Hello everyone! I have a job interview for a Japanese company next Monday and I am a bit nervous about it. So far my Japanese job interviews haven’t been the best despite being rather fluent (N2\N1 Level) and I am looking for some tips and advices. I can usually ace my English interviews (non native speaker) but there’s something about Japanese where if my nerves take the best of me it gets harder to understand what I’m asked and I stumbled on my words. Does anyone have some useful resources (videos, articles, textbooks etc) to prepare myself a bit more throughly? Thanks in advance.
23 comments
What industry?
Pounding my chest in the mirror and growling お前はもう採用されている
(as for serious advice, just try to stick to keigo, be polite, be confident. They usually won’t expect you to follow all of the various rules that japanese college kids are expected to follow)
There are youtube videos where people record themselves asking interview common questions and then give the viewer time to respond.
My advice:
– don’t get too attached to keigo if you are not comfortable using it. Use instead desu/masu
– memorize the usual answers by heart
(Shibodoki, ganbatta koto etc)
– smile and try to have a conversation, not just a q and a
It being in Japanese shouldn’t be the whole thing about the interview.
They need to see how talking to you is. The same as how a test is made to assess your actual level, an interview is partly to see how interacting with you is. I wouldn’t try to speak above my level. If you’re almost good enough and show motivation and effort, that might be enough for them.
It’s common for some people to get nervous during interviews, but remember that these people do want to talk to you. They might try your limits at some things but that doesn’t mean that all questions need to be answered perfectly.
Plus, as with any interview, it’s not all up to you. The company has its needs and there might be other applicants. So, you being good doesn’t guarantee a hire and you not being hired doesn’t make you not worthy of anything.
There always are more companies and more interviews, so if you really want practice you can just take a bunch of those. You can always say no to a job after they interview you, even if they decide they want to hire you.
I personally asked my Japanese friends for advice and practiced a bit with them.
If it’s a big company, you can look them up (in Japanese) + 面接 and see if there’s any advice or example questions online.
I was also going to a Japanese language school at the time, they had a weekly class for people looking for a job. I was able to practice interviewing with teachers after school.
I asked one of my Japanese friends to do a mock interview with me a couple times, that helped me a lot. Honestly after like 2, 30min sessions I felt a lot better and had my “basic stories and answers” nailed down
失礼します before you enter before you sit before you leave 🤣
Kidding aside, keep sentences short and simple, because making it too long might lead you to ramble in awkward Japanese!
I make a phone recording of the things I want to say and listen back/shadow along with it for extra practice.
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Just to share my experience. I attended an interview with a Japanese company recently in September. There were 4 of us and I aced the interview. I only have an N4 cert but I have been exposed to 日常会話 so that may have helped me a lot. Kindly take note that this did not take place in Japan. I was able to answer their questions with basic words and sentences and I tried not to complicate my answers. I also limited my use of keigo to the first and last greetings. But I think it is very important to show manners like waiting for the interviewer to tell you have a seat or saying しつれします when entering the room.
Prepare a short presentation about yourself and your past experience in Japanese, this will be first thing they ask. Don’t use keigo if you are not confident about it, simple -masu form is sufficient. Prepare a list of difficult/technical vocabulary related to your job and memorize it (if the interview is online you can also print it and keep it close). Suit up!
You got this 🙂
If you still in university you can practice with your classmates and seniors ，also the university usually has a career support center where you can go for help. They will tell you the specific interview details, such as how to knock on the door when entering the interview room. And a series of details such as how the interviewer should bow. At the same time, based on my interview experience, they will often ask you about your reasons for volunteering, your own strengths and any questions you have about the company. Be as enthusiastic as possible to make the interviewer feel that you really want to join their company. Hope these are helpful to you.
Just convince the interviewers that you’re someone they want to work with. Clean, on time, friendly, helpful, etc
As others have said, desu masu is fine but at least use 御社(onsha) when referring to their company. Also using いただく instead of もらう is an easy way to sound a little more formal. Like していただく、呼んでいただく、時間をとっていただく etc.
In my experience I always had a “practical exercice”. They give me a situation related to my work, let me discuss the situation with them (clarification etc, which is a nice timing to show that you know the subject by asking relevant questions) and ask questions related to the situation.
I wrote a summary of my thesis in Japanese and read the companys Japanese website. Thus, I could prepare most of the words and phrases I would need during the interview
Tagging a question on as hopefully here is enough, what do you wear if the company says “服装の指定はございません”?
Pictures of the offices show the staff looking relatively casual but I’m not sure that’s okay for interviews. I’ve actually never been to an in-person interview here.
Haha, good luck. I would hate to be in your shoes at this moment! I’m a native but went through a U.S. school system as a kid and would like to drop you my 2 cents on some cultural perspectives. Assuming you will have a typical Japanese interview and process, unfortunately there are correct answers. So take time over the weekend and just memorize your answers to the typical questions. Try not to adlib too much cuz that will confuse the interviewer. It sucks but is what it is, you can use it to your advantage tho and play the game. It comes very natural to jp ppl. I’m sure u already know though as you worked in the schools. That’s the safe way and feel free to put in your spice (just a little) 😂
TLDR: just memorize your answers before hand so you won’t be so nervous. You will be ok.
My best advice is to understand what you want to say – what are the stories you have to answer common questions. If you know how to say your stories in Japanese, then it becomes easier. You can also then think of common follow-up questions as well.
Another thing – it is a conversation, so make sure to pick up on points your interviewers say and use them. I actually saved one interview earlier this year when I actually picked up on the interviewers seemingly unrelated position and tied it into my position and the position I was interviewing for (IT position and the interviewer was a legal manager).
In 6 year living in Japan I only had one job interview “,that is my actual work” I did it on N4 lvl lol, indeed I told them that I wasn’t good enough on japanese, used masu and desu, I made the whole interview look like a conversation, made small jokes, the dudea laughed “they where advanced age people and pretty high lvl in the company” , told them what are the pro and cons of working with me. They even asked questions like family stuff, why Japan?, what they should expect with me. I got hired in the same moment and even at this day they always try to meet me, go out. Just be honest on the interview, don’t try to amazed em with vocabulary that you don’t handle, be honest, smile every moment. By the way as Japan etiquette, before enter the room, knock 3 times and wait they tell you to get in, don’t sit untill they ask you to sit. Don’t worry, it will be good! Best of lucks
Don’t wear dead ass black recruit suits. Answer that is questioned (I found us froegners tend to drift off from answer). Always close your mouth
There are plenty of videos on youtube.
I watched 1 or 2 of those before. However, I didn’t bother to prepare during my last interviews so that the employer would clearly know were my language skills stands and to have their expectations reality-bound. I’m a mid-career person though. Interviews seem to be more loose for people like me compared to fresh graduates. My resume and detailed curriculum vitae usually just gets referenced in front of me.
Don’t forget your tatemae when it’s your turn to ask questions.