Japan ERA |OT| We all お箸上手 and 日本語ペラペラ in here!

[lupinko]

World Cup games have been quite annoying to follow due to the time difference.

About to get even worse this week too, we'll be having 2 games at 11pm and 2 at 3 am.


Have you been trying to look national wide or just within your area?

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Nationwide, so everywhere, even Okinawa and Hokkaido.

And I haven't actually found any places in Sendai/Miyagi to apply to actually where I currently am.

If you have any ideas or suggestions or help, I'm all ears and pretty desperate.

So my experience has been an JET ALT for four years of teaching experience, in addition to working with my embassy in publishing a commemorative memorial book, outside of those, I worked in logistics for 7 years prior. And my Japanese is business level.

But nope, nothing is coming, not even another ALT job. I've applied to more than 70 positions now (40 in the last couple of days, and not all teaching exclusive).

Sigh.

 

[hashtagrekt]

If you're business level Japanese and aren't getting bites from Indeed or a Robert Walters recruiter, something else is wrong..

 

[Daitokuji]

Have you tried the job agencies? I got brochures from two at the Philippine festival last week.

Connect - www.connect-or.co.jp Seems to mostly focus on caregiver and IT jobs
Human Life Co., Ltd - No website but their number is 03-5769-7238 They're hiring caregivers @ 1400 yen/hr and they say you get a bonus after 6 months.

Japan currently has a historic shortage of workers and the hiring standards right now are pretty low. What kind of jobs are you applying for that you sent out 70 applications and got 0 responses? You can also try Hello Work. They have tons of job listings there and when you go the people there will do the introductory call for you.

 

[lupinko]

Mainly education/teaching since my visa is set to that but the searches are not exclusive to it.

I basically need a job that will help with the visa. I can't take odd jobs because I don't want to burn through what savings I have and those odd part time jobs wouldn't help me with the Visa. I'm being realistic and pragmatic here.

I've used gaijinpot and daijob. I tried indeed and that one for gaming. I could do without the cynicism and negativity since I've been trying to fight that recently too, since I have more than enough of that already, sadly.

 

[Daitokuji]

Here's another job agency: http://www.asia-now.net/en

Good luck with the search!

 

[guru-guru]

Mainly education/teaching since my visa is set to that but the searches are not exclusive to it.

I basically need a job that will help with the visa. I can't take odd jobs because I don't want to burn through what savings I have and those odd part time jobs wouldn't help me with the Visa. I'm being realistic and pragmatic here.

I've used gaijinpot and daijob. I tried indeed and that one for gaming. I could do without the cynicism and negativity since I've been trying to fight that recently too, since I have more than enough of that already, sadly.

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What video game companies did you apply to? I'm assuming for localization jobs? Did you do your application(s) in Japanese with a proper Japanese resume?

When I was applying for localization jobs way back when, it was pretty easy to get interviews. The standards they have are typically low—if you're a native English speaker, got your JLPT N1, have a bit of freelance experience (though not always necessary), and submit your application in Japanese, you should at least get an interview.

 

[Hasemo]

I would recommend setting up a meeting with a recruiter in person if you haven't done that yet. They might help you with your paperwork as well.
If you've been turned down so many times despite the 7 years of experience in logistics, it might be because of your 経歴書 etc.

That, and getting more personalized offers is nice. In the past I used Recruit for a while and they've been pretty good. I've only heard bad things about Hello Work, never used them myself.

 

[lupinko]

What video game companies did you apply to? I'm assuming for localization jobs? Did you do your application(s) in Japanese with a proper Japanese resume?

When I was applying for localization jobs way back when, it was pretty easy to get interviews. The standards they have are typically low—if you're a native English speaker, got your JLPT N1, have a bit of freelance experience (though not always necessary), and submit your application in Japanese, you should at least get an interview.

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I applied for Overseas Marketing for Western Markets and also for Communications Manager at SNK. And yes all my documents were in Japanese. I never heard back from them.

 

[signal]

:think:

 

[lupinko]

I just replied to some interested ALT jobs that emailed me back. Just anything at this point to just buy more time here in Japan.

 

[signal]

Work at a conbini

 

[lupinko]

Work at a conbini

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Yeah I'm not in the mood for that kind of shitposting right now.

 

[signal]

Yeah I'm not in the mood for that kind of shitposting right now.

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How's it a shitpost. If you said you applied to literally 70 places and didn't get a reply (until your last post) and the only goal seems to be living in Japan then why not?

Guess it's like a half shitpost since I don't expect you to work at one but I don't consider working there to be some demeaning job. It's not prestigious but neither is the type of scattered 'teaching english just to live in japan' that many seem to do.

 

[hashtagrekt]

Yeah I'm not in the mood for that kind of shitposting right now.

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Your "I'll take anything (except honest work) to stay in weeb paradise" is much more shit posting. Go home already.

 

[KtSlime]

If you have enough money saved you can sponsor yourself, work freelance.

 

[ElectricKaibutsu]

Anyone happen to live in Fukuoka-shi or I guess anywhere else in Fukuoka? Can you let me know what you like/dislike about it?

I've lived in Takrazuka-shi in Kansai, Miyazaki-shi in Miyazaki, and Gyotoku in Chiba while I worked in Tokyo. My favorite place to live was Miyazaki. The people were really laid back and friendly, the weather was nice, and the food was amazing. Fukuoka-shi seems like it might be similar but a bigger city. I'm trying to get a feel for it from someone who has lived there. Thanks!

 

[lupinko]

Your "I'll take anything (except honest work) to stay in weeb paradise" is much more shit posting. Go home already.

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Honest work? Working in a convenience store wouldn't help me with a visa. I mentioned that already.

 

[KtSlime]

Honest work? Working in a convenience store wouldn't help me with a visa. I mentioned that already.

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If you find a job willing to sponsor you, like you are searching for, your 在留資格 doesn't matter, since it can be changed to suit the position you are hired for.

 

[Valkerion]

Anyone happen to live in Fukuoka-shi or I guess anywhere else in Fukuoka? Can you let me know what you like/dislike about it?

I've lived in Takrazuka-shi in Kansai, Miyazaki-shi in Miyazaki, and Gyotoku in Chiba while I worked in Tokyo. My favorite place to live was Miyazaki. The people were really laid back and friendly, the weather was nice, and the food was amazing. Fukuoka-shi seems like it might be similar but a bigger city. I'm trying to get a feel for it from someone who has lived there. Thanks!

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Haven't lived there but visit it regularly since many Kyushu people end up moving there (having fingers crossed a job opens up there personally.) It really is great, like you I love living in Kyushu. Weather is generally nice, the people are way more chill, and the food is next level. Fukuoka has the same vibe just a larger area. Every time I go it's comfortable and pleasant. If I had to choose a large city to live in it's definitely the top one. They even got a personal favorite brand of manga I like there that I can't get without ordering online in Kagoshima/visiting Tokyo haha. I'm sure I've professed my love for Fukuoka before though lol.

I just replied to some interested ALT jobs that emailed me back. Just anything at this point to just buy more time here in Japan.

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It is strange with that amount of experience and Japanese level your not getting more offers. It could simply be chalked up to the current time your searching as well. I'm sure you know the hiring season here is spring, not mid summer generally.

Similar to you I've been hunting down jobs as best I can since my JET contract is ending next month, but unlike you I don't have that level of experience. Sounds like your doing everything right. Might want to check your info again when you sign up and apply to places to see if the info or something is correct. But yeah, after submitting a ton of applications I got three offers so far. This week gotta decide between shit pay and reputation to stay in the Kyushu area, move on to Nagoya or Ibaraki-ken...

Out of all the applications these are the few that replied back, and having three other interviews outside these as well.

Unlike others I'm pretty positive that you can find something man. Just keep at it. Even if you have to take a less than stellar job, you don't have to stop looking and applying while on it. Job hunting in this country sucks for a ton of reasons, its also why so many foreigners just open their own eikaiwas instead of going through this bs lol.

-edit- Got an email from one company.... what do you guys know about Okayama or Nagahama (Lake Biwa basically) lol.

 

[ElectricKaibutsu]

Haven't lived there but visit it regularly since many Kyushu people end up moving there (having fingers crossed a job opens up there personally.) It really is great, like you I love living in Kyushu. Weather is generally nice, the people are way more chill, and the food is next level. Fukuoka has the same vibe just a larger area. Every time I go it's comfortable and pleasant. If I had to choose a large city to live in it's definitely the top one. They even got a personal favorite brand of manga I like there that I can't get without ordering online in Kagoshima/visiting Tokyo haha. I'm sure I've professed my love for Fukuoka before though lol.

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Nice! It sounds like how I expected (^o^).

 

[Deleted member 18568]

Honest work? Working in a convenience store wouldn't help me with a visa. I mentioned that already.

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Do you have savings? Buddy of mine put 5 mil yen in a bank account + some legal fees and got a business visa. You don't need to spend the 5m btw way, just show it's there. He can work pretty much anywhere now.

 

[Daitokuji]

Do you have savings? Buddy of mine put 5 mil yen in a bank account + some legal fees and got a business visa. You don't need to spend the 5m btw way, just show it's there. He can work pretty much anywhere now.

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What were the legal fees and how long is the visa for?

The official rules for that visa are:

1. (1) You already have a place of business in Japan. (Short-term rental space or mobile office not acceptable.)
2. (2) Your company has more than 2 full-time employees who are Japanese or legal residents in Japan.
3. (3) You have more than 3 years of experience in business management and will be paid more than what a Japanese, if hired for the same position, would gets paid for.

Is he actually going to start a business or can you just send them a bank statement with 5 mil yen on it and then you get a working visa to do whatever you want?

 

[Deleted member 18568]

What were the legal fees and how long is the visa for?

The official rules for that visa are:

1. (1) You already have a place of business in Japan. (Short-term rental space or mobile office not acceptable.)
2. (2) Your company has more than 2 full-time employees who are Japanese or legal residents in Japan.
3. (3) You have more than 3 years of experience in business management and will be paid more than what a Japanese, if hired for the same position, would gets paid for.

Is he actually going to start a business or can you just send them a bank statement with 5 mil yen on it and then you get a working visa to do whatever you want?

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I believe it's three years, and she (husband and wife small business, guy is Japanese) paid around $3k in fees and registration all in. Not sure about the specific requirements, but she rented a registered address through the Tokyo city small business office for like $100/month.

 

[Daitokuji]

$3k? LOL those immigration lawyers are raking it in.

 

[Mr. Snuffleupagus]

Hey guys; was keen to get more Pokémon GO players from Japan on my Friends List - would be great if you could add me below;

9145 2331 8545

 

[hashtagrekt]

Don't leave us hanging lupinko, we all cheerin for you, especially after spork beat the game of jlife

 

[KtSlime]

Hey, does anyone have any experience with Aqua appliances? I am in the market to get a new fridge and there are some designs that look okay, but I have had bad experiences with Haier's quality. Would I be better off just getting a Mitsubishi or Sharp?

 

[Lurkyseas]

What is it like living in Japan? Is there anyway to get a Dual Citizenship with them?

I'm from the U.S.

 

[Hasemo]

What is it like living in Japan? Is there anyway to get a Dual Citizenship with them?

I'm from the U.S.

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Living here isn't half bad, but as for the dual citizenship...

 

[Deleted member 23212]

日本語を話してもいいですか。

 

[ElectricKaibutsu]

日本語を話してもいいですか。

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I'm not sure of the rules here (I don't even live in Japan anymore so I'm not sure why I'm here ^^;) but if you want to speak Japanese you could always join the superb Japanese studying OT.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/learning-japanese-•-日本語の勉強-これはotです-ゆっくりしていいぞ！.551/

 

[Deleted member 23212]

I'm not sure of the rules here (I don't even live in Japan anymore so I'm not sure why I'm here ^^;) but if you want to speak Japanese you could always join the superb Japanese studying OT.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/learning-japanese-•-日本語の勉強-これはotです-ゆっくりしていいぞ！.551/

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I think I asked that question there before, but I think the response was no =( Unless the person that told me that was someone without authority =P

 

[Valkerion]

What is it like living in Japan?

I'm from the U.S.

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Living here isn't bad, especially if your coming from America its not so different imo. A fairly simple place to live as long as you don't require too many complicated things to survive every day life. Have few complaints about actually living here honestly. Most people I meet are nice. Making friends with local owners like bars and restaurants is great (especially when you get "service" items.) Getting used to the social culture here has been an issue for me, in that I gained a ton of weight (almost 15lbs) since I rarely say no to the all you can eat/drink meetings with friends.

Dual citizenship is one of those complicated things lol.


Also yeah, Lupinko bro, let us know how your doing!

 

[TheSporkWithin]

I think I asked that question there before, but I think the response was no =( Unless the person that told me that was someone without authority =P

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That sounds unlikely. If you want to post in Japanese over there, by all means do so.

 

[hashtagrekt]

That millionth Japan travel thread reminded me I'm gonna make 30-40mil yen on my Tokyo place from the olympics alone lol.

 

[Valkerion]

That millionth Japan travel thread reminded me I'm gonna make 30-40mil yen on my Tokyo place from the olympics alone lol.

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-high five- nice!

my last actual week with JET before I'm set loose on the actual Japanese population.

Sadly could not find any jobs in my current city which is really tearing me up inside. Hell even applied to freaking interac just to stay close (they have been giving me the run around about placement but now that I stopped responding after getting a letter of employment they are saying they can give me the area I wanted again...) But got about a month before I move to Gifu for my next job unless I find something better.

A lot of my co-workers today were giving me talks about "your young you don't have to stay in this town" and other random job/life advice. Won't stop looking for stuff until next month though. Never know when something better will come about.

 

[TheSporkWithin]

Whereabouts in Gifu? I've been in the southeast part for the past four years. I'm on my way out though, as I too am finishing up my JET placement. Moving to my new place in Osaka next week!

 

[ZeroDS]

Any advice for a 30 year old ALT trying to get into an IT position. Or is it already over for me lol

 

[ElectricKaibutsu]

Any advice for a 30 year old ALT trying to get into an IT position. Or is it already over for me lol

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That's what I tried to do! Ended up having to move back to America...

Good luck though!

 

[ZeroDS]

That's what I tried to do! Ended up having to move back to America...

Good luck though!

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Well fuck! Not the news I wanted to hear haha. Do you know why you couldn't find anything? Would love to hear your story

 

[ElectricKaibutsu]

Well fuck! Not the news I wanted to hear haha. Do you know why you couldn't find anything? Would love to hear your story

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Sure! this might be TMI but, I moved to Japan as a JET and did that for 3 years. I got married and my wife got transferred so we moved to a different part of Japan and I got a job as an English teacher at a Japanese kindergarten. She got transferred again and I tried to get a job doing something else, anything else, but couldn't find anything right away so I got job as an English teacher at another kindergarten (Japan has a ton of English speaking kindergartens that always need teachers). I also worked part time for Shane Eikaiwa and did some freelance.

By this point I was totally done teaching English. It just wasn't my passion. I've always been into computers so wanted to get into IT. I didn't have any IT experience from before Japan so I was l looking for something entry level. I have JLPT N2 and can speak Japanese but not really well enough to compete with Japanese guys when I have no experience. Fortunately since my wife is Japanese I wouldn't have had to be sponsored for my visa, which I imagine would have made it harder. I was interviewed by some placement agencies. I went to a job fair. No luck on the IT front. The only thing I could find was work at placement agencies but that wasn't what I wanted to get into. I ended up studying and getting as many IT certs as I could. I figured I wanted to go into infrastructure so I got CCNA Routing and Switching, CCNA Voice, some Juniper cert, and a MS server cert. My wife and I took a chance and moved back to the states. I was able to land a help desk job after a couple months in the Philadelphia area. After a year I moved to a business analyst position. I work a lot with the developers and realized that's really what I want to be doing. So my new goal is to get good at programming, get some experience, then get a job doing that in Japan.

 

[ZeroDS]

Sure! this might be TMI but, I moved to Japan as a JET and did that for 3 years. I got married and my wife got transferred so we moved to a different part of Japan and I got a job as an English teacher at a Japanese kindergarten. She got transferred again and I tried to get a job doing something else, anything else, but couldn't find anything right away so I got job as an English teacher at another kindergarten (Japan has a ton of English speaking kindergartens that always need teachers). I also worked part time for Shane Eikaiwa and did some freelance.

By this point I was totally done teaching English. It just wasn't my passion. I've always been into computers so wanted to get into IT. I didn't have any IT experience from before Japan so I was l looking for something entry level. I have JLPT N2 and can speak Japanese but not really well enough to compete with Japanese guys when I have no experience. Fortunately since my wife is Japanese I wouldn't have had to be sponsored for my visa, which I imagine would have made it harder. I was interviewed by some placement agencies. I went to a job fair. No luck on the IT front. The only thing I could find was work at placement agencies but that wasn't what I wanted to get into. I ended up studying and getting as many IT certs as I could. I figured I wanted to go into infrastructure so I got CCNA Routing and Switching, CCNA Voice, some Juniper cert, and a MS server cert. My wife and I took a chance and moved back to the states. I was able to land a help desk job after a couple months in the Philadelphia area. After a year I moved to a business analyst position. I work a lot with the developers and realized that's really what I want to be doing. So my new goal is to get good at programming, get some experience, then get a job doing that in Japan.

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Thanks for sharing! Sounds like I'm in a quite similar situation. I have a bachelors in computer science although it hasn't helped me much, so I've started studying for some certs now as well. Unfortunately my wife to be won't easily be swayed into moving away from Japan if it comes tomthat. Especially because her mother is dead set against it. So hopefully I'll be able to find something.

 

[Deleted member 1635]

Thanks for sharing! Sounds like I'm in a quite similar situation. I have a bachelors in computer science although it hasn't helped me much, so I've started studying for some certs now as well. Unfortunately my wife to be won't easily be swayed into moving away from Japan if it comes tomthat. Especially because her mother is dead set against it. So hopefully I'll be able to find something.

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If you speak Japanese and have certifications, you should be able to find something. You might also want to try applying at foreign companies that operate in Japan so you English speaking abilities are actually an asset.

 

[Valkerion]

Whereabouts in Gifu? I've been in the southeast part for the past four years. I'm on my way out though, as I too am finishing up my JET placement. Moving to my new place in Osaka next week!

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It will be Gifu City. I asked for a 6 month contract so I could get on the usual hire window for next year which they were cool with doing (would not doubt they get some kind of benefit/don't have to give me a few thanks to this)

Any advice for a 30 year old ALT trying to get into an IT position. Or is it already over for me lol

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It seems like IT positions are weirdly hard for foreigners to get into, depending on the field but not impossible. Not sure what all certs/info you have to do things but if you can do free lance work it could help build a profile of stuff you can show. A friend of mine (granted hes married) does free lance IT and app building work from home here.

 

[hashtagrekt]

Gifu sounds great wow enjoy

 

[ElectricKaibutsu]

Thanks for sharing! Sounds like I'm in a quite similar situation. I have a bachelors in computer science although it hasn't helped me much, so I've started studying for some certs now as well. Unfortunately my wife to be won't easily be swayed into moving away from Japan if it comes tomthat. Especially because her mother is dead set against it. So hopefully I'll be able to find something.

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No problem! Hope it works out! The comp sci degree should help I think.

 

[Deleted member 23212]

Has anyone here spent an extensive amount of time in Sapporo? For some reason that city's always interested me.

 

[Kaworu]

Thanks for sharing! Sounds like I'm in a quite similar situation. I have a bachelors in computer science although it hasn't helped me much, so I've started studying for some certs now as well. Unfortunately my wife to be won't easily be swayed into moving away from Japan if it comes tomthat. Especially because her mother is dead set against it. So hopefully I'll be able to find something.

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Having a bachelor's in the area helps a lot in IT even in Japan, that should make it way easier. How have you been looking for jobs?

 

[ZeroDS]

Having a bachelor's in the area helps a lot in IT even in Japan, that should make it way easier. How have you been looking for jobs?

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Mainly job boards, the usual like Gaijinpot, daijob and careercross. Any other ways i should be looking?

 

[hashtagrekt]

Indeed and LinkedIn recruiters. Also networking at forums and meetups.