Japanese proficiency & Job hunting

The answer to this question is Yes and No.

When I started my job hunting in October of 2021, I just started reading and speaking Japanese, I was fairly lucky to get all my interviews in English and a few questions here and there in Japanese to test my proficiency. On the other hand, as someone who was raising a one-year old, I didn't have the privilege or time to research or do in-depth study on how to write a perfect and impressive entry sheet or prepare for too many interview questions.

What I did do was refining the content I had to prepare in Japanese as much as possible. Formed a template / steps to follow every single time, whenever I attended explanatory sessions, did mock interviews, wrote entry-sheets, and for group discussions. I will share a few of those how-tos here.

Even if you get your interviews in English, there are a few points in Job hunting that requires beginner to mid-level of Japanese .

1. Writing Entry Sheet

2. Attending Explanatory sessions

3. Asking questions and replying emails from company

4. Group discussion

5. Interview

You may find all these overwhelming but with little effort and time, anyone can ace interviews with limited Japanese. To ease the pain of spending time on copying letter by letter and having to use Google translate, you will see some of the words related to Job hunting in Japanese with their English meaning.

Writing Entry Sheet

Entry sheet is a document that helps you to clear first screening. This is how you impress the company people without even saying a word, but writing a 1000.

Usually entry sheet contains the following parts

1. 基本情報　ー　きほんじょうほう　ー　Basic information

2. 志望動機　ー　しぼうどうき　ー Reason for applying (why do you choose the company and what would you like to do)

3. 自己PR ーじこPR ーSelf- Promotion ( Why should the company hire you)

4. 学生時代に学んだこと　ー　Your experiences when you are/were a student

When read, this sheet gives an idea about who you are, where are you from, what did you do, what are you planning to do in their company, and whether you are motivated to do the things you mentioned. Though overwhelming and stressful process, this will get easier if you do the following

1. Asking Entry Sheet from your seniors - It may seem obvious to say that refer to previous Entry Sheet, the point is you have to read and analyze them. Writing entry sheet that captures attention of recruiters is an art and you need to write so many before drafting an acceptable one. I would also advise to categorize the collected entry sheets by company so that it will be easy for future reference.

2. Looking for entry sheet models in Japanese job hunting sites like Myna, Rikunavi - Another place to actively look for inspiration or model Entry sheets that is in lieu with current recruitment trend is job hunting websites like Mynavi and Rikunavi. Start with Google translate and try to slow navigate the website.

3. Getting help from Job hunting department in your university - This is the most important point I would like to emphasize , it is very difficult to ask for help when you are in need of one in a foreign land. First, try to establish that you have difficulty with understanding the language and you are trying to improve your Japanese while looking for Job. Second, present the entry sheet draft you have prepared after completing first two steps. Finally, reiterate the process until you have a good entry sheet.

Attending the Explanatory Session:

Explanatory sessions, called as 説明会 in Japanese, is the only place where you can directly ask questions to your prospective employers. You can ask whatever questions you want to ask in these sessions ranging from Salary- raise, Child care, Diversity, and Inclusion, etc., Though attending these sessions may be intimidating, with some experience and questions prepared, the anxiety and stress may reduce much.

1. Attend practice sessions - Just like mock interviews, attend explanatory sessions from the companies that you are not interested in, consider these as “mock explanatory sessions” before even starting Job hunting. This will give you an idea of what is being discussed in the session, and how Japanese students behave, and ask questions in polite Japanese.

To ask “Can I ask aquestion?”

〇〇大学〇〇学部の”Insert Your Name Here”と申します。

説明ありがとうございます。

ご質問よろしいでしょうか？

To ask whether you can ask a questions in English/Speak in English

英語でよろしいでしょうか？

If you feel that よろしいでしょうか is a bit difficult, please feel free to replace with いいですか.

1. Research about the company - This is an obvious step to take if you want to get employed in a company. While researching , keep a list of keywords that have used to describe themselves and use those words while asking questions. This helps with creating an impression that not only you are very much interested in their company, but also you did do a lot of reasearch.

2. Analyzing the trend - From how may people attending a session and what kind of questions are being asked , you can get an idea of what kind of company / technology you would like to work on.

Asking questions and replying to Emails:

if you are already in the process of Job hunting, you must have realized by now that every email from employers follow a pattern. So create a template for replies and save it in a word document.

Few important WORDS OR PHRASES to remember

1. 件名ーけんめいーKenmei - Subject - Writing a clear subject line, Concise and Easy to Understand

2. 添付ーてんぷ　ー Tempu - Attachments - Giving proper name to attachment, Including your JobHunting ID wherever necessary

3. いつもお世話になっております。- Used at the start of the emails before main text

4. よろしくお願い致します。- Used at the end of the emails

Let us say you where asked to send a document via email, this is an example how you may reply :

〇〇株式会社人事部　〇〇様 - Name of the recipient with Company name and Department name

いつもお世話になっております。 - Salutation

〇〇大学〇〇学部のと申します。 - Your name and a brief intro

ご連絡ありがとうございます。- Thanking for contacting you / the email

私の履歴書を添付ファイルを送り致します。- Main Text - Information on files attached in this example

よろしくお願い致します。- Ending /Complimentary Closing

You can always do a quick google search for other situations.

On the other hand, for telephonic conversations you should have a basic grasp on conversational practice.

1. Check Youtube videos for getting used to conversational Japanese ( search for 就職電話面談)

2. Practice roleplaying in your Japanese classes

3. Ask your friend / Senpai for help

4. Request your University to conduct special classes for telephonic interviews / conversations

Finally, You can always ask the other person on the line to speak in English by saying “すみません、英語でいいですか？”。

Group Discussion:

This is where your Japanese skills really matter, if you ask me. To successfully pass group discussion stage of the interview process, you need to do the following in Japanese,

1. Understand the topic given

2. Decide your side

3. Collect your thoughts

4. Form sentences that communicate your point of view

5. Argue/discuss politely

Without practice sessions, it would be really tough to get through the group discussion if you are not confident in your Japanese. Here are a few steps that may help you;

1. Prepare in advance with available topics, I didn't had a group discussion when I was interviewed, but this is where I would start.

2. Put a separate notebook to write down the words used in Group discussions like 賛成します、まず、からです、それに、ではないでしょうか、例えば、確かに、と思います、だから

3. Attend all the group discussion sessions and watch YouTube videos if you can't attend them.

As mentioned earlier, I didn't have a group discussion when I was interviewed but I did research and prepared. you can always ask to do the group discussion in English. Remember with companies boasting about globalization, it is okay to request for English interviews and discussions.

Interview:

It is okay to use simple Japanese in interviews. You don't have to use overly polite Japanese words. Here are a few tips to make your interviews a bit easy

1. Memorise ES - All of the questions - almost 90%-of the questions will be from Entry Sheet contents. if you have memorized your ES well, you can clear the interview.

2. Collect questions from OG/OB by asking them a lot of questions and prepare answers for them before-hand. Some companies will not hold OB/OG meetings, so don’t hesitate to contact them by yourself and ask questions.

3. Research about the recent events in the company and prepare one or two questions to ask.

4. Categorize common questions asked and write down answers to them after checking each company’s statement

Most commonly asked questions to assess Japanese skills are

1. How long have you been in Japan?

2. How good is your Japanese?

3. What do you like about living in Japan?

I want to emphasize that none of my interviewers know about JLPT levels, which was a surprise for me.

With that being said, after a year of working in a Japanese company, though high proficiency in Japanese is not a must; it will make your work life easier and stressless. Just remember that motivation matters in Japanese work culture than results (at least for Job hunting). If you have JLPT N3 or N2, you can write a story about how you tried your best and channel all your efforts to get the certification in your entry sheet.