1) Your background
I grew up in Vermont and moved to Tokyo, Japan at 20 years old and lived there for 8 years. My schooling was a bit unconventional. I knew I wanted to live in Japan since high school and moved there soon after graduating. Before moving, I had a very basic level of ability in Japanese. Mostly I self-studied, but I did take an elementary Japanese course at UVM.
I’ve always loved Japanese video games and wanted to be a part of their development. My reason for moving to Japan was to learn the craft and possibly get a job as a developer.
Upon moving I enrolled in a school called, “Akamonkai Japanese Language School”. I studied Japanese under a very intense and accelerated curriculum for 1.5 years. After about a year, I was able to pass the JLPT N2, which was enough to get started on my real goal. Immediately after graduating, I enrolled in a technical college called “Hal Tokyo College for Technology & Design”. I graduated with a degree in video game programming.
I managed to get a job as a programmer in a game studio and developed mostly Playstation games for companies like Sega, Sony, and Bandai-Namco.
My time in Japan was amazing and truly changed my life. I experienced so much that I could not have had I stayed in America. I’ve since moved back to the US, but I really love and miss Japan.
2) Where did you work? How did you find the job?
I worked for about 4 years in Tokyo as a video game programmer. Before that I worked at a large IT corporation. I was already living in Japan at the time, so I merely applied to companies directly from their website.
3) What was the interview process like?
Students in Japan start interviewing in their last year of college so they have a job as soon as they graduate. As a student, the interview process is very rigid. You need to hand write your resume for every company you apply to.
Usually, you’ll attend a seminar by the company and hand in your resume there. For the seminar and every interview, everybody wears what they call a “recruit suit”. For men, it’s a black suit and black tie. For women, a black suit vest and black skirt. There may be hundreds of students at a seminar, and they’re all wearing this exact outfit.
If you’re selected for an interview, you and 3-4 other students will sit lined up in chairs directly facing about 3-5 interviewers. You’ll be asked standard questions that Japanese students are asked along with ones particular to your status as a foreigner.
Standard questions are really what you’d expect, such as what you like about the company, your career goals, your interests, etc.
As for the “foreigner” questions, some common examples are:
“How long have you been in Japan?”, “Why did you move here?”, “What do you like about it here?”,
“What is your home country like?”, “Do you have a Japanese girlfriend/boyfriend?”, “Do you plan on living here forever?”
The interviewers are not trying to pick on you with these questions, and are asking mostly because they’re just curious. You shouldn’t take offense if you’re asked them.
There may be 2 or 3 of these interviews for each company. By the last one, you’ll be interviewing one-on-one with the CEO.
Lastly, most companies will administer what they call an “SPI Test”. It’s essentially just an IQ test. It’s all in Japanese, and tests your math, reading, writing, logic, and problem solving ability.
They’re less important to smaller companies, but carry more weight in massive corporations because you’re applying along with thousands of other students nationally. So long as you’re not applying to companies like Sony or Nintendo, I wouldn’t be too concerned with the test. Most interviewers don’t really care about your score.
4) What was the placement/moving process like? (Did your company pay any? Or you paid everything?)
Because I started living in Japan as a student, I had to pay for all of my own moving expenses. If you’re living in Tokyo or another big city, you have lots options for accommodation.
I lived most of my time in Japan in an apartment. When apartment hunting, be prepared to get turned down by about 1/3 of landlords on account of you being a foreigner.
Moving into an apartment in Japan can be grossly expensive. You need to pay “key money”
which is about 1 month’s worth of rent, and a deposit (which is 1 – 2 month’s worth).
Most landlords do not give you the deposit back when you leave.
That being said, rent in Tokyo is much cheaper than anything you’d find even in Burlington.
I lived in a studio apartment very close to central Shinjuku, and rent only cost me about $550 a month.
Neighbors are usually quiet and polite, and landlords are quick to fix problems. My experience with apartments in Tokyo is mostly positive.
If you enroll in a school, most likely it will have a dormitory. This is really no
different from dorms in US colleges.
There are also “share houses” – where you live in a house with about 3 – 4 other mostly young people. Utility costs are usually fixed. Share houses are much more open to foreign tenants.
5) What is it like to work for a Japanese company/school?
Most of my time working in Japan was for a game company. Being that it’s a creative industry, attire was very casual. However, when working for an IT company, attire was much more formal; everyone wore a suit.
Traditionally Japanese companies require their employees wear suits, but in recent years it’s become more relaxed and many companies allow “cool-biz” (business casual), or even plain casual.
If you work for a foreign company or an “internationalized” corporation like Rakuten, it is very likely you will use English for most of your work day. However, if you work in a normal Japanese company like I did, you will be expected to speak/read/write totally in Japanese. This is daunting at first, but the more you’re exposed to Japanese in the work place, the easier it gets.
Japan is notorious for requiring insane amounts of unpaid overtime from their employees. This is actually a bit outdated, and was true mostly in the 80s during the economic bubble. After several “karoshi” scandals (death from overwork), Japanese work culture has greatly improved. Most companies won’t require you to work overtime unless its truly necessary. Even when it is, good managers won’t allow you to work too much thanks to anti-overtime laws put in place in recent years. I’d usually work from 11:00AM to 8:00PM, and do some overtime here and there when necessary.
As for the working environment, it really depends on the size and type of company. You can expect most companies to have the “bull-pen” layout. Basically, the entire office is open with “island” desks lined throughout. Personal desk space is a bit small. There will usually be a smoking room for the smokers in the office.
6) What is it like to work with the Japanese? (people, culture,
language, after-work obligation, etc.)
Japanese work culture is very hierarchical. Relationships are often defined by “senpai” and “kohai”. If you’ve watched any anime, you most likely have seen this dynamic. Senpai are not necessarily your seniors, but rather people who’ve been in the company longer than you/have more experience. Kohai will instinctively pay respect to their senpai by speaking to them using a polite form of speech (“desu”, “masu”), pouring drinks for them at company “nomikai” (drinking parties), etc. On the flip side, senpai will do all they can to help out and cover for their kohai, mentor them, etc.
As a junior member of a team, you will not often be asked for input, and won’t be expected to offer any. For a few years, you will be in what I call “learning mode”. Your bosses will expect you to learn from more experienced members and do as you’re instructed. This can be a really good thing, because it takes undo pressure off of you to perform at a high level right out of the gate. It can also be a bit stifling at times and slow professional growth. There are pros and cons.
One favorite past-time of Japanese working people are the company drinking parties, “nomikai”. Friendly colleagues will often go out to an “izakaya” (Japanese pub) together for drinks.
This is a big part of Japanese work culture, and important for building relations between coworkers. A few times a year, the company will sponsor company wide nomikai. In the past, going to the nomikai was mandatory, and so was drinking alcohol. In recent years going has become mostly voluntary, and whether you drink or not is entirely a personal choice.
7) PLEASE share any tips for those who are going to teach in Japan or
have Japan-related jobs after graduating from UVM?
Like I described previously, nomikai is important for building relations in the workplace.
When I first started working, I took a weird “anti-nomikai” stance, and would turn down offers.
This is because I didn’t want to feel pressured to drink. I regret this now, because these days you aren’t pressured to drink, and nomikai are a great way to get to know people. It’s truly a staple
of Japanese culture, and should be embraced when you have the opportunity to go.
If you are going into a customer facing position that requires Japanese, definitely brush up on your keigo (honorifics). Keigo is very important when dealing with customers, and those that hold positions high above yours.
8) Please share any recommendation you would like to give to
faculty/staff for career advising.
Japanese interviews are very different from American ones, and I think it’d be a good idea to teach students the proper etiquette.
Examples of this could be:
– Making sure they are comfortable using 敬語.
– Entering/exiting the interview room with お辞儀, and say “失礼致します”.
– The proper way to write a Japanese resume.
etc…
9) Please share any recommendation you would like to give to UVM
students as career advising.?
Since I never taught English in Japan, I unfortunately don’t have much advice for those who wish to do so. I do know that it is an incredibly competitive career path because Japan is such a popular teaching destination. You have to compete with a global talent pool of English teachers.
One of the best things you can do to boost your chances of beating the crowd is to actually be in Japan before getting the job. This applies to everyone who wants to work in Japan, English teachers included. Japanese companies would much rather hire someone already in Japan that can start working immediately over someone in a foreign country with whom they’ve never met.
There are a few ways you can do this. One great way is to move to Japan as a student. Japanese language schools are very cheap (mine was like $3000 per 6 month semester), and can sponsor a student visa for you. You can enroll for 6 months to a year, improve your Japanese, and look for a local job.
If you want to work for a regular Japanese company in a job unrelated to English teaching, you will definitely need to be fluent in Japanese. Speaking ability is the most important, but reading/writing is very important, as well.
10) Anything else you want to share!
When living/working in Japan, we as non-Japanese really do have to work hard to fit into a comparatively rigid culture we’re not used to. Many people get embittered by this and end up moving back home.
I would encourage anyone thinking of making the move to understand this, but not to be discouraged. Living in Japan has so many more positives than negatives, and the longer you live there, the more you grow to appreciate it.
Look at cultural differences as a challenge to be overcome. By living in Japan your life will be truly enriched with rewarding new experiences and perspectives.