have been doing for 3 years.
I studied at a music academy and have a higher diploma in professional musicianship (I know that this is not ideal for finding a real job).
I also have a Japanese CV which was made with the help of my wife who is Japanese.
I live in Nagoya and I’m looking for just standard office work where Microsoft Office software is used. Data processing, input etc, or any tech support job. The reason I want to change jobs is because I want to make use of my Japanese and improve it. I also want to work alongside people in an office.
I have years and years of experience in IT and I’m always resolving technical issues in my current role, but nobody in Nagoya seems to want to hire me, even if the job is almost identical to what I’m doing now?
I’ve even applied for jobs where they say ‘put your name, email address, and number down, then we’ll contact you’. Then I get an email back saying I don’t fit the position before they’ve even read my CV or given me a chance to talk?
I’ve been in contact with recruit agents for career counselling, and the person who I talk to always tells me ‘it’s going to be hard’ then just sends me loads of the lowest paid soul sucking jobs which nobody wants to do, and they have nothing in common with the role I’m in now. It’s like they’re automatically sending me jobs which everyone else has refused.
I currently have real issues with working from home, it’s eating away at my mental health. I’m the type of person who needs to be outside and around others to be happy, but I feel really isolated. Every day I am grinding to learn as much Japanese as I can but I feel I’m getting nowhere.
I’d be happy to take a cafe or retail store job if I could, but even then I get refused.
My options seem to be either work ridiculous hours for peanuts at Donkihotei or teach English with no prospects. (I don’t think that being an English teach is bad, just I want to look into the future and see the potential for promotions etc)
Is there anyone out there who can relate?
39 comments
If you don’t mind me asking, what is the pay like where you work now?
honestly it sounds like my dream job.
I’m doing something similar to you but for a fully Japanese company and its not work from home at all.
You want a 事務 type job? You do realize that’s a pay cut from IT help desk right? Although I understand that you’re coming from a mental health standpoint.
You have to understand most companies will reject you just because you’re foreign. No hard feelings—there is just a greater risk handling foreigners than citizens. Most 面談s, especially with Japanese people, are useless. They won’t introduce you to any jobs because there will always be some boxes you won’t check. Use them if you want to practice Japanese, not find a job.
Edit: I’ve done so much for my current company too and prospective employers don’t really recognize that. I’ve come to realize that’s just how the market is right now. And that’s Osaka. I can’t even imagine Nagoya.
What about playing music with people?
If you want to meet other people, look into share offices you can commute to in the mean time, most of them will have some kind of plan that gets you a hot desk for around 10000 yen a month. I had a good experience doing this when I was working remotely in Tokyo and needed to get out the house a few times a week.
Nothing on LinkedIn? A lot of jobs on there where high level Japanese is not required. Not sure about Nagoya though. Most tech companies have their offices in Tokyo or Osaka. Would avoid Japanese companies if I were you unless you’re sure about the working conditions.
You’d have more luck searching in Tokyo, but not sure if moving is an option for you. There are definitely tech support jobs around for bilingual foreigners with some experience.
Have you considered moving out of Nagoya?
It might be a good city for hardware/mechanical/ manufacturing. But if you want a career in IT , then Tokyo is the place for that.
Getting N1 was a game changer for me. Lot more interviews.
Still ridiculously hard tho
Other than teaching, most foreigners are working in factory/manufactory type jobs either down near the port or for Toyota.
There’s also a large student population which means a lot of cafes only want to hire for part-time/no benefits type positions.
Nagoya is not good for foreigners wanting career type jobs unless you have a niche skill (like patent law).
If you can move, I suggest either Tokyo, Osaka or Fukuoka.
Have you been to the Nagoya Employment Service Center for Foreigners?
[https://jsite.mhlw.go.jp/aichi-foreigner/english.html](https://jsite.mhlw.go.jp/aichi-foreigner/english.html)
Contrary to popular belief, Hello Work is not just about unemployment insurance. They have employment counseling, classes for resumes writing and interviewing skills, job listings, and most importantly they know who hires foreigners in the area so even if there isn’t any current job listings, they can tell you who to look out for. I can’t speak for Nagoya, but the office in Osaka is very friendly and helpful.
Yeah working in a Japanese office *sounds* cool, but trust me, working from home is way better. Get a cat, or work in a shared office space or something
Idk about your city but shouldn’t there be some clubs or meetup groups? Usually there are some uni students or young people just looking to practice English but excited to do things like cooking, biking, definitely play music, etc. Those could lead to actual friendships and getting introduced more into the local community. You clearly have a bias against teaching but those teachers who like to socialize can definitely meet a lot of people easily. Also, what’s the appeal of working in an office? There is zero guarantee those people will like you or even want to talk to you and a good chance that they may avoid you due to bullying or social pressure. Don’t shit where you eat, as they say. Find your friends outside of work.
Have you looked into consulting firms? Think big global firms with offices across Japan.
Don’t know if it counts as “stuck in the tourist bubble” since it’s literally working with tourists, (not really sure what you meant by that, since tourists can’t work in Japan) but how about hospitality? A lot of hotels, esp since covid restrictions have lifted, are eager to hire English speakers, but you’d also be able to improve/use your Japanese since you’d have Japanese coworkers and obviously there would be Japanese guests too, and you’d be using Japanese computer systems, taking phone calls, etc. plus you’d be able to talk to a lot of people and be around others.
Pay isn’t great though, esp starting out, would probably be roughly the same as you make now, or slightly less.
I’m a software engineer with a skillset very much in demand and I’ve struggled a lot. Not gonna lie, the main issue is you/we live in Nagoya, meaning we can only look at full-remote jobs. Those are scarce, maybe even impossible in many fields. If possible I’d move to Tokyo, if not possible, I’d consider getting into a remote-first field of work. This city is dead if you don’t have a degree in engineering and working for the big ones. (Toyota, Mitsubishi, etc.)
I personally think switching to a Japanese office job for the purpose of using and improving your Japanese is a very bad idea.
There are many ways to improve your Japanese ability without exposing yourself to the pay decrease and generally shit work culture of a Japanese office.
Find Japanese friends, join a recreational sports league, etc
1) Make an english CV and have a Japanese version of your english CV, do not go for the Japanese format. The reason is the Japanese format has so much attention to education, so they’ll chuck your CV as soon as they come to the education part, which is the beginning. Your highest education is 2 year vocational? Permanent resident? If not, they risk losing you should you divorce.
2) The jobs for jimu which rejected you are women’s jobs. They are not going to hire a man as a man needs a career.
3) Recruiters are sending you lower jobs because that is what your cv is worth. Either update it better, get some certifications or face the reality. Most people are not in a position to refuse jobs, so I do not think it goes that way. The problem is there are like half a million people around in Nagoya who can do the Microsoft office job you are looking for and all of them speak better Japanese than you.
My advice to you would be to go out to some counter izakaya or yakitori from time to time by yourself and talk to people. It will help with the loneliness, it will help with the language and who knows you may run into someone who will put you on the right path.
I’d just look for a job recommendation company that specializes in foreigners and start there. Regular agents will just throw anything and everything at the wall and see what sticks; ones that specializes in foreingers are in my experience, better in terms of recommendations while considering your strengths (though few in recommendations).
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As long as you have work experience or any merits (such as your ability to speak in English) your N2 qualification doesnt really matter. The main thing to do is determine what type of job you are after and write your CV accordingly. As for your unhappiness, the problem is with you more than anything; an office job won’t be any better for the most part.
My view might be biased due to me being lucky in my job hunting, but nonetheless valid
You need to take an outside perspective.
Look at things from a potential employers point of view. They can hire a local which is relatively simple and comes with no extra risk(communication issues, cultural differences resulting in misunderstanding, etc), or they can hire you. To make up for that, you have to bring something extra to the table. You have to find that.
Employers don’t care about what you want, they care about what you can do for them, and they will try to meet your wants(pay, learning opportunities, etc) in accordance.
So if you have no skills that are attractive to them, the only thing that can budge is what they will pay you, hence the lowball offers.
If you want more you’re gonna have to find some way to give more, be satisfied with the status quo, or move to a country where you’re not at an inherent disadvantage in the job market.
There should be like a flow chart for this subreddit. Are you in a Japanese speaking company? If yes, do you have N1? No? -> get N1. Yes? -> You probably have the ability to research resources to improve you situation or make real friends.
My situation is very similar to yours. I graduated from a master in music from a very famous school in Tokyo, but it didn’t and doesn’t help at all. Not even with music related Jobs. I only got a job with a company were I was supposed to help gaijin students who wanted to study music in Japan and do their entrance exam here. But even I got to sign the contract, then they’ve never called me because supposedly there was no student… it was so weird… I think they got a cold feet after hiring me.
Also same thing happened and happens to me with all the websites and companies that are supposed to help you getting a job. And the guys who are supposed to be helping me are quite brainless and they keep sending the same kind of stuff, with extremely low payment….
I also find quite surprising that companies that want to hire musicians pay even less than 200.000¥ / month…. that’s straight off hillarious.
Sadly, from the point of view from Japanese companies, being older than just graduated is already a big no-no… then you add that are a gaijin and that you don’t have the N1, plus that your career is not really related, and you have a nice unhireable combo.
At the momento I am trying to study some informatics, Python for starters and then check how I can continue. In the meanwhile I have luckily found a job at an Embassy. Before working here I was working for a Japanese company and it was quite quite bad… I really don’t recommend you working at a japanese company if you can avoid it. now you might be suffering for not being able to commute, but I think you’re better off the way you are now. Plus your payment is OK. It’s more than most companies would offer.
Hopefully the Employment Service Center for Foreigners works out. But stupid question, you tried Hello Work right?
I’m in somewhat of a similar situation, I live in Aichi. I’d be happy to talk if you need any advice from the LinkedIn side of things. I’ve made quite a lot of progress through there.
Do you have any CompTIA certs or similar?
I would think that tech support experience and relevant certifications would make you a great candidate for new roles, but maybe you already have some.
Have you considered working in a hybrid environment in Tokyo and traveling back to Nagoya for weekends etc.? I know someone that does that. There’s just so much more opportunities in Tokyo, as it is a more global city.
I’m sorry to ask this off topic question, but what is the gaishikei company in Tokyo you’re working for?
Have you considered working in university administration? I work at a university in Nagoya. Many positions in universities require English. You can check job openings from the university homepage. (Private universities have better pay)
Since you are in IT, may I ask what certifications you have?
You need that as much as you need experience. N2 is enough if you can interview well in Japanese, but your resume will be glossed over without any certifications.
I can relate. I am also a work from home guy living in Nagoya and about to have a mortgage to pay. Some other people here mentioned it already but it got way easier for me with the loneliness after we adopted a cat. Hes my little office buddy now.
Theres an animal shelter near Sengen-cho station that we picked him (and recently his new brother) up from: 花の木シェルター http://www.hananokishelter.com.
I have been in Nagoya for a year and a half now and dont have any local friends yet (since Im always home) but I make do with online/Tokyo friends and the cats/missus, but I do miss going out on a terrace for a drink on sunny afternoons sometimes.
The fact that your name and email gets you negative replies… have you googled your name in both English and katakana? Did someone with your name or similar name get arrested for drugs or beheading their first cousin? Did you??
It’s worth checking…
I second the pussycat recommendation. Your one stop shop for friendship, therapy, and professional mentorship.
A cat is the order of the day! Or a gerbil if they don’t let you keep cats.
Talk to Robert Walters.
Any of these steps in any order, the more you can hit the better:
1. Learn more Japanese. A lot more Japanese. Be essentially as good as a native speaker if possible
2. Move to Tokyo
3. Form deep relationships with Japanese people and ask for introductions to companies
4. Acquire rare but useful skills (especially something like machine learning)
5. Get permanent residency if you don’t have it
Numbers 1, 2, 3 especially are what you need to not be at a massive disadvantage probably
No offense, but a remote position is every person living in Japan’s DREAM. Be thankful…PLEASE.💖 You DO NOT want to work along side people because that means a boss who doesn’t give a crap about you and you’ll be subjected to the ridiculous working hours. And no your coworkers aren’t your friends. Go to the train station at 7 am for a week, it’ll change your mind. See all the unhappy faces in uncomfortable, bland suits shoved into a hot stinky train for “who knows how long” of a commute and then later go home at “who knows when”. Trust me, maybe you’re lonely because I know a lot of people here wanted to leave remote work because they were extremely lonely, even if it meant going back to their awful routine. I agree with get a pet, get a hobby, but get something that will snap you out of this nonsense lol if you want to practice your Japanese, you have a wonderful wife who I’m sure would love to help you 🙂 I also admire your dedication to music, have you considered trying to teach music?
I feel you on the working from home aspect. Gets lonely. My job pays well though for the amount of work required which is the only thing keeping me from finding an in office job
You may need to work in Tokyo for better opportunities.
Hey, I am currently hiring and I am also in Nagoya. If you are interested please DM me I can share the job information with you.
Have you considered that Nagoya isn’t exactly a hotbed for the IT industry? The further you are from Tokyo or Osaka, the less likely you will be hired simply because you don’t have a Japanese name on your resume.
If you are open to relocating, start looking for jobs in Tokyo and Osaka, build a resume working in IT positions there, and eventually you will be able to find willing employers through networking that needs someone to calibrate fax machines in Nagoya.
Same here. Currently looking for a Job in Nagoya. Preferably IT sector too. I have a japanese friend who is an IT professional helping me. Very hard to do it alone