Anyone know any free online resources/ videos on how to write Covering Letters, Resumes etc in Japanese?

Does it usually have to be hand-written or typed?

I have heard the whole procedure is quite standardised - to the extent that you just have to fill out a rirekisho-form. You might try googling 履歴書の書き方 or something along these lines. Here is but an example, seems to be very outdated, though...

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/7802597/Japa...4%E6%9B%B8

I used to have a book about this, but I got rid of it in a move.

The only part of it I remember is that they said you should hand-write rirekisho forms with a fountain pen(!). That was ten years ago, so it may be out of date.

Fillanzea Wrote:I used to have a book about this, but I got rid of it in a move.

The only part of it I remember is that they said you should hand-write rirekisho forms with a fountain pen(!). That was ten years ago, so it may be out of date.

No, things are still the same, except the fountain pen part. My gf recently completed the fresh university graduate job hunting rite of passage, but she wrote her rirekisho forms in calligraphic ペン字 using a ballpoint pen. It took her around an hour to write each one. She discarded several due to even the slightest error or inelegant stroke.

I can relate my experiences from the Boston Career Forum. Nearly everyone there, including myself, had a typed out rirekisho. But I did see one that was hand written and then scanned and printed multiple times. I wouldn't recommend this unless you have perfect handwriting. And by perfect I mean better than the majority of Japanese or Chinese people.

I also saw a number of bilingual American style resumes with English on one side and Japanese on the other.

Anyway - rirekisho advice. Every Japanese resource is going to tell you to list education from middle school or even elementary. As a foreigner you should ignore this completely and start at university. Unless you grew up in Japan, no Japanese person is going to have any clue about your educational history before uni.

What? I mean, do I really have to write like tens of applications by hand?
That's crazy

Nope. Typed is perfectly normal and the expected format these days and like I said above, do not attempt to write one by hand unless your 字 is truly awesome.

kitakitsune Wrote:Nope. Typed is perfectly normal and the expected format these days and like I said above, do not attempt to write one by hand unless your 字 is truly awesome.

I kinda understood that write by hand but copy it only if your handwriting is perfect

Ok, so I'm in the middle of searching for a new job here in Japan, so I'll just relate some of what I've come across.

While a good number of 転職 positions seem to be rather accepting of typed resumes, a very large majority of positions for new graduates still ask for everything to be hand written and mailed (if not brought directly to a company's 説明会). It does seem that positions directly targeting non-Japanese seem to be a little more open to typed resumes than positions which don't, however. The size of the company can also play a part, with big names tending to ask for handwritten ones more often than not. It's basically because being able to judge an applicant's handwritting gives them another factor to make their decision by.　Which is why it can be so time-consuming, and why the slightest error calls for a complete rewrite.

I don't have any sites in particular to recommend, but a rough look-over of some example resumes online will give you the general idea of what is expected from a Japanese resume. They tend to follow a general guidline, and most (all?) people buy blank resume forms in bulk and use those.

Equally, if not more important than the 履歴書 itself are the 自己PR　and 志望動機. While the bulk of a resume is pretty straightforward, these require a bit more thought and effort. Spending some time reading over a lot of online examples would be worth your while, I think.

All of this, though, is from the looking-for-a-job-in-Japan-from-within-Japan perspective. Like another poster related from their experience at the Boston Career Forum, it might be quite different elsewhere. Also, I have been looking mostly at Japanese companies, and foreign companies in Japan may very well be completely different.

I've heard that some companies do require that you write it by hand.

turvy Wrote:I've heard that some companies do require that you write it by hand.

Then you can assume that they want native-level Japanese abilities and thus mark them off your target list.

Unless you have native-level Japanese.

Mmm yeah, I guess you are right. Honestly I don't know much about this, I just found the thread and recalled a Japanese friend from Facebook just recently posted a picture of the resume's format and commented that you have to write it down by hand.