1. Prepare my mind

Doing job hunting in Japan means competing with domestic students. Since I was not fluent in Japanese, I knew that I needed to try hard. Getting a job in Japan is said to be difficult, so I was aware that I was facing a big challenge. Just tried my best, and even if I failed, I had nothing to regret.

2. Prepare plans for various situations

I had no idea if I could get a job. In the case I could not, perhaps I would do PhD and pay tuition fees by myself before I could get a JSPS fellowship. In another case, perhaps I would stay in Japan under the designated activities visa for 6 months to continue finding a job, and to take up a part-time job for living at the same time. I knew I needed to try hard for job-hunting, but it did not mean I had to push myself to get a job by all means.

3. Prepare finance

I read many articles from other foreigners who got jobs in Japan and found that I would need to travel a lot to attend job fairs, seminars and interviews. Hence, saving money is important. In addition, in case I could not get the job and had to choose other options, I would even need more money. I felt so lucky that Japanese government was so generous for international students with MEXT scholarship. I was able to prepare enough money without taking up a part-time job.

4. Prepare a black suit

Black suit is a dress code for job hunting in Japan. It is easy to find in any clothing store. Additionally, black shoes, black bag are preferred too. I thought that I would only use that suit for job-hunting. When the job-hunting was over, I still wore that suit on many occasions, such as attending company gathering events, company’s ceremony, training program and so on.

5. Prepare for the job-hunting process

I learnt from Japanese students to prepare for job hunt 1 to 1.5 years before graduation. It includes internship, attending seminars and job fairs, studying for “entry” tests.

• Internships: Certainly, doing internship does not increase your chance of getting the job, but it would help to gain more experience. The first thing I learnt was to write application forms in handwriting, not only to write every word carefully, but also to arrange a whole sentence or a paragraph to fit just right into the allowed blank space. Some internships require interviews, so I also learnt how to answer some popular questions like why did I want to apply for the company, what were my strengths and weaknesses…
• Seminars: They are often organized by university and government to help international students understand about the job-hunting schedule in Japan and to have better knowledge upon preparation. I also got many advices from university staff on writing resume and doing interviews.
• Job Fairs: These are opportunities to know more about potential companies that I wanted to apply to. It is also a chance to talk directly to the HR staff or current employees and know more about working life.
• Studying for Entry Tests: I had shared about it in a previous article. Please check https://ssp.jst.go.jp/sns/mentor/03hoang/vol7.html

6. Improve Japanese ability

In Japan, IT companies and special departments in some companies do not require Japanese, but it is a very small portion compared to the average. Learning Japanese is not only useful for daily life in Japan, but also an evidence that someone is willing to learn. Luckily, I was able to pass N3 before job-hunting season.