Do Japanese companies care that it took you 5 years to graduate university?

Long story short, i changed my major so i took an extra year to graduate. It’s fine for the most part in America. They might ask you why (never happened before). But i am wondering if they see it the same way here in Japan.

I’ve been working in a family friend’s business so it was fine until now. But now that i want to start applying to other companies and seeing my options.

20 comments
  1. Your options are places that respond to your applications. If the answer is yes, are you just going to not apply?

  2. huh? how would anyone know anything other than what you put on your cv (I.e. your graduation year)?

  3. People without degree can find white collar employment, why not you. The longer you stay, the better. You’re not gonna be seen as better or worse, you’re all new grads. The only thing that would make you stand out is if your university is well known and prestigious. Then you might have better luck than others

  4. No one cares / would even know. Just put your graduation date and that’s it. It took me about 9 years to finish my degree. I worked full time and went to school ( had to pay everything myself). I’ve never been asked anything other than what my major was.

  5. I don’t know. I got my Bachelor’s in 2 years, and I had a real problem with companies knowledging that.

  6. Honestly, a lot of my Japanese friends did 5 years, and not a single one had any issues. Most are quite successful in their careers now in Japanese companies, as well as multi-national companies.

  7. You do not actually have to tell the exhaustive truth on your resume about anything. Omit details and frame parts of your experience in whatever light will benefit you. As long as you are not egregiously misrepresenting your abilities or actively lying about anything someone could verify, it doesn’t matter.

  8. No one cares. As someone who has been involved hiring I have never even looked at the dates for education. There are many reasons ones education might take more or less time, and it really isn’t worth my time to dig into it. My own undergraduate took 5.5 years (did 2 degrees a BSc and a BCS) before grad school and it has never been an issue.

  9. Don’t think they really care. I had an extra semester and I even clarified it for some reason (I think I put my graduation date in wrong) but they still didn’t bat an eye. If you have a reason for it, it should be fine.

  10. Hi there! I deal with this question a lot as part of my job and I can tell you a few things:

    1. There’s no need to go into length about the fact that it took you 5 years. Your resume simply needs to state that you entered college when, and are expected to graduate with xxxxxx major at a specific month/year.

    2. People take 5+ years for a variety of reasons. Study abroad, financial issues, family issues, health problems, travel around the world, the list goes on. They don’t have time to listen to all of that unless it’s part of your narrative of why you want to work for that employer or why you’d be a good fit.

    3. If you’re concerned that everyone else will be one year younger than you, that’s also not that weird. People often take more than one try to get in to college, especially the more prestigious ones. People also start elementary school late on purpose, needing to be held back at some point during their K-12 due to moving to/from overseas with their family, study abroad, the list goes on. It’s really not a big deal as far as employers are concerned, and only a problem with colleagues if they get disrespectful which doesn’t happen that frequently.

    In the end, the only thing employers really care about is whether you are capable of graduating college and/or have acquired the necessary knowledge and skills. Don’t worry about the one extra year, it won’t matter except for the extra experience you may have picked up along the way.

  11. Doesn’t matter. Ofc it’s best if you graduate normally but ones reason to take longer differs.

  12. In my country, the standard time to graduate from a STEM program is 5 years (our degree is called Engineer’s Degree instead of Bachelor’s Degree). So for people who are not familiar with our education system, it might seem that I took an extra year. This has never come up in any of my interviews.

  13. Not really an issue, as long as you don’t have blanks. If they ask you can say that you changed your major . That’s it.

  14. Hope not. Applying for a PhD and you have to put that.

    Took me 6 actually. Was there 7. I changed majors did two internships and god for forbid, gasp, took time off and worked a bit.

    They hummed and hawed about they despte getting my MA with merit. And having 17 papers published since then. Oh well… It will matter or not. I will find out in a month.

  15. Nobody cares. If you have the degree, you have the degree. If you’re worried about it, don’t put the years attended on your resume, just your year of graduation.

  16. How would they know? I’ve never been asked about it, but I do have a graduation date for my B.S. that, looking at my birthday, makes it obvious I graduated in my 30s.

  17. You are a mid-career hire so it won’t be a problem.

    I mean it took me 6 years to graduate and was asked about it during interviews.
    I was able to explain why and it never was a problem.

  18. Not really, they may not even notice or know how long a degree takes outside Japan. If they do, changing major a legitimate explanation, don’t worry about it

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