Employment search support
The FISSC will help international students obtain jobs best suited to individual students! We will organize seminars and exchange meetings to support international students who seek jobs at Japanese companies.
1. Job-search seminars for international students
- Job-search experiences narrated by students who have been given informal assurances of employment
- What kind of personnel is required by Japanese companies?
- How to present yourself persuasively to get a job
- How to undergo an interview, make phone calls and fill out a job application form
- Employment systems of Japanese companies, etc.
- Japanese people’s views on relationships at workplaces
- Procedures to change status of residence
When searching for jobs, international students will have their first opportunities to formally come into contact with companies in Japan. To reduce students’ anxieties and worries regarding job seeking, the FISSC will organize seminars and guidance on the above subjects. We assist you in realizing your hopes of working at Japanese companies in the future!
2. Meeting for exchange between international students and companies
It may be difficult for international students to imagine what is it like to work at a company in Japan. We understand that many international students who wish to obtain jobs in Japan do not know much about the customs and employment situations of Japanese companies. We also know that they have questions about Japanese companies’ attitudes to employing students from overseas.
To help such students, the FISSC is planning to hold an exchange meeting between international students and Japanese companies. At this meeting, international students can learn about Japanese companies in a friendly atmosphere. It will provide you with good opportunities to ask about matters that are difficult to ascertain during job interviews.
3. Company recruiting sessions and job fairs for international students
Companies planning to hire international students will set up advisory booths to provide corporate information. Since many companies engaged in various types of industries will participate in such events, you can learn about many different companies at one opportunity. Also, you will be introduced to wider options of jobs and industries.
Through these sessions and fairs, many students have successfully obtained employment opportunities. We hope many international students will take part in these events.
<Brief advice for international students seeking jobs >
For international students: Regarding employment in Japan
Increasing numbers of overseas students have been studying in Japan and similarly, many Japanese companies have been expanding their businesses overseas. Under these circumstances, Japanese companies are definitely hiring more international students, who can be expected to be immediately useful players in coping with business globalization.
In 2007, 10,262 overseas students enrolled in universities, graduate schools and junior colleges were permitted to change their residence status in order to work at companies in Japan. This figure represents an increase of 1,990 (24.1%) from the 8,272 students who obtained this permission in the previous year, according to data provided by the Immigration Bureau.
Some major companies and IT-related companies have become active in employing international students, to make use of diverse human resources, regardless of their nationality.
Moreover, since Japanese companies mostly employ full-time workers based on the premise of lifetime employment, they try to assess the quality of student applicants carefully, to determine whether or not they deserve company salaries paid for many years. For this reason, Japanese companies conduct elaborate screening procedures. These include screening on the basis of application forms, which describe reasons for applying for the company, written examinations, group discussions, and several interviews. The same screening criteria are applied to all applicants; there is no preferential treatment for students from foreign countries. In both group discussions and group interviews, international students will be screened under the same conditions as Japanese applicants.
Many international students tend to be disadvantaged at the start of their job search, since they do not know the circumstances described above in relation to employment in Japan, how to collect information necessary for job search and which companies are hiring people from foreign countries. In such cases, these students may often undergo screening without sufficient preparations, and so may not obtain the desired results. To avoid this, international students are encouraged to prepare actively for their job search earlier. We recommend that you participate in joint employment seminars and employment guidance sessions organized by respective companies, the Japan Student Services Organization and local governments, and exchange information with your friends.
Typical schedule for job search
Job search activities for international students are basically the same as those of Japanese students. Nowadays, there is a trend in job seeking toward starting earlier and continuing longer. After examining various materials, you will make contact with companies that you are interested in. In Japan, many companies recruit new graduates at the same time. Therefore, job offers and search activities by companies and students tend to be concentrated in a certain period of time. It is important for you to understand this tendency in job-search scheduling.
Points to be noted in job search
○Before starting your job search, you should decide whether you will join a company in Japan or return to your home country.
○The job search period is tending to start earlier, year by year. It is therefore not too soon to start your job search when you are a sophomore undergraduate (1st-year master’s degree student or 2nd-year doctorate student). In employment practices in Japan, generally students participate in explanatory meetings for potential employees held by companies when they are sophomore undergraduates. Also, it is not unusual that junior undergraduates participate in such meetings.
○Although the lifetime employment system, formerly a traditional feature of Japanese companies, is no longer so widespread, many companies tend to employ persons who will work for a long term. However, this does not necessarily mean that Japanese companies do not hire international students who wish to return home after working at such a company for several years. You should discuss your career plans with the company.
○Japanese companies place considerable importance on mutual cooperation among employees. They therefore tend to seek personnel who are not only good at their jobs but also capable of communicating well with Japanese employees in the workplace.
○It is difficult for international students to obtain jobs, if they can speak only their native language and Japanese. You are therefore advised to improve your Japanese language skills as well as to actively take English proficiency tests such as TOEIC.
○During your job search, you may be interviewed by dozens of companies without succeeding in being selected. In such circumstances, you may be disappointed, but please have confidence in yourself and persistently continue your job search efforts. We believe that you can find a company that needs you.
○To be employed by a company in Japan, an international student must change his/her current residence status as a “college student” to a one for which work permission is granted, such as “Specialist in Humanities / International Services” or “Engineer.” In other words, you should obtain a job that is permitted under such residence status. If you have been given informal assurances of employment, prepare the necessary documents to apply for the status change. You must submit them to the Regional Immigration Bureau in January or later in principle, so as to obtain permission to change your residence status before joining the company.