This summer I’m looking to apply for Software Developer jobs in Japan from abroad and I was wondering how to tailor my resume and developer portfolio / website to improve my chances. Now before anyone redirects me to r/EngineeringResumes or r/cscareerquestions, **hear me out:**
The reason why I’m asking these questions here is because of a one-on-one conversation I had about a year ago with a Japanese recruiter. The recruiter directed me to **not follow a “North American” style of resume** as Japanese companies want to see “all of your experience” *(even the not directly relevant positions)* and to not be afraid to let my resume go beyond one page.
So my questions are: If you are a recruiter / hiring manager for a Software/IT company:
1. How should I tailor my resume to best get your attention *(more than one page? list all previous job experience? include a head-shot? pretty design? an actual Japanese resume?)*
2. How important is a website / developer portfolio / projects in your experience?
b. Gitlab instead of Github for this – does it matter?
3. How important is it to have a Japanese version of my LinkedIn / Website? *(I was told that it’s unimportant and to not do this???)*
4. How can I best convey to you that I have between an N5 to N4 level of proficiency without the certificate? *(planning on writing N4/N3 in December)*
If you are not a recruiter but are working in the Software/IT Industry in Japan, is there any advice you can give to someone abroad? For example:
* Have you seen or heard about anything not blatantly obvious or apparent that would make someone get rejected almost immediately?
* If you moved from abroad, was there anything you did that you feel made your application stand out for your first job in Japan?
* Outside of the usual suspects *(LinkedIn, JapanDev, TokyoDev, etc.)* is there anywhere else you’d suggest looking for postings?
Thank you so much for any Advice you can provide!
7 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**Advice Needed: Resume/Portfolio differences for applying to Software Developer Jobs in Japan from abroad**
This summer I’m looking to apply for Software Developer jobs in Japan from abroad and I was wondering how to tailor my resume and developer portfolio / website to improve my chances. Now before anyone redirects me to r/EngineeringResumes or r/cscareerquestions, **hear me out:**
The reason why I’m asking these questions here is because of a one-on-one conversation I had about a year ago with a Japanese recruiter. The recruiter directed me to **not follow a “North American” style of resume** as Japanese companies want to see “all of your experience” *(even the not directly relevant positions)* and to not be afraid to let my resume go beyond one page.
So my questions are: If you are a recruiter / hiring manager for a Software/IT company:
1. How should I tailor my resume to best get your attention *(more than one page? list all previous job experience? include a head-shot? pretty design? an actual Japanese resume?)*
2. How important is a website / developer portfolio / projects in your experience?
b. Gitlab instead of Github for this – does it matter?
3. How important is it to have a Japanese version of my LinkedIn / Website? *(I was told that it’s unimportant and to not do this???)*
4. How can I best convey to you that I have between an N5 to N4 level of proficiency without the certificate? *(planning on writing N4/N3 in December)*
If you are not a recruiter but are working in the Software/IT Industry in Japan, is there any advice you can give to someone abroad? For example:
* Have you seen or heard about anything not blatantly obvious or apparent that would make someone get rejected almost immediately?
* If you moved from abroad, was there anything you did that you feel made your application stand out for your first job in Japan?
* Outside of the usual suspects *(LinkedIn, JapanDev, TokyoDev, etc.)* is there anywhere else you’d suggest looking for postings?
Thank you so much for any Advice you can provide!
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1. I don’t think there is a 1 page limit. A standard Japanese resume is 2 pages (well technically an A3 folded in half) and I also used 2 pages for my resume.
2. Nice to have in my experience. I’d think it be better to use that to describe what kind of coding you do. Nobody wants to check line by line what you made.
2b. Either or should be fine.
3. I don’t think you need a specific Japanese linkedin profile. Having multiple linkedin profiles seems a tad sketchy.
4. Just tell them you have N4 or N5.
I’m a manager in a relatively big tech company in Japan. Our Engineering department operates on American standards – I applied with a Canadian-style CV and cover letter, but I expect to get pretty much any kind of resume. We have people from all over the world, and discriminating based on resume format is just weird to me.
That being said, our Sales group in Japan is, unsurprisingly, almost entirely Japanese. I would imagine they expect a more Japanese style of resume.
If you’re really uncertain, you can always provide both kinds. If you’re applying for a Japanese company, they would likely appreciate a Japanese-style resume. If you’re applying for a Western company, they’d probably appreciate a Western-style resume.
1. As for fancy things: don’t. I don’t want colourful or arbitrary graphics taking up space and distracting me from the important points on your resume. Straight and to the point works best. Also – and this is personal preference – I don’t want to read a resume that’s more than two pages long. Your resume should make me want to interview you.
2. If you’re a new developer, a portfolio is important. If you have years of experience, you should be able to discuss those in an interview and list your achievements on your resume.
3. No idea. My LinkedIn is English, and half-complete, and I get poachers every few days.
4. You can have a “languages” segment in your resume, and list Japanese as beginner.
there is a discord: https://www.tokyodev.com/
lots of people can advise you there and we are there already 😌
My advice would be apply to foreign companies with a western style resume. Foreign companies don’t care about resume style that much and are also much better to work for in my experience.
Also most jobs that require Japanese ask for N2 or better so N5/N4 isn’t going to help much. Just convey that you are willing to study.
Modern startups & global (gaishikei) companies will accept a “North American” resume.
In fact, resume requirements are a good filter to find these companies.
> How important is a website / developer portfolio…
Depends on what else you can offer. Used to work at Google? No one cares. Boot camp grad w/ no experience? _Extremely_ important. Gitlab vs. Github doesn’t matter.
> How important is it to have a Japanese version of my LinkedIn / Website?
Doesn’t matter beyond a bit of novelty. They only care if you speak Japanese or not.
> How can I best convey to you that I have between an N5 to N4…
I’d mention you’re studying Japanese but don’t dwell on it (no offense but even if you _had_ N4 or N5 it wouldn’t impress anyone).
> Have you seen or heard about anything … that would make someone get rejected almost immediately?
– Asking about salary too early
– Blank email body / cover letter when applying (you’d be shocked how many people do this)
> If you moved from abroad, was there anything you did that you feel made your application stand out for your first job in Japan?
– Referral from someone at the company
– Having N1 or N2
– Proof of connection to Japan / experience here (i.e some way to show you’re not just gonna hate it and leave)
> Is there anywhere else you’d suggest looking for postings?
– Slack groups like HN Tokyo
– Meetups (if you can come to Japan in person)
What I did that worked:
1. Go on a job seeking website that has its own resume builder.
2. Fill in the blanks.
3. Have your agent on the website clean up your Japanese for you.