Is it commonplace to just walk into establishments (like konbini and intl schools) to ask if they have vacancies? And should I bring a resume with me?
I’ve been scouring different websites, but haven’t gotten much luck. My Japanese isn’t that great (N4 at best), but I think I can survive interviews at my level. A shop looking for fluent English speakers contacted me, but I’m not sure if I should consider it as it is an hour away from my dorm, so that would be a two-hour commute back and forth if I get the job. At the same time, I’m also quite desperate for work 😅.
I have enough money with me to survive my entire stay here (4 more months), but I still want to work and I don’t mind minimum wage. There are a few konbinis and an international pre-school near my place, so do you guys know if it’s alright to just walk up there and ask?
Thanks!
13 comments
If your Japanese is as good as you say, I’m sure you would notice all the ‘staff wanted’ signs in the windows of nearly every single convenience store, supermarket, fast food and family restaurant around you.
There is a massive manpower shortage in Japan. You don’t need to scour websites, just go for a walk and you can find a min wage part time job.
check out apps such as townwork, indeed.
Shhhh… be bewy bewy qweiiiiet, I’m hunting Baito’s…. hehehehehehehe…
it’s not ideal but an hour commute is fairly common
Could probably get a job at a bento factory. There are usually foreigners there or obaachans the language requirements aren’t usually too high
If it has a sign out front that says アルバイト募集中 you’re at the right place.
Yup. They’re posted in the shops themselves. Just today I’ve seen vacancies at Yoshinoya, McDonalds and Convenience stores.
Try townwork, you can easily get few interviews in a week. You can survey the market hiring salary from there as well.
This is how I got baito back in my student years (5 years ago)
In most stations they have stands with free “Hello Work” (it has a cute piggy on the front page) magazine which has information about different baitos in the area.
It was convenient because I knew that all baitos from that magazine would end up being maximum 15-20 minutes train ride.
Once I chose something I liked I gave them a call to check whether position is still available and to set the interview date.
I always had 履歴書 (rirekisho) with me.
AFAIR there is also a 職務経歴書 (shokumukeirekisho) which is the extended version that would have more information about your work experience but I never was asked to bring that for a baito, everybody was happy with a simple rirekisho.
Good luck 🤞
Not sure why no one has mentioned this, but N4 level might be really difficult for a service industry job unless you have a manager that’s really willing to look after you. You might be better off looking for manual labor or sticking to English-speaking positions.
Most conbini have so many different services that you need to learn how to do, it’s so much more than just stocking shelves, ringing up items and taking money.
Conbini is not an easy job. Better working at factories or dish cleaner if you cant speak japanese. Housekeep of hotels have a big shortage too and you might land a better hourly wage.
What visa are you on? Be sure you’re allowed to work part time. If you’re on a student visa, it shouldn’t be too hard, but you do need permission.
Hmm sorry for being a party pooper but if you’re only at n4, it seems very unlikely you would get past interviews unless you speak a lot better than a normal n4 person does. It’s also a bit of a running joke if you watch yofukashi, but the part time jobs at konbini is seen as somewhat on the highest scale of foreigner baito in terms of Japanese proficiency.
I’d say the hour commute baito is probably more realistic, if they also cover the commute fees (most places do I think) it’s a good idea for the few months.