Getting a job as a foreigner in Japan may not sound easy, but yet most people who move to Japan succeed. Although, they often need more time to acknowledge the job-hunting rules and the process becomes longer than for Japanese. After reading this article, you will get to know how to look for a job, what jobs you can get in Japan as a foreigner, what to prepare beforehand, and what a typical part-time job interview is like.
Before you start looking for a job
There are some necessary things you should prepare before looking for a job that you might not know about. Reading these tips will help you avoid confusion during the interview.
Open a bank account
Even if you have an international bank account, most employers will require a Japanese bank account anyway. You will be certainly asked: “Do you have a Japanese bank account?”. If you say no – the employer might get confused and this is definitely not what you want during the interview. On the other hand, if you say yes – that would show that you are responsible and ready to work in Japan. I highly recommend opening a Japanese bank account as soon as you find a place to stay.
In another of our articles, you can learn the best way to open a bank account in Japan as a foreigner – check it out!
Prepare a Japanese CV (履歴書; rirekisho)
In Japan, people always use the same CV format, which includes your personal information (name, address, etc.), your academic and work history, qualifications, special skills, and so on.
My advice is to buy a ready CV template pack in Daiso or another 100 yen shop. For less than 1 EUR you can get a pile of 10 to 30 proper, up-to-date CV forms ready to fill. It’s better to have more than you need, as you will probably apply to many places, and you might easily make a mistake – all the information must be handwritten. Also, remember to write it with a black pen.
You will also need a professional photo taken in a photo booth and stick it to the CV. Japanese photo booths look like below:
You can find them in many places, especially near train stations. Most of them are also visible on Google Maps – search for “証明写真” (shomeishashin). Prices may vary from 400 to 1000 yen, depending on the type of photo you choose. And there might be very interesting options to choose from, including making your face look skinny or shiny. It can be fun to try them out!
Think of a type of job you want to do
Have some time to think about what you want to do as a job in Japan. You may find this article very useful to find out about the types of jobs available for foreigners in Japan:
There are of course many more types of jobs you can get in Japan, basing on your skills and interests. Try writing down all the ideas you got – it might be helpful to decide which area you are going to focus on.
Where to look for a job
There are plenty of different ways how to find a job in Japan – let’s take a look at some of them.
Japanese job search platforms
Townwork and baitoru are the biggest part-time job platforms in Japan. Even if you are still a beginner in the Japanese language, with the small help of Google Translate, you will be able to find a job even with no language requirements.
Screenshot from https://www.baitoru.com/
There are very helpful filters for non-Japanese, such as 外国人活躍中 (foreign employees) or 留学生歓迎 (overseas students welcomed). Besides that, you can filter by the type of job, wage, region, and many other factors, even co-workers’ age! It can be great fun to check what jobs are available nearby, so be sure to check it out!
Foreigner-friendly job hunting services
If you want to be sure that the job is suitable for foreigners, you can try searching on websites made for foreigners. You might want to check out YOLO Japan and GaijinPot Jobs – you can be assured that English guidance will be provided and the agents will explain everything to you. Although, there might not be as many job offers and types of jobs as on Japanese websites.
Directly on websites – Uniqlo, Nike, Adidas, etc.
Working in big customer service companies such as Uniqlo, Nike, Adidas, etc. has a lot of advantages – they are reliable, safe, and probably already hiring other English-speaking staff that could help you through your first weeks.
Uniqlo store / Pixabay
In this case, going directly to the websites and applying by their form is the fastest way to get a reply from such companies. It’s likely they will contact you even the same day/week, so send the application and just wait!
Directly in the store
The fastest way to talk to someone in a store and to know if they are even looking for someone at the moment is to go directly and ask if they are currently hiring. This is a good move to show your positive vibes and that you are willing to work hard.
Going to ask about the job directly is perfect for places like cafes, restaurants, small shops, etc. If you’d like to work in such place rather than a big company, don’t hesitate to walk there, smile and kindly ask about job possibilities.
Summary
I hope you found this article useful and that now you feel more confident about the part-time job finding process in Japan. Be sure to prepare the documents mentioned, write down all the types of jobs that you’d want to do in Japan, and check out the websites linked above. Fingers crossed!
