Looking for a job...? The Japanese economy is a mess and according to western newspapers and magazines, Japan is now far from being a land of opportunities it used to be. Really? So why are recruiting companies in Tokyo complaining that they can't find enough people?

Because the type of opportunities in Japan have changed drastically. A few years back, a gaijin face was enough to find a very well paid English teaching job (bonus for blond hair and blue eyes). Recently, the Asian crisis has forced Japan to open its doors to foreign firms, which are moving, expanding and therefore hiring in Japan. And today, some computer, software or IT (Information Technology) experience on top of a college degree can lead to tremendous job offers.

This page summarizes my job search experience in Tokyo (in the software field). It does not give the hidden secrets and magic solutions for getting a good job in Japan but shares a few ideas on how to get started, the right people to talk to, and a general overview of the hiring process.

It is not necessary to physically be in Japan (but it helps a lot) to find a good job here. Some companies will interview over the phone, and other large ones may run the interviews abroad. In any case, about 3 months will be needed from the first resume sent to the first job offer got. Be patient and good luck!

Getting Started

First, do your homework A good understanding the local job market (no matter where it is) is a prerequisite to any successful job search. That means understanding who is hiring, why and how they are hiring, who are you in competition with, growing industries, salary ranges... You are a product to sell and the goal here is to understand the market to best position the product on that market.

So do your homework, read the few books on the subject, search the Internet for info, contact people you may know who are working in Japan, contact Japanese embassies if you are not already living in Japan, visit clubs of foreign professionals if you are already living in Japan, contact a tax accountant to understand Japanese taxes (or visit my Taxes in Japan page)... The goal here is to understand the big picture to help you decide where you could fit in that picture in order to put all chances on your side, upfront. Here are a few Internet links to quickly get started:

	JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization), which is a nonprofit, Japanese government related organization dedicated to promoting mutually beneficial trade and economic relations between Japan and other nations. If you live in Tokyo, pay a visit to their library, it's amazing.
	Townpage, the English yellow pages for Japan.
	The Japan Web Guide, with lots of links related to Japan, from recruiting agencies to government organizations...
	EscapeArtist Japan, an excellent link list on expatriation in Japan, including info about jobs, life, embassies and various resources related to Japan.

Talking to the right people

When the context of the job search is understood a bit better, it's time to start talking to some people and send them your resumes. There are 6 types of people you might want to approach, which I sort here from best to worse (my own opinion only):

Personal relations. Here, you are asking people who know you (and hopefully like you) to suggest ideas on how or where to go for your job search. It may very quickly result in an expanding network of contacts of people who know people who know people (and you always come recommended)... Perfect if you are not exactly sure what job you want. Always start a job search by letting your close (and not so close) friends know about it! A few weeks later, you might get a surprise phone call from some top manager who would like to talk to you because a friend of his son in law mentioned your name, and your situation...
Placement companies and head hunters. Here, you are dealing with professionals who will advise you, guide you, match your skills and goals with the requirements of their contacts... for free (their fees are paid by the company who hires you)! Perfect if you know exactly what you are looking for, but even if you don't, that may be determined with their help. A must in Japan to really understand the local job market. I recommend JAC Japan, an excellent placement company and Access Technology Japan (I have worked with them; tell them JP recommended you). Good placement companies will ask you to come for an interview, which sometimes lasts a few hours. During that time, they will ask you about your experience, current situation, goals, salary requirements, Japanese abilities... Be honest and be flexible.
Chambers of Commerce. A Chamber of Commerce represents the business community of a country in another country. The good news is that when a Swiss bank is looking for good European nationals already living in Japan, chances are they will talk to the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Tokyo. Registering with a Chamber of Commerce (American, British, Canadian, French...) gives you another free exposure to targeted companies.
Newspapers classifieds (or company Web site employment opportunities section). Here, you are talking directly to a company which is looking for people. This is good because you are targeting your audience. If the current job market is lots of offers for a few demands, then go for it. If not, then you will be in competition with so many people that you might be wasting your time. Moreover, western companies in Japan do not usually advertise job offers in newspapers for engineering jobs. The Japan Times publishes its classified on Mondays. For those who speak (and read) Japanese, I recommend the excellent Tech Bing magazine.
Internet job banks. A Internet job bank is an Internet service (usually Web based) which allows companies to post job offers that can be seen and read by everyone. Sound great, but don't expect much. Although the audience is well targeted by the nature of the service, its worldwide visibility generates too many resumes per offer. I recommend registering with some of them just to see what kind of offers are available, but I would not rely on those for a successful job search. The most famous Internet job banks for Japan (and other Asian countries) is Asia-Net.
Massive mailing to companies. Here, you send many resumes to many companies, without knowing whether they are looking for people or not. A waste of time in my opinion, unless you are in a market segment which is always looking for people.

Placement Companies

The best and most efficient way to find a job is usually to use personal relations. The second best is to use placement companies, recruiting companies, head hunters... Now, not all placement companies run their business the same, and it is better to try as many as possible. Fees are always paid by the companies, not by the job seeker, so put many to work for you.

A few hints when dealing with a placement company.

	Call as many placement companies as possible and arrange a first meeting.
	At the first meeting, show up in your best clothes, hair style and general presentation. The goal is to convince them that your are the best, so that they can convince their clients that you really are the best (for free). Also remember that this is Japan and looks matters! Bring along several business cards, several resumes (including in Japanese if you want to find a job which requires Japanese ability) and some blank paper to take notes. It is better to have a clear idea on what you are looking for. If you don't, it is a good time to work with them at that interview to determine exactly what you are looking for. They will ask you your salary requirement, and it is better to understand well the local job market before answering that question. Work with them to determine what is reasonable and in any case, be flexible. On the other hand, be firm on the minimum, or you will be wasting your time at interviews for too low paying jobs. Never be shy about asking anything you want to know (there is no such thing as a stupid question here). To them, you are a product to sell and they are not the ones hiring. So don't hesitate to spend many hours at that interview. Pay attention to how they work to evaluate how useful they could be to you. For example do they just believe everything you say, or do they check it as well (through IQ/tech tests, small Japanese discussion, discussion with other members...)? Do you feel the salesman speech? Are they qualified to understand your resume? How long have they been in business? What is their typical client company?
	After the first meeting, they will start working for you. Some will find you companies within weeks, some within months, some never. Some will take you seriously, some not. In any case, it is therefore important to keep in touch regularly (at least once a week). Also remember that they will work harder for high paying jobs than low paying jobs (just because their fee is usually based on the starting salary).
	When they find a company interested in you, they call you to arrange an interview with that company. At that point, you need to understand as much as possible about the job description, the company you are going to meet, their business in Japan and abroad, their relationship with the placement company... Use all means to know as much as possible about the opportunity (some companies will ask you, at the interview, to detail what you did to prepare yourself for that first interview).
	The hiring process varies greatly from one company to another, so I have an entire section here on the subject.

Below is a list of placement companies in Japan. I do not put my personal opinion here but the description that they have given themselves on their Web site.

ACCESS Technology	Access Technology's business is assisting foreign-capital high technology firms in the establishment and expansion of their Japan operations. Specifically ATJ provides Executive Search Services and develops Distribution and OEM Channel Partners for our 200-plus corporate clients. Our executive search / recruiting services focus on job opportunities for Japanese and foreign nationals interested in working at foreign-capital companies. If building of a strong foundation for business success in Japan is on the agenda, we at Access Technology can help.
Asia-Net
AEGIS Enterprises	Aegis has developed a strong network of bilingual Japanese candidates and prides itself on it's high level of candidate research.
AXCEL Consulting	Serving Japanese and foreign capital companies in Japan.
Cannon Persona	Cannon Persona is part of the Pasona Group, who with offices throughout Japan and in major cities worldwide, are Japan's largest recruitment organization. As the main European office in the international network, Cannon Persona specializes in recruiting Japanese, Japanese speaking and European personnel for both Japanese companies in Europe and European companies dealing with Japan.
Career Mosaic	The World Wide Web is exactly what its name suggests -- a global network. Since CareerMosaic is a vital part of that network, and since doing business internationally is essential to be competitive in a global economy, CareerMosaic offers a number of international sites to help you find opportunities or recruit in markets around the world.
Career Strategy	Your source for Career Counseling and Executive Search information in Japan.
DAI Job	"Relationship Recruiting" is a concept pioneered by Doctor John Sullivan of the San Francisco State University. Dr. Sullivan states that finding an employee by conventional means (newspaper, job hunting web sites, etc.) is accidental, in that when a company has a job vacancy they hope that by luck and coincidence some one will be looking for a job at the same time. Instead, Dr. Sullivan says that a much better way is for companies to start a long-term relationship with candidates, who may not even be looking for a job yet - thus establishing a bridge of communication and trust. Dai-Job.com uses weekly e-mail to build that bridge - sending news and information about the site and its attractants to over 30,000 people.
EastWest Consulting	East West Consulting is Tokyo's largest executive search firm. In the past ten years, East West has successfully conducted over 1,600 searches for clients in every industry in Japan. We have helped more international companies find key executives than any other search firm in Japan. We understand the business and management challenges facing companies in Japan today. When you need highly talented employees, contact East West.
Executive Search International	ESI is a management consulting firm specializing in executive search and selection. We have been serving the business community in Japan for 29 years. Corporate management relies on us to search for and assist in the acquisition of executives, key management and technical personnel.
ICOMM Recruiting	ICOMM Recruiting is a specialty placement agency that focuses on the technical industries (Engineering, Business, Marketing, MIS Professionals, Technical Translators, etc.) with regard to Asian bilingual/bicultural (Japanese, Chinese, and Korean language) candidates.
ICPA	International Computer Professional Associates assists multinational companies in recruiting technology, marketing, and finance professionals for jobs in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, and the U.S. Pacific Coast.
IMCA Inc	Do You Need a Key Person ? IMCA Recruits Japanese Executives and Engineers. Japanese Leading Executive Search Firm Since 1967.
International Career Information	International Career Information (ICI) is the U.S. subsidiary of Recruit Co. Ltd. - one of the largest publishers in Japan and a leader in the employment information business - specializes in assisting multinational corporations to recruit bilingual employees for some of the fastest growing economies in Asia.
JAC Japan	Three specialist consultants assisting non-Japanese people in their search for a new opportunity in JAPAN.
Japan Job Connection	Employment in Japan begins here....
Japanese Jobs	Japanese Jobs is an internet based employment service that is dedicated to bringing a global community of bilingual professionals who speak Japanese and English together with hiring companies.
Ki-Tech	Ki-Tech Executive Search presents an ever-changing list of positions which we are trying to currently help clients fill.
Pasona	I founded the first Pasona Group enterprise, Pasona Inc., in 1976. Since then, the group has grown into a large and diverse family of human resource, retail, and service companies with over 2,400 employees working in Japan and fifteen other countries around the world. However much it has expanded and changed, the group has never lost its focus on working to improve people's lives. As Japan and the rest of the world move into the 21st century, the governing principle of "responsible corporate citizenship" will continue to be a source of inspiration for the entire Pasona Group.
Safe Jobs in Japan	Safe Jobs in Japan is the unique, personal, and very affordable gateway to a dynamic teaching job in Japan. Not a big corporation, shady recruiter, or great expense, Safe Jobs matches your unique qualifications with a welcoming and recommended school. Don't go it alone, we can help!
TKO Personnel	TKO provides services for international (Asia/Pacific) professionals, managers and individual contributors for the semiconductor, software and communications industries.
Veritas International	Veritas International, Inc. is an executive search and management consulting firm specializing in assisting foreign-capital companies in Tokyo to fill senior, managerial and technical positions with quality bilingual candidates. Our assignments range from presidential roles to key middle management/technical positions to more junior level jobs.

The Hiring Process

Hi, I am the best guy for the job! So you got a company interested in you (or at least the part of you described on your resume) and you have arranged a first interview. You have done your homework on that company and know what is their main line of business worldwide and in Japan, their personnel and financial situation, exactly what type of person they are looking for, you have also visited their Web site (some companies give hints on how to prepare interviews with them)... You have psychologically prepared yourself for the best, put on your best clothes, brought some business cards, resumes and blank paper to take note. You have read that the best strategy is to make them like you first then make yourself like them

You are in Japan and like everything else in Japan, it works the Japanese way. Regardless of whether you are dealing with Americans, European, Indian, Japanese or Russians, you are about to start a business negotiation. A business negotiation in Japan is always (ALWAYS) in the following 3 steps: know me, trust me, marry me.

Know me...

This is the get-to-know-each-other-phase, starting at the first meeting.

Always show up in time (not 5 minutes before, not 5 minutes after) with an impeccable presentation. From the moment you first meet anybody of the company, you become a product to sell and they are the ones buying! That means your look, attitude, manners, way of talking, way of listening... will be studied and will count on whether they will pursue or not the hiring process. Also remember that these guys have a lot more experience in interviews than you do and you won't fool them with little white lies and disguised personality. In other words be yourself but the best part of yourself.

Note that you will need to adapt your behavior depending on whether you are meeting a European-style company, American-style company or Japanese-style company (note that a foreign firm may be very Japanese style such as IBM Japan). For instance, always stay calm with very little body movements with a Japanese-style company. With an American style company, show creativity, dynamism and pro-activeness. With a European-style company, show that you enjoy life and insist on hard-working. If I were to state a motto for each style, the American style would be "You don't get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate", the European style would be "Work hard, play hard", and the Japanese style would be "In Rome, do what the Romans do".

You will be asked relevant questions that you have prepared for, but also questions ranging from strange to weird to inappropriate. Always show that you have anticipated the question even if you are surprised or even outraged (if you are outraged and can't help it, you can always excuse yourself and leave the room). Some questions are asked only to test you ability to adapt to an unknown situation, or to see how far you will go before exploding. Some strange questions I was asked: "Why is did you write your name in bold on your resume?", or "Do you like Japanese girls?", or "What do you feel about abortion?". It is perfectly appropriate to explain that you don't feel the question is relevant here and wish not to answer.

I recommend not asking too many questions right at the beginning. Make them like you first by listening and answering, not by detailing your requirements. Keep that for the next Trust me part. In any case, never (NEVER) start talking about money at the beginning, keep the negotiations for the Marry me part.

Trust me...

Now you know what they want and it is time to show them how great you fit in their requirements and to evaluate how good they will be to you if they decide to hire you. By experience, there aren't 2 companies hiring the same way. Some interviews are very professional, some are lousy. Some last 15 minutes, some 4 hours. Some will be in comfortable air-con conference rooms with the kind of VIP chairs you never want to get out of, some in freezing (or steaming) backrooms. Some will be with only one person, some with several people; some face to face, some in video-conference (if you are on video-conference, remember to smile). Some will end by a few drinks in the local bar, some may end in a hostess club. Some companies will need 2 interviews before making an offer, some will require 6 or 7. Conclusion: be open-minded, flexible and on each interview day, have no other plans for that day.

You will be asked to detail you resume. Be honest, or you might get burned, as some may cross-check what you say. But you may want to target your explanation towards what they are looking for. For instance if you are applying for a job where team work is critical, do not mention that you are working at home in your current job unless you are specifically asked that question. In some companies, you may have to take a test (test of logic, IQ, language...). Do not panic, in many cases, these tests are often to study your reaction in a stressful situation more than to know how clever you are.

Asking questions is always a positive attitude. The more questions you ask (relevant of course), the more serious you look about that job. Apart from questions directly related to the job and its content, ask about the company business, in Japan and abroad, ask about the department's organization, the average turn-over, ask about flextime, dress code, working hours, holidays, visa sponsoring, health insurance coverage, retirement plans, stock options, amount of travel, training... Ask to have a look at the offices where you might start working, ask to meet more people of the team you are going to work with, ask the business card of everybody you meet, ask when they did join the company, why and whether they are still very happy...

Marry me...

At this stage, both parties are comfortable with each other and unless some strong objection occur, it will probably lead to an offer. Make sure you keep the recruiting company in the loop, maybe as the interface between yourself and the hiring company.

It is now time to make sure you understand all the details, including:

	Employment contract. Most companies hire with local employment contracts. This is the easiest contract for everybody but it has some drawbacks. For instance, you will be subject (by law) to the Japanese national health pension plan (which, unless you plan to stay forever in Japan is a waste of money). Some companies will hire as expats (also called global employees), where you are not subject to any government health and pension plans but need to be paid abroad.
	Salary. Now is a good time to negotiate it, but beforehand, you HAVE to have a good idea of what other companies (or the market in general) are paying for the same kind of position.
	Bonus. In some companies, there is no bonus, in some others, up to 60% of the base salary. In some companies, bonus is pretty much automatic and the same for everyone, in some others, it depends entirely on the person's performance. Make sure you understand the details.
	Health and Pension Plans. If you are hired with a local employment contract, you will be subject to the Japanese national health and pension plans. The health plan is good, but may not cover as much as an expat private health insurance. Actually several good clinics in Tokyo don't even accept the national health plan. Regarding the national pension plan, you can get your money back (up to a certain %) back when you leave Japan.
	Other Benefits. The following may be paid by the company: train pass, housing, health club membership, Japanese language lessons, company affiliated club membership...
	Visa. Usually, the company sponsors for the working visa in Japan. Know that it takes from 3 weeks (engineer with lots of experience hired by a large company) to 9 months (high school diploma hired by a small company) to get it approved by Japanese Immigration. During the application process, if you are asked for your original diploma, suggest a certified copy instead.
	Starting Date. I recommend to never negotiate a specific date, but a number of weeks after the offer has been made. Usually, it is reasonable to ask for a starting date no earlier than 3 weeks after the offer has been made.

And remember: you have nothing until a contract is signed. Good Luck!!

This page was last updated by JP on 01/30/99.