Hello,

I am wondering if any of you has personal experience with the Boston Career Forum (http://www.careerforum.net/event/)?

During the last couple of years I have seen many of my friends go there and I know several (native Japanese) people who got their current jobs there. This year I am planning to attend as well, but of course I am worried about my Japanese. From my friends I know what the event is like, but I would like to hear about a from a perspective of a non-native speaker.

What is it like being a non-native Japanese speaker and going to CFN? Will most companies not even consider you without native-level Japanese (my current level is around JLPT2)? Any suggestions or tips on what I should focus on if my goal is to get a job this year?

Thanks!

I went in 2007 while I was in university in NY, just to get a feel of the place. My Japanese was very beginner at the time and just spent time chatting with recruiters.

A good 90% of the jobs there were specifically for people with native level Japanese. In general, Japanese companies use the fair to find young Japanese people with English skills. You can't really get around this fact and you need to accept it before you show up and get seriously discouraged. I saw many a "Japanese studies major" in a very bad mood those two days.

But

If you have a good solid command of (at minimum) JLPT level 2 Japanese and marketable skills you should be in the playing field for some of the more English heavy jobs.

The key to this fair (and any really) is to do as much networking and research as you possibly can before the fair. You want to try to set up interviews a month in advance.

Thanks a lot for your answer. I am not a Japanese major and I think my degree is pretty marketable

I think that until October it is possible for me to bring my Japanese to a level where I could take interviews. However, that would mean focusing completely on learning how to speak (in interview language/keigo) and neglecting what I am studying right now (General Vocabulary, JLPT Grammar, etc).

In other words, I would study interview-relevant vocabulary, practice answering common interview questions, and so on. My overall command of Japanese (measured in JLPT terms) wouldn't improve very much, but my Interview-in-Japanese-taking skills would be very high.

Do you think that would be a good idea?

IMO using clear normal polite form Japanese is far more important than learning keigo. The risks of screwing up your speech or interrupting your flow are very high.

To prepare for interviews I think it might be a good idea to start a lang-8 account and write diary entries about your personal experiences. That helps me a lot.

Other than that you could try reading industry specific papers and magazines to brush up on the business Japanese related to your field. You wouldn't apply for a finance job if you don't know basic words for finance would you?

Edit: if you have limited Japan related experience and are unsure about your Japanese skills for these types of job you might want to look into the CIR position for the JET program. It would be a good opportunity to learn Japanese and prepare you for a move into a Japanese company. Not to mention you will make a lot more money than any job you would find at this career fair.

Also one last thing to consider.

The majority of these jobs will also have written examinations...

So keep that in mind too.

I was thinking about just that. Many of my friends had to take written online exams in order to be selected for interviews. As long as my Japanese is not on a native-like level I probably won't stand a chance against native speakers.

I am not really interested in the JET program (I am not a native English speaker either and don't have American citizenship), but thank you for mentioning it.

I guess my only hope is to find some international companies which don't require native-level command of Japanese.

I'll be applying for a job in the finance sector in Japan for entry in 2012, so I'm guessing the 2011 Boston career fair would be appropriate for me? I'd go this year for an internship in 2011 but I'm not sure I'd be up to it language wise that soon. The prospect of having ~20 months to get from just about conversational Japanese to business proficiency while outside Japan is a bit scary...

I hear about these back office jobs that hardly little japanese ability but have no idea going about finding them in practice.

dizmox Wrote:The prospect of having ~20 months to get from just about conversational Japanese to business proficiency while outside Japan is a bit scary...
.

You make it seem like 'Business Japanese' is something much more difficult than conversation Japanese. In my opinion, I would say business Japanese is easier because you there are a lot more set phrases that you use all the time.
Even native speakers have a hard time using keigo. But, that's simply because it's slightly different from the language they normally use in daily life.

I think you can learn business Japanese in less than 20 months. Since you want to go into the finance sector, you can skip all the slang in Japanese and focus on vocabulary related to the financial industry. This is easier because you just narrowed your focus from learning Japanese to learning Japanese that's used in the financial world.

I just wanted to say that (Keigo = more difficult) is not true.

http://www.koakishiki.com/
A good site for learning keigo.

Thanks for the link☆　I'll take a proper look when I'm at the stage where I can read newspapers properly. At the moment I'm JLPT2ish as well but I'm learning about 150 words a day, so vocabulary shouldn't be an issue by that stage (currently my main bottleneck to reading/listening comprehension).

Actually, I never really even thought about keigo, more the fact that I would have trouble reading the financial papers in my native language, haha, but I guess that'll come in time.

Hi ThomasB,
Here are some things that I learned about BCF (Boston Career Forum) after attending the fair in two consecutive years (2006 and 2007) preceded by a summer internship in Japan in 2006.
The forum used to be a career fair where "buldge bracket" Wall Street investment banks and major Japanese financial institutions came to recruit for their offices in Tokyo. Nevertheless, in recent years not only "finance giants2 come to the forum, but also several accounting firms, software, automotive, electronics and even medical technology companies show up at BCF. Many not only recruit for their Japan offices, I actually had a couple of interviews for positions in Hong Kong and Singapore.

That being said, I would like to point out that the set of skills each of these types of companies look for is very different. Examples below:

TRADITIONAL JAPANESE BANK (Ex. Nomura Shouken) They really do not care much about what you major is, but they do care about your language abilities. Their hires are almost all Japanese natives. For non-japanase strong ties to Japan help (Japanese family, for instance, can be a big plus, unbelievable in the western but true in Japan)

BULDGE BRACKET INVESTMENT BANK (Ex. JP Morgan) well, depends which division you are going to apply for. Historically, Operations (middle office) is the easiest way to get in, in terms of skills(the bad news is 30,000 candidates know that too); therefore the interviews are quite intense and are conducted in both English and Japanese one after another and the content varies. One time I went through 4 rounds of interviews with a big investment bank in less than an hour. If you are going to other divisions such as financial controlling, research, sales trading you might have to have an specific major, special qualifications or at the very least experience through an internship in that area. BTW, investment banks love to hire engineers(even more than finance majors) because of the quantitative abilities and math knowledge
BIG ACCOUNTING FIRMS (Ex. Deloitte Tohmatsu) well, your GPA and a degree in accounting from one of top ranked accounting programs will get you there, no so much your japanese skills. Typically a 3.75 or more and have graduated from:
1.-University of Texas at Austin
2.-University of Chicago
3.-Brigham Young University
4.-University of Southern California
5.-Notre Dame University
I had a friend who was offered a position right on the booth because he was a native japanese graduating from one of the programs I mentioned above and had decent english skills.
POSITIONS IN HONG KONG AND SINGAPORE preference goes to people from those countries that have solid japanese, chinese and english skills, since visa sponsorship will not be a problem for the company. Nowadays, many mainland chinese, taiwanese, zainichi chuugokujin, and foreign born chinese studying in the US also attend the forum and they represent serious competition not only to the gaijin but to the Japanese themselves.
NOTES:
-Prepare a few dozens of your resume in both Japanese and English
-JPLT level 2 is not that impressive any more, a good number of the Koreans and Chinese that attend the forum as well as many Nikkei have JPLT level 1
-Early application is strongly encouraged, if you do that the companies interested in your resume can contact you to set telephone interviews previous to the forum or interviews during the forum.
-In my opinion the forum is not suitable for Humanities, Literature, Asian Studies, Japanese Language, or Japanese Studies majors. I know many companies say in their profiles "All majors welcome", not so true in reality.
-The following is something that a UBS recruiter said to a member of my university staff regarding the BCF: "BCF is the last chance for graduating students that have not gotten any job offers and most of the jobs in the financial area are already arranged through summer internships. Therefore the forum should be used by sophomores, and juniors to find internships and start making their first contacts with potential employers."
-DO NOT TRY TO BREAK THE STEREOTYPE, BEING ORIGINAL OR COOL!! by showing how many color shirts and bugs bunny neck ties you own. Strictly dark suits, white shirts and conservative ties, well if you have been to Japan you know what I am talking about.
I hope the information is useful and did not sound negative or pesimistic. I just wanted to give you a real idea of what to expect. Ultimately, the chances of getting hired depend a lot on how you market yourself, as in every job interview, first impressions are the most important.
Good Luck!!!

Sincerely,
A Mexican that studied in the US, has a Japanese wife, lived in Japan 3 years, and continues to eat and drink Japan everyday by working at a Japanese company in Mexico

Omaralhasan Wrote:-The following is something that a UBS recruiter said to a member of my university staff regarding the BCF: "BCF is the last chance for graduating students that have not gotten any job offers and most of the jobs in the financial area are already arranged through summer internships. Therefore the forum should be used by sophomores, and juniors to find internships and start making their first contacts with potential employers."

Eep, guess I better head over there this year to try and get an internship for 2011 then, since next year is my last summer vacation.... My academics are strong (Cambridge uni, Mathematics) but I dont know how well my JLPT1ish Japanese (at that time) will compete with the natives. I guess I just gotta give it a shot. (’д‘） I'll be applying to bulge brackets mostly but I have at least one prop trading firm in mind to apply to (outside the fair).

Omaralhasan Wrote:Sincerely,
A Mexican that studied in the US, has a Japanese wife, lived in Japan 3 years, and continues to eat and drink Japan everyday by working at a Japanese company in Mexico

Great first post!

The participating companies are going to start receiving applications around mid August. Apply ASAP Dizmox, that will increase your chances of going to the forum with arranged interviews instead of trying to get one by talking to the guys in the booths. The reason why I say that is because some companies put their junior staff specially those who were hired at BCF in previous years to screen resumes at the booth and those guys (and girls) many times have no experience in recruiting. If you can skip the booth will be awesome. Interviews usually go like this
1st round junior staff, deparment manager, or human resources associate (60% or more are rejected in this stage)
2nd round division manager
3rd round executive or senior manager
4th round again executive manager (if succesful some will invite you to a recruiting dinner that night or others will give you a verbal offer right on the spot)

Make sure you have your mobile phone on (and needless to say list it on your resume). Ocassionally after an interview they will not call you right away but do it later. When that happens they use the telephone as means of communication. Internet is available but always there are long lines to use it. The forum is usually Friday, Saturday and half day Sunday, plan on attending at least two days.

If they say ATO DE OSHIRASE ITASHIMASU, that means in standard English: We will keep your resume on file for future openings( you know,the implicit japanese meaning) so forget about it and move on to the next company.

NO HOT SHOTS!!! They do not want to see how smart you are so avoid bragging or showing off your super leader skills. Answer everything GUTAI TEKI NI, and have genuine questions about the company (you will accomplish that by doing your research of the company in advance). Also if you do not understand something they say do not be afraid to say it (unless is something that you are supposed to know), again do your homework in advance and at least I can guarantee smooth inteviews and always remember YOU CAN TAKE A JAPANESE FROM JAPAN BUT NOT JAPAN FROM A JAPANESE; meaning that you can be interviewing with American buldge brackets or famous European banks but if the interviewer is Japanese behave as they expect you to.

Thanks again for the reply! I registered for the forum this morning and the list of particiating companies is starting to go up, so I'll apply as they appear.

dizmox Wrote:Thanks again for the reply! I registered for the forum this morning and the list of particiating companies is starting to go up, so I'll apply as they appear.

Good Luck!!!

Thank you. Two of my tutors are university are Japanese so I can bug them for references in both languages, for what it's worth...

Though the chance is very much there that my language skills won't be up to scratch by then. If that's the case, I hope I can still find a job the next year... /panic

Hey everyone

I'll be attending this as well in November.

Definitely nervous, and definitely trying to gather up as much information as possible!

Although it's slightly discouraging to read things like "90% of whom they hire are at a native level of Japanese," the only thing we can really do is give it our best shot.


I have a few friends who went last year. I'm trying to get in contact with them to squeeze any kind of advice/tips/information. This could be a life-changer!

Oh, one more thing. I recently purchased a 面接 book, giving tips on things like posture, attitude, what to say, what not to say, what to avoid, etc. If I find anything out of the ordinary, I'll definitely post up.

Well, 'til November!

Gambarimashou~


Chris

I'm also going this year. I'll be looking for an MBA level internship for the summer.

Hey guys! I had a quick question regarding resumes in Japanese.

As you guys may or may not know, the Boston Career Forum is offering some travel scholarships to a few lucky individuals.

In order to be eligible, they require you to have/write a Japanese resume.

I'm not too sure how I should tackle this. Did any of you already submit your resume in Japanese?

Thanks in advance

They most likely mean a Japanese format resume (in Japanese), not merely a translated western resume.

If you can't get the forms for it (should be handwritten), you can use http://resume.meieki.com/ (which I used when first applying for jobs)