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In the job hunting process, there are many steps to go through before you get a job offer, from applying to a company and passing the document screening stage → first interview → second interview.
In fact, whether a company will offer you a job is decided to some extent at the document screening stage.
Many companies look at your resume and decide to some extent whether you will be successful or not, such as “This person seems like he or she will fit in with the company culture!”
After that, they meet the applicant in person and make the final decision by talking about their personality, first impression, Japanese language ability, etc.
In this lesson, we will explain in detail what kind of person is likely to pass the document screening stage.
People who match the four items we will now explain are more likely to get a job offer, but don’t let your guard down and make sure you study Japanese hard and take thorough measures.
The company looks at your educational background
Japan is a society that values academic credentials, so it was said that people who graduated from universities with high academic achievement scores could get a job at a large company.
Academic background is an important hiring guideline in the selection process, and many companies tend to hire people from famous universities.
The reason why companies want to hire highly educated people is because they believe that people with good intelligence can do the job well.
Therefore, people who graduated from universities with high academic achievement scores, such as the University of Tokyo in Japan, have a great advantage when changing jobs.
It’s okay if you didn’t graduate from a famous university.
In Japan, people who have qualifications that can be used in the workplace, such as IT Passport or CCNA, are given preferential treatment even if they didn’t graduate from a famous university.
Get as many qualifications as you can that can be used in the workplace.
If you haven’t graduated from a university or junior college, you won’t be able to get a visa in the first place, so make sure you graduate from university.
Once you join a company, your educational background and the university you went to are completely irrelevant.
There are people who graduated from famous universities but can’t do the job, and there are people who become company presidents and make a lot of money without going to university.
So, study hard to obtain qualifications and read lots of books to increase your input.
The company is looking at the number of job changes
Japanese companies hire people who have worked for the same company for more than three years.
People who repeatedly quit within a year are at a disadvantage when it comes to changing jobs.
This is because in Japan, they spend time and money to train new employees.
If someone quits soon after joining the company, it will cause the company a lot of trouble.
In order to recruit talent, companies spend a lot of money on recruitment advertising and on personnel costs for the human resources department that handles recruitment activities.
Even if you can advance your career by changing jobs, if you quit multiple jobs in a short period of one or two years and have changed jobs five or more times, you are likely to be eliminated during the document screening process.
It’s okay even if you’ve changed jobs four or more times!
Ask a Japanese job-changing agent to help you come up with a positive reason for changing jobs.
They are professionals in job-changing support, so even if your reason for changing jobs may sound negative, they can turn it into a positive one.
They will also properly convey your reason to the company you are applying to, which will increase your chances of passing the document screening process.
Even if you can‘t dispel the negative impression of short-term job-leavers, they will find other points of contribution, such as experience and skills, and appeal to companies on your behalf.
The company is looking at age
If you want to come to Japan to work, it’s better to do it as soon as possible.
The younger you are, the more advantageous it is to change jobs to Japan, but if you have no experience or only 1-2 years of work experience, you will be rejected due to insufficient experience.
The target recruits that companies are looking for are young people between the ages of 25 and 35 with more than 5 years of work experience.
As mentioned before, Japanese companies hire young people and spend a lot of time training them as potential executives.
The timing of changing jobs does not necessarily have to be when you are young, so please refer to the following for reference.
Those in their early 20s/less than 3 years of experience
Get JLPT N2 or higher. Use your Japanese language level to make up for the short amount of experience you have.
Those in their late 20s to early 30s/more than 5 years of experience
You are the type of person companies are looking for, be proactive in your job search.
Those in their 40s or older/more than 10 years of management experience
Apply to companies as soon as possible.
For Japanese people, there is an age limit for job changes, and the chances of getting a job offer tend to decrease once you turn 35.
The higher the market value of a job seeker, the higher the chance of being hired, so it depends on each person’s abilities, so it’s hard to generalize.
It’s okay if you’re over 35 years old!
Apply for jobs for seniors through a job-hunting agent.
Only a small portion of jobs are listed on the internert, and high-skill jobs are not available online. These jobs are not publicly available, so you can only apply through an agent.
Among the not-publicly available jobs, there are many jobs for leaders, managers, and other senior managers who are looking to hire experienced people in their 40s.
In addition, job-hunting agents will clearly explain how you will contribute to the company by utilizing your experience and skills on behalf of the applicant.
Companies look at JLPT
To work in Japan, you need Japanese language proficiency of N2 or above.
If you don’t have JLPT N2, the number of jobs you can apply for will decrease.
To see how much it will decrease, here are some data.
If there are 100 companies posting job openings, there will be around 30 companies that hire foreigners.
Of the 30 companies that hire foreigners, 25 companies require N1 or above.
Of those, around 5 companies will require N2 level.
Unfortunately, in the case of N3 or above, most applicants will be rejected at the document screening stage.
Many job postings from companies that hire foreigners state that JLPT N1 is required.
It’s okay if you haven’t passed the JLPT N1.
Just keep on improving your skills.
Even if you pass the N1, you will not be hired if you have less than 3 years of work experience and weak skills.
However, even if you only have the N3, you will be hired if you have more than 5 years of experience and high skills.
The type of person that companies most want to hire is someone with more than 5 years of work experience, high skills, and a Japanese level close to JLPT N1.
If possible, passing the N2 before applying will give you an advantage in the selection process.
Summary of today’s lesson
These are the types of people that Japanese companies would like to employ as foreign talent.
During the document screening process, people who fit the following four criteria have a higher chance of receiving a job offer.
① Graduates from famous universities with high academic achievement scores
② People who have changed jobs four or fewer times
③ Under 40 years old
④ Japanese Language Proficiency Test N2 or above
These four characteristics and features should be taken as a guide only, and do not necessarily mean that individuals who meet these criteria will be hired.
Don’t worry if none of these apply to you at all.
If you pay attention to the following points, you will have a higher chance of being hired.
① People who have not graduated from a famous university with a high deviation score
Get many qualifications that you can use in your job.
② People who have changed jobs four or more times
Have a job-hunting agent think about the reasons for changing jobs.
③ People over 40 years old
Apply for private job postings.
④ People who do not have JLPT N2
Improve your skills.
With these things in mind, please prepare yourself so that you can receive at least a small amount of job offer.