I think I took flights almost twice a week from May to August two years ago.
Since I was constantly going back and forth between Korea and Japan for interviews, eventually even the customs officers at the airport recognized my face.
I don’t know how common it is to change jobs to Japan, but I think I did it in a completely clueless and ignorant way.
(I couldn’t even speak Japanese well at that time. I still can’t speak it well.)
Recently, I heard from an acquaintance that their younger sibling was considering working abroad, so we had a brief conversation. During our talk, several thoughts came to mind, which I’m writing down here.
일본의 거리
1. Don’t be too hung up on JLPT N1.
When I asked if they had any questions about working in Japan, the friend’s first response was:
“Is JLPT N1 level sufficient for Japanese?”
Sorry, but in my opinion, JLPT doesn’t seem to have much relevance to getting a job in Japan.
While studying for JLPT might help build some Japanese language skills, business language is different in any country.
Especially in languages with complex honorifics like Korean or Japanese, business language tends to be quite different from everyday language.
JLPT alone is insufficient for mastering business Japanese or proper honorific usage.
If you really want to get a job, I recommend buying a decent business Japanese book from a bookstore and just memorizing it.
What I’m saying is that you don’t need to invest too much time getting JLPT N1. You can do without it.
Many HR managers don’t even know such certifications exist.
Companies can immediately determine whether you can work in Japanese just by looking at your resume and having a brief phone conversation.
Some companies even have you fill out questionnaires at the interview site to see if you can write kanji.
Consider Japanese proficiency as a basic requirement if you plan to earn a living in Japan.
You should be able to type and know how to write by hand.
2. High TOEIC scores and TOEIC Speaking levels have more merit than you might think.
There’s a common misconception that Japanese people are bad at English, but that’s not necessarily true.
Japan, with its large population, has many native English speakers including returnee children, and many people who speak English as well as Americans.
It’s just that most people struggle with pronunciation due to the differences between Japanese and English.
Still, compared to Korea where there’s an obsession with English education, the evaluation of TOEIC scores does seem more generous in Japan.
A TOEIC score of 990, which barely counts as a spec for Korean job seekers, transforms across the sea into something like a certificate that says “Well, this person has no problem with English,” so it’s good to get a high TOEIC score.
Of course, if you’re hired for your English skills, you might be assigned tasks that require a lot of English, so be prepared for that.
3. Military service can count as work experience if you explain it well.
Japan nominally doesn’t have a military, and because they have a volunteer system, most Japanese people view soldiers as something like special civil servants.
While in Korea, people immediately check if young men have completed their military service, Japanese people don’t have this mindset, so military service can be considered as work experience.
(Therefore, don’t just write “Military Service Completed” in your experience section; write something like “Served in XX Division of the Republic of Korea Army.”)
Since I was an officer and a professional soldier receiving a salary grade, I explicitly wrote “soldier” in my work experience section.
However, from a Japanese person’s perspective, they might wonder why someone would leave the military after just two years to join a regular company, so you need to explain Korea’s system and what you did there.
(They might have just pretended to understand, and I could have misunderstood.)
Anyway, whether it was because I explained well, or because I did my military service after graduating, or because I was a professional soldier, the company that hired me counted my military service as social experience.
(I received about 3,000 yen more as a social experience allowance.)
However, what I explained above applies to companies that have never hired Koreans before.
If the HR manager has experience hiring Koreans, they might ask a male candidate if he has completed military service.
No matter how much you talk to such people, it won’t make a difference, so don’t push too hard.
4. Think about what kind of work you want to do rather than which company is good.
The second question I received from that friend was:
“Which companies are good companies?”
When asked such a broad question, I can only say Google Japan.
Or Apple Japan. (Google came first simply because I don’t particularly like Apple.)
When preparing for a job in Japan, you’ll often see the term “company research” on recruitment sites.
It literally means researching what kind of company it is.
Japanese companies place great importance on this process, and if they determine during the hiring process that your understanding of their company is low, they might eliminate you without mercy. (Though according to a friend who’s in charge of recruitment, they tend to hire new graduates first and see how it goes because they often leave.)
So before looking for a company, first think about the industry and job type.
The job type might be determined by the company if you’re hired as a generalist, but you should research the industry thoroughly.
Especially since I think there isn’t much proper analysis of Japan’s industrial landscape in Korea…
This aspect can be an unexpected hurdle for Koreans.
Whether you search online, buy books when you go to Japan, or ask people you know… start by exploring the industry diligently.
For someone like me who was changing jobs, the industry was already fixed because of my previous workplace…
5. Always prepare with the company’s perspective in mind.
People say that getting a job in Japan is easier than in Korea, but that’s half true and half false.
The true part is that there are many places with labor shortages that will hire you once you apply,
but good workplaces and good companies in Japan are also flooded with applicants, so there’s little room for foreigners.
Especially from a Japanese company’s perspective, hiring a foreigner makes conservative people even more conservative in their approach.
Therefore, this question always comes up:
“Why do you want to work in Japan or Why did you come to Japan?”
Prepare well for this… I found it quite difficult to answer…
If you’re lucky enough to have a Japanese girlfriend/boyfriend, be honest and maybe exaggerate a bit.
Say that your partner lives in Japan and you’re thinking about marriage.
Then the recruiter will look relieved and won’t ask further.
(The primary concern for most companies hiring foreigners is “What if we hire them but they can’t adapt well and return to their home country?” Having a partner or family who is Japanese or lives in Japan significantly alleviates this concern, they say.)
6. Conclusion
I’ve digressed a bit, but anyway, job hunting is ultimately a sales activity where you’re selling yourself.
Always think about what makes you attractive from the customer’s (company’s) perspective.
If you’re not sure, ask seniors or friends who work at companies. Ask them if they would hire you if they were the boss.
(Usually, your regular relationships are revealed when you ask such questions.)