Getting a Job with JLPT N3 (from outside Japan)

Btw, contact Robert Pontow on linkedin. He's the CEO/founder of a gaming localization company in Osaka. He's German, so maybe he's willing to help out a fellow German in Japan. Maybe his company even has a job or the proper contacts..

I heard that Eikaiwas aren't the most popular employer on the teaching market. But I will take what I can get. I was worried about the long recruiting process because I thought it would go hand in hand with a long series of (on-site) interviews and tests. Interviews and tests which I wouldn't be able to attend otherwise. But it seems like I don't need to worry about that anyways.

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You aren't qualified for teaching anything else except getting an ALT position with a private recruiter or JET Programme for public schools. If you're concerned about a long recruiting process, get over it. That's life in most jobs.

Why can't you attend interviews or take tests? Trying to get a job in a foreign country (ANY job) will often require that you go there initially and sniff around. If you can't do that, why even bother looking for work there? As already mentioned, you could come on a working holiday visa and look around, even work until the WHV expires.

I do have one more question, though. I don't have a very clear picture of how important University Degrees are in Japan. From what I hear, a B.A. is not worth much in most industries in Germany. Having a Master's would greatly improve job chances in many cases (not so much in the Game Design indostry however). Is it a similar scenario in Japan? Or do japanese companies not care too much about your education if its not from a japanese elite university anyway?

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I have no idea about your line of work. What I can say is that unless you have a WHV or Japanese spouse, you're going to get a work visa, and without 10 years of relevant work experience, you'll need a minimum of a bachelor's degree in your field for that.

I just don't know how much of a turn off my age (28 by then) would be for japanese companies at that point. I know it wouldn't be that much of a problem in the German/European market. But I'm not able to translate my experience to the Japanese job market where graduates are usually in their early 20s and it's not common to stay at uni for a long time or even switch jobs/companies mid-career.

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The bulk of jobs in Japan are offered to fresh college graduates. However, there is a growing percentage of mid-career hires, too (I forget the actual percentage). Those data are for Japanese hires. I think that your age is not going to make a difference as a foreigner. They tend to want someone with language skills so they don't have to nursemaid you in the office and at home, and they also look at your skill set because you're usually competing against Japanese who are willing to take jobs for less benefits than foreigners (and who are more willing to live in tiny crackerbox apartments and work long hours without extra pay).

I clicked "Agree" on mdchachi's post in regards to the working holiday visa. I think this would be a great way to come to Japan, meet some recruiters, try to sell yourself into the game industry here.

giraffe said:

most jobs will be with medium sized or small companies. Getting your foot in the door in one of your mentioned studios is really hit or miss because the demand for game designers is oversaturated esp. in the AAA industry.

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giraffe said:

I believe my chances with young small or medium sized companies will be a lot better.

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I think you are mistaken here. Small and medium-sized companies in Japan tend to not have experience with, or resources for hiring and looking after foreign employees. There is a certain amount of bureaucracy associated with hiring foreign employees, and small companies struggle with anything that falls outside of the normal scope of their business. Big game companies have a voracious appetite for new talent, have HR staff that are experienced with hiring foreigners, and the pool of candidates here in Japan is growing smaller and smaller. I think you may be overestimating the startup culture here in Japan. It exists, but it is nothing like Silicon Valley.

Coming here on a work holiday visa would broaden your perspective on this, so I think that would be pretty useful for you. Eikaiwa can also be useful, but it can also be trap. If you enjoy teaching and aspire to be a teacher, or to eventually own your own eikaiwa business, it would be worth your time to investigate that route. Since you hope to join the game industry, I think any time spent in eikaiwa is a costly distraction.

@cocoichi thanks for the tip! I will definitely try to reach out!

@Glenski @mdchachi @Majestic @musicisgood :
Thank you for the tips! WHV sounds like it would be a great idea. I actually didn't fully realize there was a thing like that. Maybe this is the opportunity I was looking for. I imagine making contacts and finding a job (in whatever field) will be way more realistic if I'm actually present in Japan.
Also thanks for pointing out Ex Bar - I didn't know venues like this existed, but looking more into it, I found out these kind of places are actually kind of popular in Japan. Or at least more popular than in Germany.

I still have to figure out how exactly my future plans will look like - maybe you guys are right and teaching english is really not the best sidestep - but now I definitely have some information to work with. Thanks everyone for your advice!

I've worked in the CG/game industry in Japan for 5 years or so and here is what I can tell you.

Game companies are fine with foreigners as long as you can communicate in Japanese and can adapt to the work culture. A lot of companies actually welcome foreigners in the hopes of "getting a fresh outlook" or some similar idea.
Your JLPT means nothing when you apply. It's nice for measuring your progress but nobody really cares about it. I have N1 now but I had no certificate when I landed my first jobs (my Japanese was quite fluent though). You will submit your resume in Japanese, then go and do an interview in Japanese... that's more then enough for them to figure out if you can communicate or not.

And then there is the work culture and you really have to ask yourself if you can deal with this stuff!
All CG and game companies I've seen routinely work overtime for no reason at all. As an extreme example, at my first job the "core" working hours were 10am to 10pm with everyone actually staying until last train, sleeping at the office(!) etc...
I became a freelancer recently but I basically work full time at a company right now. My freelance status allows me more freedom but I can see that all regular employees do the daily overtime thing. There is just one other foreigner who leaves when regular working time ends.
I haven't worked at the top studios but from what I hear it's more or less the same situation everywhere. One solution is to grow a thick skin and leave early (like that foreigner at my current job) and risk being the outcast in the company (or even being fired eventually).

I know German work ethic to some extent and my impression is that you work hard but you requite fairness. To you working in Japan may feel unfair or even as pure exploitation depending on where you land a job.
I really don't mean to discourage you but I worry that the clash between your Utopian dream and reality might be quite painful


"But as I'm a very adaptable person I think I can handle it for at least a couple of years if it turns out to be a horrible experience. If I dislike it and decide to leave after 2 or 3 years it will still have been a worthy experience."

Never tell that to your employer! Japanese companies still have the mentality that you should work for the same company until you retire or die. Of course, in practice people are more flexible these days but saying something like the above at an interview will be a huge mistake. Tell them you love Japan and expect to live here for the foreseeable future.

Thanks so much for your reply, toshiro, that was a lot of very helpful information!

I guess the bit with getting fluent in japanese by the time I plan to start working there is my biggest problem right now. Since I last posted here, I've been continuously improving my Japanese skills - but I've realized just how much I still need to learn in order to be "passable" with my language skills in day to day conversation. I think I underestimated just how much more time it takes to learn a non-european language.

In the meantime, I completely dropped the idea of working as a language teacher and instead started doing some more research on Japanese game studios.
I've heard stories of people sending in english applications to studios even though there were no explicit english advertisements. Is that - in general - a strategy with moderate success chances or is sending out english applications mostly a waste of time (because no one will be bothered or even able to read them)?

On the other hand, I've found a few studios who advertised their jobs in horrible copy & paste english - as a rule of thumb: are these kind of job advertisements genuine or is this a thing companies do so they look international from the outside (when in fact they'd only hire applicants with solid japanese fluency anyway)?

Other than that, I've managed to find a couple of english speaking companies located in japan - that's where I see most chances right now. Maybe the working conditions at those studios will be a little better as well. I've heard a lot of horror stories (on here but also in other places) by now. Although I expect to be working overtime as a game designer regardless; that's just how game development works

I will have my B.A. in Game Design by October and my plan is to go to japan on a work and travel visa for a couple of months after I graduate. Is this my best option?
I think looking for jobs while actually being there is the best chance I have. Or is it?

My question is, does it make sense for me to go there during the general recruitment season? I've heard that these kind of recruitement programmes and tests are not very accessible for non-japanese speakers because they require very high language proficiency. Is this true or are there exceptions?
Do companies which look for international talent look for international talent on the same schedule as they look for japanese candidates?
On the other hand, there's english speaking companies in Japan, too. Do they tick the same as japanese speaking companies in that they have a lot of openings during recruitment season? Or is it different for more international oriented companies?

I know, these are very broad questions and there's no definite answers; I just wanted to post an update and see whether someone might have any suggestions. This thread has been a huge help for me so far. So thanks a lot!

I just happened to run across this article the other day.
American Says In 2007 It's His Dream To Work At Nintendo, Winds Up In Credits For Breath Of The Wild
This guy had a similar dream to work at Nintendo and he made it. (His path ended up being via university in Japan.) I'd seriously consider reaching out to the guy in the article. He probably has a lot better advice to give than we do in this area. And you could probably meet him while you're in Japan. Networking is critically important for just about any job search. The more (relevant) people you know the better.

As for your questions above, I would try out all avenues. Most will not result in any positive outcome but all you need is one. So the more times you try the better your chances are.

I've heard stories of people sending in english applications to studios even though there were no explicit english advertisements. Is that - in general - a strategy with moderate success chances or is sending out english applications mostly a waste of time (because no one will be bothered or even able to read them)?

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If they advertise in English or explicitly state they want an English CV, send it in. Since you can't read Japanese very well, you'll probably not be running across Japanese ads.

On the other hand, I've found a few studios who advertised their jobs in horrible copy & paste english - as a rule of thumb: are these kind of job advertisements genuine or is this a thing companies do so they look international from the outside (when in fact they'd only hire applicants with solid japanese fluency anyway)?

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Despite what you might have heard about Japanese having decent English, they don't. Marketing firms don't seem to care what they write on T-shirts, either, whether in poor grammar or just plain foul language. If it's English, it's ok. For job ads, they are simply sloppy and too cheap to get proper translation if you see one in bad English. The outfit can't be judged a scam by that alone.

I will have my B.A. in Game Design by October and my plan is to go to japan on a work and travel visa for a couple of months after I graduate. Is this my best option?
I think looking for jobs while actually being there is the best chance I have. Or is it?

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What is a "work and travel visa"? Are you referring to a working holiday visa? If so, by all means! You can work part-time or full-time that way, but you will also be taxed 20%.

However, October is the tail end of hiring for most places. The biggest surge is in Feb and March because of the fiscal year beginning in April. There is a small surge in October because of the end of 6-month jobs which began in April. I don't know your field, but I'd say September is better because of the October start date. Just being here is very important, though, because you will show some due diligence in job hunting that way, and you will immediately be available for any interviews.

I've heard that these kind of recruitement programmes and tests are not very accessible for non-japanese speakers because they require very high language proficiency. Is this true or are there exceptions?

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I don't know what sort of tests you talk about for your field.

Do companies which look for international talent look for international talent on the same schedule as they look for japanese candidates?

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I don't think they do things differently. Expect hiring schedules but look for the ads and pay attention to when they state is the start date.

On the other hand, there's english speaking companies in Japan, too. Do they tick the same as japanese speaking companies in that they have a lot of openings during recruitment season? Or is it different for more international oriented companies?

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Nobody can give you that answer. Just watch the ads. I suspect they operate on the same fiscal schedule as Japanese companies.

CFN | Job Search

It might be useful to browse thru those listings from the Boston Career Forum, held every November. Probably not exactly what you're looking for, but tick the IT box on the right (or any others) to see some offerings & conditions.

Given the levels of language ability most of those jobs ask for, coming to Japan on a WHV and improving your Japanese might be one good strategy.

I remember when I was getting close to graduation,the Boston Career Forum was the place to go if you wanted to shop around for work in Japan.