Finding a Job in Japan

This article aims to give an overview of the first steps of finding a job in Japan.
We will cover:

• When to look
• Where to look
• Basic Contract information 

The next article will cover contract details in a lot more depth. (It’s a lot)

When to Look

Job hunting season in Japan typically revolves around getting new workers in for April, the start of the fiscal year. 
The best time to search is typically around January-March. 
Jobs are constantly updated all year however, so it never hurts to be looking.

New jobs and contact from companies will typically only happen during weekdays during business hours.

Where to look

There are a lot of sites to check for jobs in Japan. Here is an overview of some of the most common:

• Gaijinpot – The most popular one for foreigners. All English. Mostly teaching Jobs.
• Ohayo Sensei – A bi-monthly newsletter. Only English. Use Ctrl F. Only teaching Jobs.
• Daijob – English and Japanese. Mostly recruiters but a decent site. Lots of IT Jobs.
• CareerCross – Similar to Daijob. Reportedly specializes in bi-lingual jobs. 
• MaiNavi Tenshoku – Has a part time work version as well. Somewhat annoying to use. Only Japanese.
• Google “求人” – Gets jobs from a lot of sources, but may be outdated.
• Indeed.jp – In English, and has a lot of jobs, but a lot of reposts. It should be better than it is.

In addition to these sites, you can try:

1. Career fairs, hosted by your university/JET or whatever. 
2. Directly and painstakingly searching companies and their websites.
   You’ll need to find the words “採用” or “採用情報” or “会社情報”, usually at the bottom.
3. In addition to companies, if you want a teaching job you can try searching the local BOE’s websites. Should only put effort into this around January since they want to fill positions before April.
   
   

Types of Work

Now that you know where to look, you need to know about the types of work:

• 正社員 – Full time. This is the type of work you want. Significantly harder to be fired or let go. Usually salaried.
• 契約 – Contract. You will work contract to contract, but they usually renew. May or may not have a completion bonus.
• 派遣 – Dispatch. You work for a subcontractor. Basically a go between company that takes care of HR.
• 紹介予定 – Dispatch to direct hire. You work as dispatch, if they like you, they directly hire you.
• 委託 – Freelance. You take up jobs on an as needed/available basis, with pay per job.
• パート/バイト – Part time. Usually easy with low obligations, expectations, and pressure.
  Part time workers are usually young and may be treated like babies.
• 非常勤 – Irregular employee. Like a substitute teacher filling in as needed.
• 扶養内 – Tax deductible Employment. Employment under the amount to still be deductible by a spouse.
• 在宅勤務 – Work from home

Basic Job Information

This section is only intended to give a brief overview of the most basic information in a job listing.

• 勤務地 – Place of work (Address)
• 給料 – Salary. Typically listed as a monthly salary, but may be listed as yearly income
• 勤務時間 – Work hours. Typically lists days + hours. 
• 応募資格 – Application requirements like licenses, degree, availability, etc.
• 年間休日 – Yearly days off, includes weekends and national holidays. 104 is the absolute minimum, 120 is about average.

It is important to note that most jobs (except some foreigner dominated ones) are typically 9 hour days, with a 1 hour unpaid break.

Common Professions and Expected Pay

Due to the amount of different jobs available, I’m only going to list general jobs popular with foreigners in Japan here.