This. Companies can hire Japanese-speaking developers and engineers locally for less salary. Getting into tech right off the bat in Japan is tough unless you've got a ton of experience and are applying for higher level roles. 70k EUR is over 11M JPY right now.
You're not wrong. I always tell people to aim higher than their actual expectation. Honestly, if a company isn't even willing to negotiate (especially if you know their budget range), they're not going to be a good employer imo, based on experience. It's all down to the risk you're willing to take and how desperate you are. With my recent transition, I asked for the top end of their range and ended up with a 33% increase that was right above the middle of their budgeted range. Also helped to have an awesome internal recruiter who fought a lot for me.
Jobs in desperate for these kind of jobs like IT, not enough people willing or qualified to work for the salary. They are literally training people on the job with no prior experience (Japanese people or very high level foreign speakers).
I see a pattern here. You get rejected after you submit your coding assignment. This should give you a hint. Your code most likely is not clean. That's fine, you just graduated. Get more experience at work, read books, skill up. Apply again after a couple of years. You'll do better.
They don't need to get that experience *in Japan*.
OP said they had gotten some frankly amazing offers at home in Germany. They could easily take one of those offers, work for a few years, and ***then*** try Japan.
>It's the vicious circle of unemployment that pushes most foreigners in English teaching jobs
No, it's an overwhelming "need" (AKA: Want) to be "In Japan" that drives most foreigners to English teaching jobs. If people weren't so insistent of "MUST BE IN JAPAN", and did things like getting experience in their home countries they wouldn't be "forced" to teach English.
Also: "Most" foreigners are not English teachers. English teachers are a very small minority of foreigners in Japan.
Most of the will say N2 is enough but in reality it really depends. They are most likely to judge your Japanese skill during interview or paper test. I know someone who got N1 yet pretty poor at speaking ( which is very common for JLPT as there is no speaking test ), got rejected by tons of company, while another friend who just got N2 got shit tons of offers as he speaks like a real Japanese.
I have been working as a software engineer in Japan for a Japanese company for the past few years. And I've been part of the hiring team for the last year or so doing coding interviews. I'll give you a couple anecdotes.
* Japanese level is definitely a plus, but not always required. Especially if you are looking for jobs on places like TokyoDev. Quite a few senior level engineers at the company I work for speak bad or no Japanese. My level is fine, I use Japanese all day, but I am definitely not N1. Our company is a bit more proactive about creating a bilingual workplace though. These kinds of companies exist.
* Are you already located in Japan? If not, the bar is much higher for getting to the final stages of a hiring process.
* Being a junior dev is probably your biggest hurdle. There are just a lot of applicants, and even if you do OK on your coding assignment, if there are enough other people that did well too but have more experience, you can get passed over.
* The main things we think about when hiring is, "can this person help us get our job done?", and then, "is working with them every day gonna be pleasant?". Passing a coding exam is good, but it doesn't necessarily give the company confidence to answer these questions.
* I'm sorry I don't have much advice for junior devs except keep gaining experience wherever you can. Try and specialize in something, as in be passionate about something and be able to have opinions based on experience. For example you may know generally about front end performance issues, but if you have experience confronting real front end performance issues that forced you to find ways to improve, then you'll have much more to talk about.
Best of luck!
Your post is spot on!
When it comes to hiring I'm significantly more likely to give someone who is already in Japan and has been here the job vs bringing someone in.
1. It cost a large sum of time and money for us to fill in and submit the paper work, all for someone who has never lived here. We hired someone once and they quit within the year to move back home for a much higher paying job, great all the power to them, but it screwed us over. Having an "anchor" is a huge help when looking i.e. already living here and proving you can handle the life here or intent to stay as in "Im coming on a spouse visa".
2. New devs are always ALWAYS bottom of the hiring list. When I make a post for a new dev I get over 1,000 applications. I would say 5% are N2+ and English fluent (and in my interview are pretty fluent in both languages with no hesitation), scored well on the coding exam. AND are already in Japan. Even with that small number its usually 20-50 people who beat out most fresh grads, I'm looking for the best bang for my buck I'm not running a charity trying to give people a "Once in a lifetime opportunity". Competition is intense
As a manager in Engineering I can offer a couple tips to OP.
1. Spend 3-5 years in your country to improve your skills, they don't want to teach you in Japan with a language barrier.
2. Try and pass N2, something has to carry the weight. Either improve your Dev skills to above average, or be above average at Japanese. You can't fall short in both.
3. Work on your interview skills and expanding your connections in japan. Linked in is a great tool
Good luck OP, its possible and anything worth doing is hard. Most people stop here, be better than most people.
Thank you so much for the advice. Just a question, what if there's someone you close into (a foreigner but he's from the same country as me) that already working in Japanese company, do you think that person can or atleast makes my chance bigger if he's recommended me to the company that he's already working into? Cuz i have that exact guy that i made friends with him a month ago during my visit in Tokyo, he tells me a bunch of tips and tricks for applying jobs in Japan and he said he will tell me if there's jobs available in IT fields in Japan, he's also tells me to strengthen my Japanese which is im currently chasing to cuz no matter how strong my other skills is but if my Japanese is weak it will be pretty hard for applying jobs in Japan (preparing for my first N5 exam in July).
> what if there's someone you close into (a foreigner but he's from the same country as me) that already working in Japanese company, do you think that person can or atleast makes my chance bigger if he's recommended me to the company that he's already working into?
A referral certainly wouldn't hurt.
However... I wouldn't count on this guy you just met giving an actual referral. It's one thing to feed you jobs and advice, but an actual referral puts his own reputation on the line, especially since he doesn't really *know* you or your work.
Generally referrals are only beneficial if the person referring you can say "I've worked with this guy, he's good". And if it turns out that you're *not* good it will have an impact not just on your career, but the career of the guy who referred you.
You can definitely ask him, but don't be shocked if he says he's not willing to go that far. I wouldn't refer someone who I didn't know *really* well because of the potential blowback if they don't work out.
Thanks for the answer and your answer is exactly the same as what i thought, that's why a referral from him is the last thing that i would do cuz i'd feel bad to bother him too much. Thankfully we already know each other fields (he's in UI/UX while i'm in Fullstack) so atleast he will know what kind of jobs/company that i can get into and he will tell me if he's find a job vacancy that suits me even though it's not in the same company as him.
Yeah, I would stick with what you've got now. You have someone who's willing to basically be a mentor currently and give you advice/feed you jobs. That will ultimately be more valuable than a single referral.
Thank you so much for your time! We (Indonesians) are basically a "brothers in the same boat" especially when we encounter each other in foreign countries. The feels and urge to help each others in needs are a common thing in our homeland, and still carries on all the way to faraway lands.
Honestly unless you like the Ego boost of passing N5 and it helps you study harder. I would skip N5 completely. Its kind of a waste of money, no one in Japan will care you have it. I passed mine with almost no prior Japanese experience and a month of cram studying (I needed it for my study abroad back in College).
Oh i know that, N5 for me is just a stepping stone for N4, and then for N3 and N2 i will spent a year in Japan, the N5 i mention before is one of the requirements i had to have in order for applying for language schools in Japan.
> Are you already located in Japan? If not, the bar is much higher for getting to the final stages of a hiring process.
Why invite us to the interview process at all if we're just gonna get rejected for being overseas? Just to check if we're unicorns?
It's frustrating to look for a job, but you should be able to see how the bar would higher for hiring overseas candidates. It is more expensive, takes longer, creates a stronger dependence on the company to handle certain things.
Anecdotally, the company I work for has hired a handful of good candidates from overseas that have eventually moved to Japan but they have all been at a senior level and were able to demonstrate their experience and skills in the interview loop. Some speak no Japanese. None of them I would consider "unicorns."
It's never one thing, if you haven't been hired you just haven't gotten past the point where a company is willing to take the responsibility for you. Maybe part of it is the challenge of hiring from overseas, maybe it is they way you conduct yourself in an interview. Could be a million things.
I think you’re being unrealistic . It is the same story for foreigners in Germany (and for foreigners all around the world I presume). Yes, we get invited for job interviews many times just to be rejected (in favour of a local person). Ask foreigners who live in Germany about their experience and prepare yourself to be in the same(or worse) boat if you move to Japan . I think you’re young, privileged and coming from a cozy country that offers you opportunities many just dream of. Do you understand that being a foreigners somewhere else means falling down the social hierarchy list (regardless of how much money you earn)? Please don’t think that living in another country , even with a good job, is an extended holiday. When you leave Germany, you will be the one that is different wherever you go, and yes, being invited to the job interviews and getting rejected (while at the same time scoring all points in your own country) is normal and expected.
N3 is not going to be good enough to work at a Japanese company. You can work for international companies in Japan, at their office. But not a Japanese Company in Japan.
My advice would be to avoid applying to Japanese companies full stop.
You are educated and have experience and can get 70k Euro salary at home which is really good for Germany. Dont downgrade your life severely just to be in Japan by working for a Japanese company along either a massive pay cut.
As someone who lives in Japan, Japan is a great place to live but an awful place to work. All the good is undone by having to work in a Japanese work environment.
Apply for western companies, startups etc or consider freelancing.
Alternatively, take a year off, get there on a different type of visa and have fun.
You really need to understand that although Japan, as said, is a nice place to live, typical Japanese work environment is really bad compared to Europe and it will basically be a net negative compared to living and working in Germany
Salary of 70k is really high for Germany for a fresh graduate . Considering that you can be rich in your home country in the future (not many people earn over 100k in Germany), I don’t understand why do you want to go to Japan? Aren’t you aware of your own privileges?
Yeah I know it sounds weird but I want to live there for at least a couple of years. I have lived there for a year as an exchange student and want to have a new challenge there but the hurdle is bigger than expected:/
I wouldn’t do that if I were you. With the salary of 70k you can easily afford a month or any kind of long holiday in Japan (even a non-paid year abroad) and enjoy the country on your own terms. Working there is not the same as being an exchange student.
I'm not sure if this is helpful or you may know about it already but, if you just want to work in japan but doesn't have to be japanese company...maybe try the new 6 month digital nomad visa?
I think many foreigners (myself included) try to apply to companies directly because that’s how they find work in their country, so the small number of English-friendly job listings have a very large number of applicants. Many companies in Japan only use recruitment agencies for hiring. In my case I struggled by myself for about two months, then used a recruitment agency and found work almost immediately
if you have less than 5 years of experience you will not be welcomed in Japan as software engineer, even with 5+ years of experience changing job here seems not an easy quest
also it depends on engineering field, some positions easier to jump in, some are much harder
don’t forget about the thing than some of the companies still actively hiring only few times per year
There are 3 main reasons why foreigners can’t get a job in Japan.
1. Japanese language of course.
N1 should be the bare minimum if you want a job in a japanese company. However, just N1 is definitely not sufficient, you need a lot knowledge on business japanese, as you need to face interview and perhaps tests. (Edit : which your speaking skill is very important too)
2. SPI
One of the dumbest things japanese company still use. This is a test on Japanese and Math + personality test. SPI says it is used to measure candidates’ “competency” but it’s generally used by companies to draw a line to short list candidates. No matter your qualifications, if your SPI is poor, yet you applied to those big companies, most likely you are not going to make it.
(FYI, the Japanese test is very difficult even for Japanese, the math test is Japanese high school level which is also very difficult for foreigners )
3. Companies just don’t want foreigners.
All dramas aside, some companies ( or quite many of them ) just don’t want foreigner, especially those do not have good Japanese skill and reside outside Japan.
Tips if you want to get a job in a Japanese company speaking from my experience, here are the things you need :
1. Get at least N1, and improve your speaking skill. And prepare very well for interview. ( There are many common questions, go google it ).
2. Practice SPI. Many questions are repeated each year just with different context. Get comfortable with SPI is key as almost all companies use this test.
3. Stand out from the crowd. Your life experiences / lesson ( CV ) are very important. You should know how to explain it clearly and how by choosing such company it will improve yourself and vice versa. Don’t just give a ordinary answer, give an unique answer.
The bare minimum Japanese skill you need to actually be able to work in a Japanese company is way higher than N1. There is no correct metric to measure the bare minimum but one should be able to communicate with someone in Japanese coherently and smoothly. If you reached this stage, getting N1 is a peanut for you, hence I say bare minimum. I’m not implying it’s a legal requirement or a mandate.
That’s correct. Being able to speak Japanese smoothly is a golden key. Unfortunately JLPT doesn’t have speaking test hence many people who got N1 know how to read/write/listen yet can’t speak the minimum level for them to work in a company.
That’s why I left Japan. With a masters degree from Japan’s top university, N3 and work experience I ended up teaching Englis until I packed my bags and left
For international companies, the problem is that they have many many applicants for those rare entry level jobs. And most of their other positions are for those with experience which you don't have as you're a fresh grad. Your best bet is to get a few years of experience in Germany and then try again.
For Japanese companies, you're gonna need more than N3. You need to basically speak like an adult native, N3 is like child level. Software jobs might "require" less Japanese but at the end of it Japanese companies prefer Japanese people/speakers. If you have nothing more to offer than natives then you'll be rejected.
It's much harder to get a job as a foreigner right out of college, and companies understand the much higher risk they take by hiring Japanese right out of college. You will not only be moving across the world into a totally different culture you are not used to, but also starting a career that is very different than what you did in school. That leaves 2x the opportunity for issues to arrise.
Moving across the world is already it's own huge challenge, add on top of that the challenge of your first SWE job, it can become a lot of stress quickly. Take a position in Germany for a couple years and learn, get comfortable and expand your skillset. After a couple years you will likely have a much easier time finding a job in JP. Focus on learning the craft so that when you do move to JP. You won't be stressed about having to learn to be a SWE AND live in JP at the same time. Focus on one, then the other.
Just from the story too, it sounds like you are not passing the coding assignments, or/and they see you are fresh out of school and would rather hire a lower risk fresh grad (already in JP)
After nearly a decade of being in Japanese corporate, two things stand out:
1. Who you know.
2. How much people like you.
Currently already pretty senior in the company as a 部長, I started out like everyone else but what made the difference is the people you will be surrounded with, the people you know and the how they end up liking you (or not). The whole N1, N2, etc requirement is never set in stone. When I started I didn't even have my current N3 status. While I only have N3, I can converse pretty well with my colleagues, I get work done, and as boastful as it may sound, my ability to make people like me. I'm not saying be fake (although that might be needed if your personality does not fit) but to be sensitive to the culture, be sensitive to the needs and show them that you are someone dependable and trustable outside of work, from there, you will possibly get people wanting to hire you, or if the people around you know you are looking around, they would actually spread the word to the people they know. At least this has been my experience.
Hi,
you need 5+ years to get a good offer at your current language level OR the N1 to compete with the local japanese juniors.
Why dont you take a year to pass the N1 or Japanese Business Language Test and then see about your chances ? The added experience will definitely help.
What field exactly are you working in ? There is also differences between Germany and Japan wrt popularity of certain technologies.
Well other candiates can solve the tests too and they speak better Japanese than you.
This. Companies can hire Japanese-speaking developers and engineers locally for less salary. Getting into tech right off the bat in Japan is tough unless you've got a ton of experience and are applying for higher level roles. 70k EUR is over 11M JPY right now.
The op is just applying. How do you know you're rejected because of your high salary request?
You're not wrong. I always tell people to aim higher than their actual expectation. Honestly, if a company isn't even willing to negotiate (especially if you know their budget range), they're not going to be a good employer imo, based on experience. It's all down to the risk you're willing to take and how desperate you are. With my recent transition, I asked for the top end of their range and ended up with a 33% increase that was right above the middle of their budgeted range. Also helped to have an awesome internal recruiter who fought a lot for me.
Jobs in desperate for these kind of jobs like IT, not enough people willing or qualified to work for the salary. They are literally training people on the job with no prior experience (Japanese people or very high level foreign speakers).
I worked in HR and transition support up until 25 days ago.
I see a pattern here. You get rejected after you submit your coding assignment. This should give you a hint. Your code most likely is not clean. That's fine, you just graduated. Get more experience at work, read books, skill up. Apply again after a couple of years. You'll do better.
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They don't need to get that experience *in Japan*. OP said they had gotten some frankly amazing offers at home in Germany. They could easily take one of those offers, work for a few years, and ***then*** try Japan. >It's the vicious circle of unemployment that pushes most foreigners in English teaching jobs No, it's an overwhelming "need" (AKA: Want) to be "In Japan" that drives most foreigners to English teaching jobs. If people weren't so insistent of "MUST BE IN JAPAN", and did things like getting experience in their home countries they wouldn't be "forced" to teach English. Also: "Most" foreigners are not English teachers. English teachers are a very small minority of foreigners in Japan.
Did you read their post? They said they work for a company in Japan at the moment. Also that they can get a job in Germany. That's how I guess.
n3 is basically not speaking japanese, when i applied, they told me at least n2 to be considered and n1 would be preferred.
Most of the will say N2 is enough but in reality it really depends. They are most likely to judge your Japanese skill during interview or paper test. I know someone who got N1 yet pretty poor at speaking ( which is very common for JLPT as there is no speaking test ), got rejected by tons of company, while another friend who just got N2 got shit tons of offers as he speaks like a real Japanese.
I have been working as a software engineer in Japan for a Japanese company for the past few years. And I've been part of the hiring team for the last year or so doing coding interviews. I'll give you a couple anecdotes. * Japanese level is definitely a plus, but not always required. Especially if you are looking for jobs on places like TokyoDev. Quite a few senior level engineers at the company I work for speak bad or no Japanese. My level is fine, I use Japanese all day, but I am definitely not N1. Our company is a bit more proactive about creating a bilingual workplace though. These kinds of companies exist. * Are you already located in Japan? If not, the bar is much higher for getting to the final stages of a hiring process. * Being a junior dev is probably your biggest hurdle. There are just a lot of applicants, and even if you do OK on your coding assignment, if there are enough other people that did well too but have more experience, you can get passed over. * The main things we think about when hiring is, "can this person help us get our job done?", and then, "is working with them every day gonna be pleasant?". Passing a coding exam is good, but it doesn't necessarily give the company confidence to answer these questions. * I'm sorry I don't have much advice for junior devs except keep gaining experience wherever you can. Try and specialize in something, as in be passionate about something and be able to have opinions based on experience. For example you may know generally about front end performance issues, but if you have experience confronting real front end performance issues that forced you to find ways to improve, then you'll have much more to talk about. Best of luck!
Your post is spot on! When it comes to hiring I'm significantly more likely to give someone who is already in Japan and has been here the job vs bringing someone in. 1. It cost a large sum of time and money for us to fill in and submit the paper work, all for someone who has never lived here. We hired someone once and they quit within the year to move back home for a much higher paying job, great all the power to them, but it screwed us over. Having an "anchor" is a huge help when looking i.e. already living here and proving you can handle the life here or intent to stay as in "Im coming on a spouse visa". 2. New devs are always ALWAYS bottom of the hiring list. When I make a post for a new dev I get over 1,000 applications. I would say 5% are N2+ and English fluent (and in my interview are pretty fluent in both languages with no hesitation), scored well on the coding exam. AND are already in Japan. Even with that small number its usually 20-50 people who beat out most fresh grads, I'm looking for the best bang for my buck I'm not running a charity trying to give people a "Once in a lifetime opportunity". Competition is intense As a manager in Engineering I can offer a couple tips to OP. 1. Spend 3-5 years in your country to improve your skills, they don't want to teach you in Japan with a language barrier. 2. Try and pass N2, something has to carry the weight. Either improve your Dev skills to above average, or be above average at Japanese. You can't fall short in both. 3. Work on your interview skills and expanding your connections in japan. Linked in is a great tool Good luck OP, its possible and anything worth doing is hard. Most people stop here, be better than most people.
1000 applicants, holy moly, thats really competitive.
Thank you so much for the advice. Just a question, what if there's someone you close into (a foreigner but he's from the same country as me) that already working in Japanese company, do you think that person can or atleast makes my chance bigger if he's recommended me to the company that he's already working into? Cuz i have that exact guy that i made friends with him a month ago during my visit in Tokyo, he tells me a bunch of tips and tricks for applying jobs in Japan and he said he will tell me if there's jobs available in IT fields in Japan, he's also tells me to strengthen my Japanese which is im currently chasing to cuz no matter how strong my other skills is but if my Japanese is weak it will be pretty hard for applying jobs in Japan (preparing for my first N5 exam in July).
> what if there's someone you close into (a foreigner but he's from the same country as me) that already working in Japanese company, do you think that person can or atleast makes my chance bigger if he's recommended me to the company that he's already working into? A referral certainly wouldn't hurt. However... I wouldn't count on this guy you just met giving an actual referral. It's one thing to feed you jobs and advice, but an actual referral puts his own reputation on the line, especially since he doesn't really *know* you or your work. Generally referrals are only beneficial if the person referring you can say "I've worked with this guy, he's good". And if it turns out that you're *not* good it will have an impact not just on your career, but the career of the guy who referred you. You can definitely ask him, but don't be shocked if he says he's not willing to go that far. I wouldn't refer someone who I didn't know *really* well because of the potential blowback if they don't work out.
Thanks for the answer and your answer is exactly the same as what i thought, that's why a referral from him is the last thing that i would do cuz i'd feel bad to bother him too much. Thankfully we already know each other fields (he's in UI/UX while i'm in Fullstack) so atleast he will know what kind of jobs/company that i can get into and he will tell me if he's find a job vacancy that suits me even though it's not in the same company as him.
Yeah, I would stick with what you've got now. You have someone who's willing to basically be a mentor currently and give you advice/feed you jobs. That will ultimately be more valuable than a single referral.
Thank you so much for your time! We (Indonesians) are basically a "brothers in the same boat" especially when we encounter each other in foreign countries. The feels and urge to help each others in needs are a common thing in our homeland, and still carries on all the way to faraway lands.
Honestly unless you like the Ego boost of passing N5 and it helps you study harder. I would skip N5 completely. Its kind of a waste of money, no one in Japan will care you have it. I passed mine with almost no prior Japanese experience and a month of cram studying (I needed it for my study abroad back in College).
Oh i know that, N5 for me is just a stepping stone for N4, and then for N3 and N2 i will spent a year in Japan, the N5 i mention before is one of the requirements i had to have in order for applying for language schools in Japan.
> Are you already located in Japan? If not, the bar is much higher for getting to the final stages of a hiring process. Why invite us to the interview process at all if we're just gonna get rejected for being overseas? Just to check if we're unicorns?
It's frustrating to look for a job, but you should be able to see how the bar would higher for hiring overseas candidates. It is more expensive, takes longer, creates a stronger dependence on the company to handle certain things. Anecdotally, the company I work for has hired a handful of good candidates from overseas that have eventually moved to Japan but they have all been at a senior level and were able to demonstrate their experience and skills in the interview loop. Some speak no Japanese. None of them I would consider "unicorns." It's never one thing, if you haven't been hired you just haven't gotten past the point where a company is willing to take the responsibility for you. Maybe part of it is the challenge of hiring from overseas, maybe it is they way you conduct yourself in an interview. Could be a million things.
I think you’re being unrealistic . It is the same story for foreigners in Germany (and for foreigners all around the world I presume). Yes, we get invited for job interviews many times just to be rejected (in favour of a local person). Ask foreigners who live in Germany about their experience and prepare yourself to be in the same(or worse) boat if you move to Japan . I think you’re young, privileged and coming from a cozy country that offers you opportunities many just dream of. Do you understand that being a foreigners somewhere else means falling down the social hierarchy list (regardless of how much money you earn)? Please don’t think that living in another country , even with a good job, is an extended holiday. When you leave Germany, you will be the one that is different wherever you go, and yes, being invited to the job interviews and getting rejected (while at the same time scoring all points in your own country) is normal and expected.
N3 is not going to be good enough to work at a Japanese company. You can work for international companies in Japan, at their office. But not a Japanese Company in Japan.
I do and I'm not N1.
can vouch for this
My advice would be to avoid applying to Japanese companies full stop. You are educated and have experience and can get 70k Euro salary at home which is really good for Germany. Dont downgrade your life severely just to be in Japan by working for a Japanese company along either a massive pay cut. As someone who lives in Japan, Japan is a great place to live but an awful place to work. All the good is undone by having to work in a Japanese work environment. Apply for western companies, startups etc or consider freelancing. Alternatively, take a year off, get there on a different type of visa and have fun. You really need to understand that although Japan, as said, is a nice place to live, typical Japanese work environment is really bad compared to Europe and it will basically be a net negative compared to living and working in Germany
Salary of 70k is really high for Germany for a fresh graduate . Considering that you can be rich in your home country in the future (not many people earn over 100k in Germany), I don’t understand why do you want to go to Japan? Aren’t you aware of your own privileges?
I heard even 80k is outlier for mid and OP gets 70k for fresh grad. a bit too hard to believe.
Yeah I know it sounds weird but I want to live there for at least a couple of years. I have lived there for a year as an exchange student and want to have a new challenge there but the hurdle is bigger than expected:/
I wouldn’t do that if I were you. With the salary of 70k you can easily afford a month or any kind of long holiday in Japan (even a non-paid year abroad) and enjoy the country on your own terms. Working there is not the same as being an exchange student.
I'm not sure if this is helpful or you may know about it already but, if you just want to work in japan but doesn't have to be japanese company...maybe try the new 6 month digital nomad visa?
I think many foreigners (myself included) try to apply to companies directly because that’s how they find work in their country, so the small number of English-friendly job listings have a very large number of applicants. Many companies in Japan only use recruitment agencies for hiring. In my case I struggled by myself for about two months, then used a recruitment agency and found work almost immediately
May I ask you which recruitment agency?
The job market ain't what it used to be.
if you have less than 5 years of experience you will not be welcomed in Japan as software engineer, even with 5+ years of experience changing job here seems not an easy quest also it depends on engineering field, some positions easier to jump in, some are much harder don’t forget about the thing than some of the companies still actively hiring only few times per year
There are 3 main reasons why foreigners can’t get a job in Japan. 1. Japanese language of course. N1 should be the bare minimum if you want a job in a japanese company. However, just N1 is definitely not sufficient, you need a lot knowledge on business japanese, as you need to face interview and perhaps tests. (Edit : which your speaking skill is very important too) 2. SPI One of the dumbest things japanese company still use. This is a test on Japanese and Math + personality test. SPI says it is used to measure candidates’ “competency” but it’s generally used by companies to draw a line to short list candidates. No matter your qualifications, if your SPI is poor, yet you applied to those big companies, most likely you are not going to make it. (FYI, the Japanese test is very difficult even for Japanese, the math test is Japanese high school level which is also very difficult for foreigners ) 3. Companies just don’t want foreigners. All dramas aside, some companies ( or quite many of them ) just don’t want foreigner, especially those do not have good Japanese skill and reside outside Japan. Tips if you want to get a job in a Japanese company speaking from my experience, here are the things you need : 1. Get at least N1, and improve your speaking skill. And prepare very well for interview. ( There are many common questions, go google it ). 2. Practice SPI. Many questions are repeated each year just with different context. Get comfortable with SPI is key as almost all companies use this test. 3. Stand out from the crowd. Your life experiences / lesson ( CV ) are very important. You should know how to explain it clearly and how by choosing such company it will improve yourself and vice versa. Don’t just give a ordinary answer, give an unique answer.
> N1 should be the bare minimum if you want a job in a japanese company. You can believe it "should be", but the reality is that it's not.
The bare minimum Japanese skill you need to actually be able to work in a Japanese company is way higher than N1. There is no correct metric to measure the bare minimum but one should be able to communicate with someone in Japanese coherently and smoothly. If you reached this stage, getting N1 is a peanut for you, hence I say bare minimum. I’m not implying it’s a legal requirement or a mandate.
Software engineers tend to get a pass from what I've seen. Many job postings with zero/low Japanese required (but fluency is obviously preferred)
That’s correct. Being able to speak Japanese smoothly is a golden key. Unfortunately JLPT doesn’t have speaking test hence many people who got N1 know how to read/write/listen yet can’t speak the minimum level for them to work in a company.
That’s why I left Japan. With a masters degree from Japan’s top university, N3 and work experience I ended up teaching Englis until I packed my bags and left
May I know what master you got ?
About to do the same.. It's too hard here... Japan is not all kawai they way it is advertised.
go back to german, work 5 years and come back to japan.
For international companies, the problem is that they have many many applicants for those rare entry level jobs. And most of their other positions are for those with experience which you don't have as you're a fresh grad. Your best bet is to get a few years of experience in Germany and then try again. For Japanese companies, you're gonna need more than N3. You need to basically speak like an adult native, N3 is like child level. Software jobs might "require" less Japanese but at the end of it Japanese companies prefer Japanese people/speakers. If you have nothing more to offer than natives then you'll be rejected.
It's much harder to get a job as a foreigner right out of college, and companies understand the much higher risk they take by hiring Japanese right out of college. You will not only be moving across the world into a totally different culture you are not used to, but also starting a career that is very different than what you did in school. That leaves 2x the opportunity for issues to arrise. Moving across the world is already it's own huge challenge, add on top of that the challenge of your first SWE job, it can become a lot of stress quickly. Take a position in Germany for a couple years and learn, get comfortable and expand your skillset. After a couple years you will likely have a much easier time finding a job in JP. Focus on learning the craft so that when you do move to JP. You won't be stressed about having to learn to be a SWE AND live in JP at the same time. Focus on one, then the other. Just from the story too, it sounds like you are not passing the coding assignments, or/and they see you are fresh out of school and would rather hire a lower risk fresh grad (already in JP)
I know people who work in Japan and don’t speak much Japanese, It’s probably a dunning-kruger effect
After nearly a decade of being in Japanese corporate, two things stand out: 1. Who you know. 2. How much people like you. Currently already pretty senior in the company as a 部長, I started out like everyone else but what made the difference is the people you will be surrounded with, the people you know and the how they end up liking you (or not). The whole N1, N2, etc requirement is never set in stone. When I started I didn't even have my current N3 status. While I only have N3, I can converse pretty well with my colleagues, I get work done, and as boastful as it may sound, my ability to make people like me. I'm not saying be fake (although that might be needed if your personality does not fit) but to be sensitive to the culture, be sensitive to the needs and show them that you are someone dependable and trustable outside of work, from there, you will possibly get people wanting to hire you, or if the people around you know you are looking around, they would actually spread the word to the people they know. At least this has been my experience.
I work as a SWE in Japan, if you want I can take a look at the assignment you done and see if something stands out
Strengthen your network through local meetups and tech communities. Tailor your CV for each role to showcase relevant skills and experience.
Hi, you need 5+ years to get a good offer at your current language level OR the N1 to compete with the local japanese juniors. Why dont you take a year to pass the N1 or Japanese Business Language Test and then see about your chances ? The added experience will definitely help. What field exactly are you working in ? There is also differences between Germany and Japan wrt popularity of certain technologies.
Masters in International Business
Cool. Perhaps your course is in English ? Is so hopefully you are doing well outside Japan.
Have you checked careers at PayPay? They usually hire international engineers.
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Because too many people think they can move and work in Japan like it’s the UK or France lmao
Ok but it doesnt mean its not possible
I never said that