I’m not familiar with the state of the job market in Japan, and how similar or not it is to what it currently is like in the US. I will of course continue to try to get experience in the US, but I just wanted to know what the feasibility of my idea was.
My thought was basically to build a portfolio of web projects/services that will hit on the various skills that job listings in Japan would be looking for. I am wondering if decent, targeted projects would be enough to have an employer be interested enough to hire and sponsor my visa.
Some stats about me:
* Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science
* No work experience
* Graduated last December
* Currently self-studying web development
* 27 years old
* US citizen
* N4-N3 at best, if I spent some time refreshing what I studied years ago
Thank you for your thoughts.
3 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**What are my chances of getting hired and sponsored with a degree and portfolio but no work experience?**
I’m not familiar with the state of the job market in Japan, and how similar or not it is to what it currently is like in the US. I will of course continue to try to get experience in the US, but I just wanted to know what the feasibility of my idea was.
My thought was basically to build a portfolio of web projects/services that will hit on the various skills that job listings in Japan would be looking for. I am wondering if decent, targeted projects would be enough to have an employer be interested enough to hire and sponsor my visa.
Some stats about me:
* Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science
* No work experience
* Graduated last December
* Currently self-studying web development
* 27 years old
* US citizen
* N4-N3 at best, if I spent some time refreshing what I studied years ago
Thank you for your thoughts.
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First things first. Have you found any entry-level or graduate job postings from Japanese companies? That’s the best place to start. Small companies will likely be out, as will the FAANGs, but your best bet will likely be one of the “Japanese unicorns”.
Check the graduate recruiting pages of Mercari and Rakuten (and in particular keep an eye on application deadlines if they exist):
[https://careers.mercari.com/students/](https://careers.mercari.com/students/)
[https://global.rakuten.com/corp/careers/graduates/](https://global.rakuten.com/corp/careers/graduates/)
You could probably apply with your current CV, but a project or two couldn’t hurt. A bit of research on your part before you start though probably would be good – e.g. what is the tech stack at the places you’re targeting, what technologies does the CTO of each place seem to be spruiking, etc.
I think you should be able to get a job, but whether it will lead you to a great 10M per year job or entrench you in a terrible 3.6M per year job will depend on several factors, but I will break down your “about me.”
-Bachelor’s degree in comp sci – congrats you meet the minimum requirements for a work visa and better yet, the degree is related to the career you want to pursue.
-No work experience – not a huge issue in my opinion. You may have to aim for entry level work, however we all start somewhere.
-Graduated last December, prospective employers might ask what you have been doing all this time, although if you can document your self study, part time work (if any) and working on your portfolio, then I don’t think it will be too bad.
-27 years old, not too old in my opinion. It is still fairly young.
-US citizen, shouldn’t affect your job prospects.
-N4-N3, this would be considered below average Japanese skill. Out of all the things you listed about yourself, I see this as potentially being the weakest link. The generally accepted benchmark is N2. If you can get N2, it will open a lot more doors for you.