Work in Japan

How to keep your original profession also in Japan Part 1.

Working in Japan Part 22.

How to keep your original profession also  in Japan                                           Part 1.

My advices in 3 parts, all relating websites will be at the end of this 3 part topic on Monday and Gambatte ne J

There are always many professionals who are willing  to work in Japan and who are trying to work it out how to find a job there , being able to stay in their chosen field. So if you are one of them maybe I can give you some advices before starting to realize your plans.

But to get to that job they first need a visa. Now if you’re in technology, then getting in and finding a job isn’t so difficult to do. Ten years of appropriate experience, and/or an appropriate 4-year college degree, and you can be reasonably sure of getting a visa. Then it is just a matter of language /and studying/ , time, and also good luck before you get a good and relevant job. Nowadays, high-end technology jobs are getting more difficult to find, but for mid-level work, especially for bilinguals, they are still available. So I have to start again with the importance of learning Japanese.

But what if you’re in a more specific field such as a general or specialized sales executive, an architect, a consultant, or by any chance a doctor?  These jobs are normally highly valued globally. For the people of these or likely professions there are mainly two main subjects to consult about at first:   

-         how much time and effort are they willing to put in to learn the language

-         and what are your exact intentions on working in Japan? Are you willing to reset your career in order to create your private company int he future in Japan?

Most importantly all these professions do need a good bilingual knowledge with strong Japanese capability. Being  regulated jobs, all these professionals need to have written test certifications in order to be able to operate in Japan. Also , and of course all these professions typically require strong ability of spoken Japanese in order to be able to perform them.

For example doctors who are expected to perform in emergencies by communicating to sometimes confused and incoherent patients,  consultants and sales execs need to access local data and knowledge to be of informed use to their foreign clients and architects need to talk to building contractors, who are typically not bilingual either.

To be continued…

Getting a workplace with limited Japanese ability part 4

 

Getting a workplace : For the ones who don’t speak Japanese                Part  4

 

 

The main companies that have created their basis and also which offer many job opportunities

 

First of all let me tell a few words on the two companies, which have a big role to break the wrong  image that foreign firms just can’t operate in Japan, withouth actual japanese support and also they made the change:

 

The first is in the technology area - Microsoft. It  was first represented by a Japanese Corporation called ASCII. Microsoft bravely decided to break the status quo and create its own operation.  Shortly ASCII disappeared and Microsoft has gone on to become a multi-billion dollar operation.

 

The second is in banking - the Shinsei Bank. Shinsei was born in 2000 after the buy-out of the bankrupt LTCB bank from the government by New York-based investment fund Ripplewood. Shinsei went on to revolutionalize ATM banking and home mortgages, and did one of the largest IPOs in Japan's history in 2004.

 

 

The most commonly known names of the biggest foreign companies in Japan who always look for professionals. Watch out prefect English is a must.

 

 

1. Microsoft Japan
2. Citibank Along with a number of other other large foreign investment bankers  
3. Shinsei Bank
4. Morgan Stanley
5. Goldman Sachs

 

 

Of course there are several other companies who are alwas looking for foreign personnel, you can gt information on them also easily if you look up the sites of the recruiting companies who recruit foreigners exclusively.

 

 

The list of the websites of these companies for more information:

www.microsoft.com

www.citibank.com

www.shinseibank.com/english

www.morganstanley.com

www2.goldmansachs.com/careers

 

 

Getting a job with limited ability of Japanese Part 3

Getting a workplace For the ones who don’t speak Japanese                 Part  3

Successful models for overcoming a language handicap:

I think you'll see that the common theme in each model is that the person has to have great strength of character, highly evolved management and/or technical skills, and excellent bilingual helpers around them.

I have tried to identify different categories of language-independent success models that might provide some inspiration to those who don’t yet want to learn Japanese.

 

1. Engineers

Japan is a highly industrial country and they have many many professionals, but they are always looking forward getting information on all types of different methods used in different countries. All types of engineers specialized in different fields ( like IT, hydraulics to name this two ) are welcome in Japan, but English knowledge is a must.

2. Professional Language teachers

Also for private schools and for elementary, secondary shools , for preparation courses which are specialized to prepare students for the university entrance exams, and for private students, foreign language teachers with a world language mainly – as English, German, French and Spanish – are always welcome in Japan.

3. Working in the export division of a Japanese company

Foreign tech firms, banks, freight forwarders, pharma companies, and many others have created a micro-climate for job seekers, not just within the companies themselves, but also

1. Rising corporate hired guns who possess the drive and technical knowledge to do business at a world class level. Unless recruited overseas (a

la Carlos Ghosn

), many of these people are spouses of Japanese who were able to get in as local hires.

2. Self-employed entrepreneurs who go out and hire in a team of bilingual supporters with each new project they start.

3. High-level executives in major multinationals, who have been sent to Japan as part of the rotational culture that is part of climbing the corporate ladder. They do business on an international level and being located in Japan is incidental to their overall career (other than taking care not to mess up while here!). The trick is how to get in at the ground floor here in Japan.

4. Intentional department personnel of large or entrepreneurial Japanese firms. These people typically travel often; their boss is bilingual and values their trustworthiness and business acumen more than their ability to speak Japanese.

5. Technology gurus. This is probably the largest category of non-Japanese speakers. You will find them at all levels of Japanese and foreign firms, particularly in the R&D departments of some of the world's most famous brands.

Relating websites:

www.amityteachers.com/living-in-japan/japan-tips

www.strath.ac.uk/careers/graduatejobsearch/country/asia/gjo_sbc_japan

www.gaijinpot.com

www.japan-career.jp

www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/Careers/international/Asia

Getting a job with limited Japanese ability part 2

Getting a workplace For the ones who don’t speak Japanese                Part  Two

On the most effective trends of jobsearch for foreigners who doesn’t yet speak in Japanese:

Japan is always looking for the ones from whom they can learn from, there are several companies always looking for those who are professionals their specific  fields

There are  two main employment trends for foreign job seekers:

1) There is a strong job market in Japan for people with shear technical expertise, be it in banking, electronic devices, or project management techniques. If the purveyors of such technology are not bilingual, that is not necessarily a hurdle to their employment. It simply means that they need bilingual Japanese colleagues to work with. This is expensive on an individual employee basis, but the if the overall value of the technology is high enough, then the added labor costs are quite justifiable.

2) Foreign investment is now seen as being as acceptable as that from Japanese sources, and indeed is often considered smarter and safer since it's more clearly defined. As the demand for larger and more complex forms of funding increases from Japanese entrepreneurs, this has lead to a corresponding rise in sophisticated foreign bankers to service them. Where the owners of these credit lines need language skills, they hire assistants to provide a local interface.

But not all of us can be bankers moving millions of dollars, or project architects for the next generation of telecoms operating systems. Thus, operating in or near the micro-climates created by foreign firms and their competitors,

 

Relating websites:

www.gaijinpot.com

www.japan-career.jp

www.japan-guide.com

Getting a workplace with limited Japanese ability part one

Getting a workplace For the ones who don’t speak Japanese                Part  One

 

Problems and solutions:

 

First of all we need to understand the reasons what it means  to be a foreigner in Japan, I mean someone who is not japanese, and also someone who does not speak japanese. But still, there are a good number of people already here who have built perfectly good careers without having a strong handle on the language. This has been possible because those people either work for foreign multinationals where most of the Japanese staff are bilingual and thus support that person, they work  where they communicate with overseas offices and customers in English mainly, or they work in an English-language specific field

 

Considering the fact that the Japanese government is making Japanese language ability a prerequisite for granting and/or renewing long-term visas and work visas, it is better to start with learning Japanese as soon as possible.

 

Japan has always found it difficult to accept and also to support the presence of foreign businessmen, it has first largely ignored them and left them to their own by all means.It is because they simply thought that no foreigners would ever be succesful in doing anything on their own  this meant that until about 20 years ago there were very few independently run foreign firms here, and any business had to be started and arranged through a Japanese partner.

But then there came two companies, which have a big role to break this image and also to change this system.

 

The first is in the technology  - Microsoft. Which was first represented by a Japanese Corporation called ASCII. Microsoft bravely decided to break with the status quo and create its own operation. Of course ASCII finally disappeared and Microsoft has gone on to become a multi-billion dollar operation.

 

The second is in banking - Shinsei Bank. Shinsei was born in 2000 after the buy-out of the bankrupt LTCB bank from the government by New York-based investment fund Ripplewood. Shinsei went on to revolutionalize ATM banking and home mortgages, and did one of the largest IPOs in Japan's history in 2004.

 

Foreign tech firms, banks, freight forwarders, pharma companies, and many others have created a micro-climate for job seekers, not just within the companies themselves, but also from companies that receive their capital and have to perform accordingly, as well as many of their competitors.

 

In the next chapters I’d like to represent a few examples on how to get a job without the actual knowledge of Japanese language and also the most commonly known foreign companies who always hire professionals. But please each time consider to start with studying it because it gives you higher chances.

 

Some websites relating the topic:

www.about.com/japan

www.gaijinpot.com

www.japan-guide.com

How to get work in Japan part one :In general

Working in Japan                                                                                           part 16.

 Getting a workplace                Part  One

In general

You might think „how is this related to any working topics?” buti n real it does as from the moment you arrive in Japan, you will bear a stamp on you. You will be a stranger and you can just do anything this will not change.

This is as I see and sense many foreigners’ standard problem which puts and effect on just everythin and anything they do or are about to do. Japanese people have certain stereotypes on how a foreigner is, like loud or dirty and these have not changed during the hundreds of years.

Many foreigners face the  problem of not fit into a working place if they get a job at a japanese firm. Japanese people are famous of not telling exactly what they think or how they think as if they expect their talking partners to read between the lines. There are certain codes in behaviour which bear certain meaning, which you will see or know about, but you can never try to behave like japanese do because they would simply not react to any of your attempts.

Buti f you are always straightaway you will earn respect anyway and you can profit a lot on your experiences.

So if you want to go to work for a japanese company, watch out and try to reach the following aims.

-                    go to work to a company where you already know someone japanese or foreigner (that ’s also why it is vital to make friends for you before going to Japan, because the ones who did not do that find it extremely hard to make really good friendships with japanese, i must add mainly because of the language limits.

-                    never try to be like a japanese in any ways, although always stay polite. You cannot change any stereotypes entirely but all japanese are extremely polite anyway.

-                    watch out for your work contract, as for a legal translation and also don’t sign anything you have not asked any experts advice on. There are certain cases when japanese want you not to switch workplace even though this is not fully legal but many companies still try especially with foreigners.

-                    try some recruiting companies, their interviews will be a great start for you in your preparations for a job interview.

-                    You might have a hundred job interviews, but always take time to think and to ask as much as you can about your future job, don’t mak yourself hurried into a decision which you might later feel sorry for.

-                    Start studying Japanese as soon as you can. Although there are now many places and agencies specialized in getting jobs for foreigners, it’s a great improvement if you will speak Japanese.

-                    Always stand up for your rights. Don’t want to work like a japanese employee 10 hours a day. Dow that you have to do in your given official working hours.

Here is a link with hunderds of contacts of rectruiting agencies in Japan and to be continued... :)

http://www.focusjapan.com/041_248_focus_japan

Living and working in Japan : for starting up: where to stay?

Living and Working in Japan                                                           part 15                       

 

On finding a place to stay especially for the start of your life in Japan

Homestay:  the other choice :         

If you don’t feel like starting up with renting a flat or you don’t have the money to do so,

There is another choice to do, which is called homestay.

This is organized by schools, universities in most cases and besides you will be able to spare a fortune on it, it is a good and effortless start to get to know Japan a bit more in case of homestay a lot more, as it offers a brilliant choice to get closer to the japanese way of life which will be vital for you to learn about. The system basically works like universities contact with families who would also like to know more on different cultures and also to make friends with other people, and so, the chosen one can stay in their home for a definite period of time, mostly not in return of any payment except to help around in the house or in the garden as the family wish, but only as an option like favor for another favor.

The only backdraw of homestay is as mentioned about that it is for a definite period of time, and that it is almost exclusively for students but it gives you a great chance to have your place to stay , to study , to learn to look around and also to look for other options more relaxed and peaceful. Also, now knowing about this it can give you some more motivation to start your life in Japan as a student. As I have mentioned before, in Japan it is especially vital to make friends with japanese people as they will give you a huge help int he first period. Japan in it’s ways differs totally from any other countries so it is great to get the chance more effortlessly to make friends and to get some help int he same time.

Here are some links to learn more about the homestay system enjoy browsing and in case of any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me int he form of a comment.

Gambatte kudasai ( Good luck! )

Useful links:

http://japanese.about.com/od/homestay/Homestay.htm

http://gojapan.about.com/cs/traveltools/a/homestay.htm

http://www.homestayweb.com/jphome.html

http://www.studyabroadlinks.com/search/Japan/Homestay_Programs/index.html

Working in Japan part 14 On Living Part. 1

A few more advices regarding living and working in Japan

 

Part One:

To rent or not to rent?

 

After seeing the general hotel prices in Japan for sure you will start to consider finding cheaper solution  for you on living. You have two solutions on where to go to live. One is the hostel and the other is renting a flat. If you will stay in a hostel it might also costs a lot, and you will not be independent but it’s also an easy solution. I will enter some useful links on finding a good hostel in the main cities in Japan. Also most language schools has their own dormitories, or they can provide them for you for a cheaper price.

If you know , that you will be staying for a longer period and you will not be a student or not right now, and also you have the resources to rent a flat, you will have a lot of documentation to deal with. Renting a flat can be alone, if you are really rich, because all flat renting might cost you a lot, so start to search in the outer areas, in the suburbs, with good transportation facilities and you might find yourself a suitable little flat for a more suitable price.

On finding yourself a good flat to rent you can check out several english language homepages, but as I have written previously, be informed on your facilities and find yourself a few kind japanese friend residing the same city where you are supposed to go, as they can deal with a lot more resource and also can give you some vital information on renting and the whole documentation.

In case you rent also you will face the renting contract first, which will contain all datas normally the same as they are generally, but if the renter is not prepared yet to host a foreigner you will need a good translation on all the details, where your new japanese friend can help you a lot.

You might need to look after all the other things a show to pay for the electricity, the gas and especially if there is internet already or you might need to opt for one.

Watch out!  There is usually NO central heating in Japan! So don’t be suprised if you don’t find any sign of heating, there are electric  and oil heaters and also I would highly suggest to get a bedheater too especially during the winter months it might come handy!

Also watch out for the space. Japanese flats are a LOT smaller than the standard european ones and a LOT LOT smaller than any standard american or canadian ones, you will have very small rooms, so take care of the storage facilities also. And beware, the prices will be a lot higher than you are used to. Don’t opt for a big flat because you will not be able to cover your costs. And remember many houses are built by wood always check out the fire precautions before considering your future heating method and also living method.

If you will have a joint rent with someone or someones then your situation is a lot better because of all the costs and because of the whole documentation process and because you will be informed straightaway, on all in one.

Always ask twice or three times on all the documentation in order to avoid any misunderstandings, especially if you rent a flat alone, on the flat costs, on caution and on the actual payment date. You might need to open an account in a Japanese bank in order to cover these costs automatically later or, and in order to prove your capacity to pay. Avoid cash and seem trustable, and only sign a paper what you have clearly and wholly understood.  And just to mention once more, get japanese friends, their help will be vital for you.

Here are some useful links for hostels and renting a flat read them carefully in case you have any questions just comment me and Gambatte ne (good luck !) In case of any questions don’t hesitate to write me a comment.

Hostels:

www.hostelbookers.com

http://www.hostels.com/jp.html

http://www.jyh.or.jp/

On living and renting flat:

www.gaijinpot.com

http://www.easyexpat.com/en/tokyo/accommodation/rent-house-flat.htm

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2200.html

Working in Japan part 13 on visa part 2

  Student visa and scholarships

If we don’t find the way or we are not yet interested to look for an employment in Japan, the other way for us to stay longer is to apply to be a student of a japanese language school which also organizes for you to get a student visa the most easily.

That is a great way to start to get to know the country, the people, the culture and most importantly the language with which knowledge nnew possbilities of employments will open up for you and not only in Japan, speaking in Japanese is valued all around the world and can help you to get a worthy workplace with it, not to mention many japanese friends who you would not know  if you didn’t study in Japanese.

Besides studying every day, most of your afternoons will be free so you can get to know a lot about the town in which you have decided to study, and also it might give you a chance to start up with any type of part-time work, for example teaching English, or, you can make more friends if you opt for a language exchange meeting, there are many ways to find japanese who would be interested to help you in learning and for you to help them in learning.

Besides there are a thousand programs, and things to see all around Japan, so for sure you will not get bored not even for a moment.

The only backdraw to study japanese this way is that these schools, such as life in Japan is very expensive. But also there are many scholarship options, so look around maybe you can find a cheaper way to get to Japan and anyone who has any idea on this please send me a comment I will really appreciate and Gambatte Kudasai –Good luck for everyone!!

Language schools which help in learning and in obtaining student visa in Japan

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/315241.html

http://www.multilingualbooks.com/schools-japan-tokyo.html

http://www.japanese-language-schools.info/21/1

https://www.i-seifu.jp/language/en/iseifu/frame_qa.html

For scholarships, please opt for the ones existing in your country of residense there are for sure many student exchange programs too in case you are already a student of a university, college or highschool.

But anyways try www.erasmus.com to get a basic view on scholarships

Working in Japan pt 12 on visas part one

Working in Japan  : Part 12                                   Discussion topic:      on visa part one

Many people who would like to spend a longer time in Japan in the future might have already wondered if there is a need for a visa to work and to live in Japan.

And the answer is yes, although luckily Japan is not too hard to get a visa to spend a longer time in there.

Many bigger workplaces offer to handle the visa procedure for their future foreign employees, and even if they don’t with the production of a work contract it is easy to get a visa for a certain period to start with. But always check the current visa information that applies to you with the local japanese embassy to make sure everything will be fine with it.

Normally the citizens of Europe, The United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia can spend up to three months in Japan if they will not start any work , if their visit is  specifically for holiday reasons, so many people start up to spend these 2 or 3 months looking for a work possibilites in order to gain a contract to be able to live and work in Japan for a longer period of time. You will need to consult with your future workplace on the necessary documents to show to the local Immigrant Bureau in Japan. Of course burocracy is a hard thing in every country buti f you have the good documents you will not need to wait for a long time, but please always make sure to start the organization of your visa on time, in order not tor un out of your –normally- 3 month period.

There ’s also a type of visa which is called Working Holiday Visa. If someone’s first intention is to spend a longer holiday and also would like to earn some money to make his or her living, that is the easier visa type to apply for. Japan currently has agreements with Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, Korea, Germany and the United Kingdom  so only the citizens of this country can apply for this type of visa, between 18 and 30 years of age. Of course this situation can change so please always check with the local Consulate or Embassy of Japan in your country of citizenship.

If anyone have any ideas on how to get a working visa and on getting the applicable documents the right ways and the right places please  let me know in a comment

For more information on visas please see my links:

http://www.anyworkanywhere.com/visas_jp.html

http://www.japan.ahk.de/en/japaninfo/ahk-japan28/ahk-japan29/index.html

Wishing everyone good luck!