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+--- Thread: 就職活動 (/thread-10261.html)
就職活動 - dizmox - 2013-02-28
Anyone doing it or doing it soon, or done it recently? In Japan, of course.
就職活動 - SendaiDan - 2013-03-01
I have Japanese friends doing it in Japan. It's really tough they said (no surprises there). Most of them started 12 months in advance and some have still had no luck.
就職活動 - dizmox - 2013-03-01
I'm in an awkward situation where I graduate in the middle of the academic year (September 2014) which doesn't fit into the native schedule. I figured 20 months in advance was a little too early so I've put it off till later this year...
就職活動 - tokyostyle - 2013-03-01
dizmox Wrote:Anyone doing it or doing it soon, or done it recently? In Japan, of course.When Japanese people start so early they are doing a lot of things that won't actually land them a job. In the beginning it's a lot of job hunting seminars and company introduction meetings. If at all possible you should attend a few of these especially if there are going to be large international companies there. In particular the job fair style ones are good because you can talk directly to the companies and get right down to the point, do they hire foreigners who speak your level of Japanese.
In addition you should start hitting up some of the networking events that are attended by both foreigners and Japanese. Start with generic "business in Japan" type events and use those to find out about other events to attend. Also don't let the event titles scare you off. For example there is an event in tokyo for executives. If that's a career path that interests you then definitely go there and talk to people and find out how they got where they are. People love to talk about themselves so it's super easy to get this kind of advice.
Always wear a suit to everything when you are job hunting. You can never be out of place in a suit and appearance definitely matters. Make two resumes so that you have one in all Japanese and one in all English that match modern layouts for each. Also definitely consider submitting 履歴書 (the handwritten kind) for Japanese and Japanese-style companies. Business cards can be a worthwhile investment as well because a company that might not be hiring today might change their mind in 6-9 months.
That was a bit of a brain dump, but if you want me to ramble further or you have any questions just ask.
dizmox Wrote:I'm in an awkward situation where I graduate in the middle of the academic year (September 2014) which doesn't fit into the native schedule.It's worth knowing that you can get your student permission stamp renewed for up to six extra months after graduation in order to job hunt. The application process is fairly trivial just make sure you bring your official graduation certificate and some kind of proof that you've been doing interviews and going to job seminars.
就職活動 - dizmox - 2013-03-01
Thanks for the great advice! I'll definitely try to be prepared when I get into the swing of things seriously later.
I almost went to a Hitachi introduction meeting in my faculty building yesterday but realised everyone was wearing a suit so ran back home, haha.
就職活動 - tokyostyle - 2013-03-01
dizmox Wrote:I almost went to a Hitachi introduction meeting in my faculty building yesterday but realised everyone was wearing a suit so ran back home, haha.Me and another foreigner, after receiving some bad advice from a Japanese classmate, went to our entry ceremony without one. We got to the entrance and noticed everyone else in suits and instantly bailed as well. I guess that's the kind of mistake you only have to make once!
Speaking of Hitachi, I've met non-Japanese employees of Hitachi, Sony, Fujitsu, Nissan, Toyota, Docomo, Softbank, and Rakuten so all of those companies are worth checking out. Also be aware that some foreign companies, notably Amazon, are actually run Japanese-style internally so don't let that sort of thing catch you off guard.
就職活動 - David_jp_23 - 2013-03-01
tokyostyle Wrote:Speaking of Hitachi, I've met non-Japanese employees of Hitachi, Sony, Fujitsu, Nissan, Toyota, Docomo, Softbank, and Rakuten so all of those companies are worth checking out. Also be aware that some foreign companies, notably Amazon, are actually run Japanese-style internally so don't let that sort of thing catch you off guard.I work for one of the companies mentioned here...won't say which one...if anyone had any questions about getting a job you can hit me up.
BTW Rakuten is having a super sale starting tomorrow
就職活動 - TheVinster - 2013-03-01
If I graduate next year (either around March or early June), what are the precautions I should take in searching for a job in Japan early, so I can potentially head there almost immediately? I should note I have no desire to be an English teacher. Right now I'm looking for a summer internship here in America, but would like to eventually start Japan job searching.
就職活動 - David_jp_23 - 2013-03-02
You need to be sending out your resumes right now. Every company in Japan is in full hiring mode for Spring 2014 graduates. So get on that and also try to attend one of the bilingual career forums run by Disco. The biggest one is in Boston every November.
Don't worry too much about not being in Japan. A lot of companies are perfectly willing to do Skype interviews.
就職活動 - TheVinster - 2013-03-02
David_jp_23 Wrote:You need to be sending out your resumes right now. Every company in Japan is in full hiring mode for Spring 2014 graduates. So get on that and also try to attend one of the bilingual career forums run by Disco. The biggest one is in Boston every November.I imagine I'd have trouble with my Japanese resume. I'll have to contact my friend. Also I guess that's where the Japanese girl I spoke with during Fall quarter went when she said, "I'm going to Boston," in November. Are there any recommended websites for people to look at if not in Japan?
Don't worry too much about not being in Japan. A lot of companies are perfectly willing to do Skype interviews.
就職活動 - tokyostyle - 2013-03-02
TheVinster Wrote:Are there any recommended websites for people to look at if not in Japan?Is there a type of job or a particular industry you want to focus on? Also can you deal with Japanese interviews in keigo and over the phone? There's kind of a split between companies who care more about your skills than your language abilities and companies who care more about your language abilities than your skills.
就職活動 - TheVinster - 2013-03-02
tokyostyle Wrote:I study Business Administration at my school, which is a really broad field. I sort of want to go into the business side of the health industry but am aware that may be more difficult in Japan. Not really confined to a specific industry otherwise. I'm a fan of Osaka so if there are popular companies to look into there I'm willing to research them.TheVinster Wrote:Are there any recommended websites for people to look at if not in Japan?Is there a type of job or a particular industry you want to focus on? Also can you deal with Japanese interviews in keigo and over the phone? There's kind of a split between companies who care more about your skills than your language abilities and companies who care more about your language abilities than your skills.
就職活動 - David_jp_23 - 2013-03-02
Look into Takeda Pharmaceutical. They are based out of Osaka and are the largest pharma company in Japan and I think #7 or so in the world. They are also quite serious about globalization, learning English, and all that stuff.
就職活動 - vix86 - 2013-03-02
Just a note about the Boston Career Forum. I've heard this from numerous people that have went.
The BCF is mainly for Japanese students who are currently in the US, but looking to return to Japan for a job after graduating. This is the first and foremost goal of the forum. The forum isn't set up to hire foreigners looking to go to work in Japan at Japanese companies. That said, some places may be willing to interview you, but many others will politely take your information and that will be all you hear.
Going to reiterate what everyone has said. Your keigo needs to flow smoothly.
就職活動 - David_jp_23 - 2013-03-02
What you said about the BCF is mostly true but quite a few companies would be perfectly willing to interview and hire a foreigner. Even one that doesn't speak Japanese at all. Just off the top of my head would be all of the non-Japanese banks, Takeda Pharmaceutical, Rakuten, Zensho, SoftBank, Uniqlo, DeNa, Gree, Square Enix, and all of the foreign accounting firms.
Depending on where you live, it could be a good investment to go to Boston just to get some face to face time with these companies.
就職活動 - tokyostyle - 2013-03-02
TheVinster Wrote:I study Business Administration at my school, which is a really broad field.Honestly the only degree you could have gotten that would be better is some kind of engineering degree. I know a lot of recent graduates who have gotten jobs with just business or economics degrees and all sorts of Japanese levels.
Basically the idea is to find a list of companies which might be interested in foreign applicants and then to contact them. College graduates are handled differently than everyone else but you can still use job listings to figure out who might be interested. Thus check job sites and career forum sites that specialize in bilingual placements so you can become familiar with the companies.
Boston Career Forum 2012 Participating Companies
Career Forum
Career CrossDaiJob
Unfortunately I don't know anything about actually applying while outside of Japan so hopefully someone with some actual experience has more specific advice, but at a minimum you'll want to get in touch with companies you are interested in and find out what the application process for graduates is.
就職活動 - dizmox - 2013-03-02
I'm glad I'm inside Japan so I don't have to go to the BCF again... there's something intensely stressful about being visibly surrounded by thousands of other stressed desperate people in black suits all competing against you.
就職活動 - TheVinster - 2013-03-02
I appreciate the help guys, and I apologize dizmox for taking over the latter half of this thread.
Thankfully Takeda Pharmaceuticals has an office near me in Illinois so I threw in 2 applications for some summer internships. Maybe if I can get a summer internship and do a bit of networking, I could get lucky and end up with a job in Japan for next year. A man can dream!
就職活動 - dizmox - 2013-03-02
Don't worry I had nothing in particular to ask. :X
vix86 Wrote:Going to reiterate what everyone has said. Your keigo needs to flow smoothly.Going out to the shops today for a (drill) book on keigo.
就職活動 - tokyostyle - 2013-03-03
TheVinster Wrote:Thankfully Takeda Pharmaceuticals has an office near me in Illinois so I threw in 2 applications for some summer internships. Maybe if I can get a summer internship and do a bit of networking, I could get lucky and end up with a job in Japan for next year. A man can dream!In my experience getting a job through networking produces the best results. When I decided to quit my job and move to Japan I was surprised to be called back in two weeks later to discuss working at the Japanese office. (At the time I didn't even realize we had such a thing ...)
In any case good luck guys! David and I will be waiting at Shibuya hub for you next April to celebrate when you start your new jobs.
就職活動 - dizmox - 2013-03-03
Thanks :3
Got 2 books today. This
http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E5%B0%B1%E6%B4%BB%E3%81%AE%E6%95%AC%E8%AA%9E-%E5%94%90%E6%B2%A2-%E6%98%8E/dp/482071824X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1362300185&sr=1-1 for jobseeking and http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E6%95%AC%E8%AA%9E%E9%80%9F%E6%94%BB%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B9%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC%E2%80%955%E3%81%A4%E3%81%AE%E3%83%91%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC%E3%83%B3%E3%81%A7%E5%BF%9C%E7%94%A8%E8%87%AA%E5%9C%A8-%E9%88%B4%E6%9C%A8-%E6%98%AD%E5%A4%AB/dp/4534033516/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1362300279&sr=1-1 for general keigo brushup. Will practice verbally too of course.
EDIT: Ok, the second book was great, but the first was an unnecessary purchase (mostly just common sense).
就職活動 - dizmox - 2013-06-05
Internship application period is now if anyone is wondering.
就職活動 - sherlock - 2013-06-05
Hi guys. What can you say about the chances of landing a job in investment banking in Japan? Is it as bad as the rest of the world?
就職活動 - dizmox - 2013-06-05
Same as anywhere else I imagine...