There are plenty of manners for job interviews in Japan that even make Japanese nervous. Now you’ve finally received a job interview proposition, so it is essential to learn the Japanese etiquette for your interview. In this section, we will explain in detail some of the most important interview manners, like courtesy and etiquette which are a symbol of Japanese culture. This will come in hand to those foreign engineers who are planning to change jobs soon.Tips for a Successful Job InterviewIn Japan, companies hiring foreigners are increasing year by year, and the number of foreign workers has reached the highest record with 1,460,463 foreigners in 2019. (Source: * Ministry of Health,Labor and Welfare “Summary of Status of Employment Status of Foreigners”). However, there are still few achievements in Japan. The interviewer might be worried about if you can adapt to Japanese culture and their corporate culture, so be sure to tell him why you applied for the company.Also, in Japanese job interviews, you need to be careful about your clothes. The point is whether there is a sense of “cleanliness”. Basically, wearing a suit is seen as the rule. Be careful not to add too much perfume. Also, being prepared is an important first step to a successful interview, so make sure to bring your ID, seal (inkan), emergency contact information, and to previously investigate how to get to the interview location.Step 1: Reception and Waiting RoomThe first important thing on the day of the interview is to give yourself plenty of time. Ensuring sufficient time to arrive at the interview venue will not only prevent late arrivals, but also will allow you to make practice what you are going to say, like your motivation, self-appeal, and application guidelines. Besides, it is possible to avoid train delays and to react in case you forget to bring something.In Japan, being 5 minutes before a job interview is part of the etiquetteJapanese people are very strict about time. Even if you arrive a little after the meeting time, you will leave a bad impression of being a loose person. Therefore, you should arrive at the interview venue at least 5 minutes in advance. At this time, it is safe to check your final appearance.As well is important to note that, even that it is important to have enough time, arriving too early it is also a violation of manners. If you have a lot of spare time before the interview, wait in the vicinity before entering the venue.Don’t be late! In case you are, contact them immediatelyAs a major premise, late arrival is strictly prohibited. If you are inevitably late because you are not feeling well, be sure to call the emergency contact information and recruiter. Even if there is a delay in transportation, it is a good idea to contact immediately and obtain a delay certificate from the station staff just in case. It is also very important as a member of society to be able to be flexible and react to any of this kind of situations.Manners at the Reception room and InterviewWhen you arrive at the job interview venue, take off your coat at the entrance. Don’t forget to turn off the power of devices that emit sound, such as smartphones. At the reception desk, communicate the appointed time, the reason for visiting the company, your name and the name of the person in charge, then wait until the person in charge comes. If your company does not have a receptionist or has a telephone (extension) to call the person in charge, you can tell to a nearby employee “I’m sorry to interrupt your work ” and ask them to let the person in charge know that you have come to the job interview. There are cases where even before the interview, you are being evaluated by your answers and posture at the time of reception, so it is important to be ready and to think as the job interview has already begun.In the Waiting room, wait quietly until you are calledAlthough it is not in all Japanese companies, you may be passed to a waiting room or to a chair in an aisle before the job interview. Sometimes, it is possible that they are also interviewing other candidates, so don’t touch the smartphone, eat or drink while you wait quietly to be called.Step 2: When Entering the Interview RoomWhen you are guided from the reception desk or waiting room to the interview room, try to enter the room slowly without being rushed. At this time, if you are not calm, you will leave a negative image, so take a deep breath and be calm.Knock the door before entering the roomWhen your name is called by the interviewer, lightly knock the door three times (note that if you do it 2 times, this is the number of knocks when checking the toilet). As well, depending on the company, there are cases where the interviewer enters the room first, and there are cases where the interviewer enters after the candidate. In the latter case, attendant will tell you that the person in charge will come later, so don’t miss it.。Enter the room after the interviewer says “Douzo (please)”Do not open the door immediately after knocking. Slowly open the door after you hear the word “please”. If there is no response from the interview room at the first knock, knock again and wait for their reaction. If you still don’t get a response, say “I’m sorry” and open the door.Close the door quietly after entering the roomWhen entering the interview room, instead of going straight to the seat, turn your body toward the door as soon as you enter, and close it gently while holding the inner door knob. Be careful not to close the door with your hands behind because that would be a breach of manners.Seat close to the doorwayIn the Japanese business scene, there are seat positions called upper and lower seats which are very important. The upper seat refers to the backmost seat from the doorway, and the lower seat refers to the seat closest to the doorway. The same applies for the interview scene. If the interviewer enters in advance, you can sit in the seat you were instructed, but if the interviewer enters the room later, stand next to the lower seat and wait. If you are assigned a seat from the information desk or have been instructed to sit and wait, follow their instructions.Don’t forget to greet and bowWhen you enter the room, stand next to the chair and give your name looking to the front, and say “Thank you for your time today”, then in the case of men, they should bow with their hands on the sides and women with their hands in the front. If the interviewer enters the room later, get up and greet in the same way.Step 3: During the Job InterviewDo not sit down immediately after the greeting. Sit down on the chair after the interviewer tells you to do so. If you are given a business card during the greeting, pick it up with both hands, carefully read the content, and place it carefully on the left If there are multiple interviewers, the rule is to place business cards in the order in which they are sitting. Also, if you want to take notes during the interview, it is a good idea to store your notebook and writing utensils in a convenient location in your bag. If you are told to bring application documents, you will be asked to submit them, so prepare them in advance.Keep your back straight and correct your postureYou can also see your posture during the interview. If you keep your back straight and place your hands lightly on your lap, you will get a good impression. There are many people who tend to look down when they are nervous, and they often turn their eyes away, so be sure to keep your eyes on the interviewer and answer.Answer clearly with a cheerful expressionIdeally, you should relax your shoulders and smile gently. Let’s be careful not to become too expressionless. Of course, it is strictly forbidden to laugh out loud with familiar words and laughter. When responding to questions from interviewers, it is important to listen to the other person’s story to the end and answer in a clear tone. If you don’t understand or can’t hear something, be sure to tell it.Step 4: When Leaving the RoomIf the interviewer tells you that the interview is over, thank with a “Thank you for your time today,” while bowing sitting in the chair. After that, you can stand up with your writing utensils and documents in your bag. If you have received a business card, you can say “I’ll keep your business card”.Always bow when leavingWhen you’re ready to go home, stand next to the chair and make a bow. After moving to the front of the door, turn your head to the interviewer, say “Excuse me” and open the door again. Make sure to close the door quietly until the end without rushing to leave early.Interview is finished until you can’t see the venue anymoreDo not lose composure after leaving the interview hall, so avoid touching your smartphone or taking off your jacket until you leave the building. Also, depending on the company, there are cases where the interviewer or the information desk sees you off to the exit of the interview room or to the elevator hall, so when you arrive at the exit or elevator, you should say “excuse me” once more. In the case of an elevator, a very polite impression will be given if you keep your head down until the door closes.ConclusionA job interview that normally makes people nervous, above that if you do it in a foreign country, it’s difficult to avoid feeling uneasy. Even after telling you some of the interview manners that are unique to Japan so far, not many people reading this article are 100% Japanese, so it’s okay if you can’t do everything perfectly. We hope you can use the Japanese interview manner guide introduced here as a safeguard. The important thing is whether you can make preparations and show that you are a valuable person for the company you are interviewing. If that effort and sincerity reach the interviewer, you will surely get a good result.

An Internet society in where most companies all around the world have their own websites, Japan is no exception, and it is natural in Japan too for companies to have their own websites. Under such circumstances, the number of Japanese companies that hire engineers and create full-time Web pages is increasing.Until now, web designers have typically been responsible for designing and constructing HTML. However, in recent years in Japan, high-quality Web pages can lead to an improvement in the image of the company, so a system that divides which person is in charge of each process, has become quite normal.One position in the website creation structure is “front-end engineer”, who is in charge of building web pages based on designs created by web designers. In this article, we will explain the skills and work content required for front-end engineers, who are needed more and more by Japanese companies.Front-end Engineers in JapanFront engineer refers to the engineer involved in the front-end development of websites and apps that users see and touch directly. The content of the work is diverse, but based on the design mainly handled by the web designer, for coding normally is used HTML, CSS, JavaScript (jQuery), PHP, etc., and then to build and customize WordPress.There is profession similar to a front engineer, which is a code, but in Japan it is said that there are many engineers who draw a career plan aiming to be a front engineer after experiencing coding first and then being able to reproduce the image of the web designer on the web. There is great expectation from Japanese companies for front engineers, those who can take into account the viewpoints of clients and users and design and configure easy-to-use sites.Differences in environments between Japan and overseasIn the United States, you can start your career as an engineer by studying specialized knowledge at universities and graduate schools and earning a degree. However, in Japan there are many engineers who can start from no knowledge and skills and learn while working. Therefore, compared to the United States, which has a high social status and average annual income, the status and annual income are not so high in Japan.In recent years, the importance of IT technology has also been understood in Japan, and an increasing number of Japanese companies highly value engineers in general, including front engineers. The background is that the IT industry is becoming more active every year, and the needs of IT engineers are increasing.Required Skills and Annual Income for Front-end EngineersSince front-end engineers are required to create web pages, many people may think that knowledge and skills in languages such as HTML, JavaScript, and CSS are indispensable. Of course, the more languages you can use, the wider the range of representation and the more you will be able to respond to client requests. In addition to that, “framework”, “communication skills”, and “UI (user interface) comprehension” are also required.FrameworkTo be active as a front engineer, mastering the framework is an important point. In particular, if frameworks such as Vue.js, Angular, and React.js can be used, not only will work be made more efficient, but it will be easier to manage because it allows you to write unified code. It also leads to prevention of problems, so those who feel that their knowledge is still insufficient need to learn them soon.Communication abilityCommunication skills are the essential skills of front engineers. The reason is that it is difficult for clients to give instructions when creating Web pages that are easy for users to use. For this reason, front-end engineers are required to communicate with clients, in addition to listening to requests, sometimes engineers will need to make proposals from themselves. Also, the client is not the only person with whom they communicate. In-house communication is also important, such as web designers in charge of design and engineers in charge of system construction. Rather than concentrating only on your own work, you need the ability to proceed with the creation of Web pages while looking at the whole picture and to actively communicating.UI (User Interface) comprehensionAs I mentioned earlier, in recent years, in Japan the idea that a high-quality Web page can lead to an image of a company is expanding. However, while the design is attractive, some users may find it complicated to operate. Therefore, what is needed is UI (user interface) design skills from the user’s point of view in order to build Web pages that are easy for users to use. Recently, not only personal computers but also users accessing web pages from smartphones are increasing. In other words, you need the ability to understand the interface for your device.Annual income for front-end engineersAlthough there are variations in age and years of experience, it is said that the annual income of front-end engineers is about 3.8 million yen. Although it is a relatively low amount in the IT industry, the needs in Japan are increasing year by year, so as you gain experience and gain skills, revenue will increase steadily.Differences Between Major Companies and Venture CompaniesThe career path for front-end engineers can be either the management side, such as a development manager, or the on-site side, as engineer.If you are aiming for management, you will need management skills and knowledge, and the progress management of team members. And if you’re aiming for the field side, it’s a good idea to collect the latest information every day and make efforts to learn as new languages appear.In addition, front-end engineers often have careers while changing jobs. Let’s compare the differences in environments when changing jobs to a major company or a venture company.Changing jobs to a major companyIf the company size is large, the scope of work is divided into departments and occupations. For this reason, it is not uncommon for the number of people involved to be large and the meetings to be repeated. Therefore, people who are slow to make decisions and want to work with speed will find it difficult to work.However, because the work to be done is clearly divided by the division of labor, the time is not restrained more than necessary. You will have time after work, so you can cultivate your skills and knowledge through reference books and programming schools.Many large companies have already established work methods and tools to use based on their experience in various scale projects. On the other hand, because of the large scale of the company, it may not progress. For example, there are many cases where it takes time to approve the upper management even when trying to introduce new tools to improve operational efficiency. In such environment, the wide range of projects allows you to increase your experience and learn how to deal with problems.Changing jobs to a venture companyVenture companies are inferior to major companies in terms of funding and resources, but they are more flexible. In most environments it is easy to let people know your opinions, like introducing new tools because there are few resources, and using a new tool will increase business efficiency. Perfect for people who want to speak more and more to improve their work.In addition, major Japanese companies have long-standing Japanese philosophy, and there are still companies based on seniority. In such a case, if you have little experience, it may be difficult to improve your career abruptly. However, in ventures there are many relatively young members, including representatives, and it is possible to be promoted if your abilities are high.Venture companies can also actively challenge what they want to do. For those who are greedy to gain experience, we recommend a career change. Even those who are considering to start a business in the future, will later have the experience of a venture company where they can learn all about corporate management.People who wants to study a little more as an engineer should change jobs to major companies, and those who want to improve their career based on their skills should change jobs to a venture company.There is future for Front-end EngineersRegardless of the industry or scale, Japanese companies that focus on their websites will definitely produce many web pages in the future. And because the design and tool updates are repeated, of course, the web page needs to be fine-tuned each time. It is important to keep updating yourself so that any company can work without problems while meeting the growing needs of front-end engineers. Aiming to become an high skilled front engineer, why not start by identifying your career plan?

In the future, when IT will become more and more common, back-end engineers are attracting attention as highly promising occupations. Now that most Japanese companies have websites, there is a growing need for back-end engineers who can manage systems and servers, from servers and databases, to building websites and web services.Therefore, this time, I will explain the job description and required skills that are expected from back-end engineers.Back-end Engineers in JapanCurrently, an increasing number of Japanese companies are improving their corporate image by improving the quality of their websites. Therefore, the needs of front-end engineers who develop UIs (user interfaces) including designs that are visible to users are rising. However, even if only the surface looks good, the user will leave. Therefore, there is also a growing need for back-end engineers from companies that feel the need to develop parts that are not visible to users.The specific work of a back-end engineer is to build a server that receives and processes information input by the user from the front-end. When a client requests to create a website, is important to understand the request and then select the optimal hardware and OS, build a server, and develop a system that runs on it. At the same time, security on the server side is also required. The back-end engineer’s work extends to system construction. Especially when new software or version upgrades are made, the environment of the system is adjusted and constructed.Differences between Japan and overseasThe need for IT technology at an early stage had been understood in foreign countries, but Japan has finally understood the need of IT technology. Due to such changes in the times, more and more Japanese companies are employing back-end engineers.However, compared to overseas countries, in Japan is still not seen as high social status and high income is not yet been established. However, as Japanese companies are accelerating the adoption of general engineers, including back-end engineers, we look forward to improving their status and raising their salary base.Skills Required for Back-end EngineersBecause the back-end supports the foundation of the system, back-end engineers are required to have various skills. Languages are a must, so let’s aim to acquire skills related to project management.1.Language skillsAs long as you are an engineer, you naturally need language skills. For example, many companies have employed interpreter languages such as Ruby, PHP, Python, etc. that not only save time and effort of compiling by converting source code sequentially but also fast program execution speed. At the same time, it is also effective to learn Struts, Spring, Rails, Laravel, etc. as framework languages that frame frequently used processing parts.It’s also a good idea to keep the basic language of web page creation, such as HTML / CSS and JavaScript. Although these languages are in the field of front-end engineers, it is not uncommon to work with front-end engineers in the field, so it is useful to learn them.In recent years, Go language has become a trend because it enables efficient and speedy development. It is useful to learn the Go language because it can be used for general purposes based on requests.Furthermore, there is a tendency for talent who can use Java in companies related to smartphone payment services, which have been in increasing demand in recent years. Based on the trend of cashless payment, if you master Java, you may be able to work in any company.2.Listening Comprehension SkillsOne of the skills required for back-end engineers is the ability to listen to client requests.Some clients may only have a vague image and would only want to create a web page. Even if you start the project in such situation, it is obvious that trouble will occur. That’s why you have to listen carefully to what they want to make a web page for and what goals they want to achieve with the web page.In addition, there are limits to the specifications that can be made depending on the delivery date and cost, but running the project without a proper understanding of each other can be a major problem. Sometimes you may need skills to explain in plain language to someone who does not have enough engineering knowledge.3.Progress Management AbilityBack-end engineers are also required to manage the progress of the entire project and prevent delays.In particular, engineers tend to misunderstand their work speed and tend to put out a schedule that cannot be realized without a little effort. It may not be impossible if you increase overtime, but if such a situation continues, you will wreck your health and be forced to leave. As a result, the project itself can get stuck.First, before starting development, identify the tasks that each person should perform and assemble a specific schedule. At the same time, it is important to encourage people to report progress frequently and create an atmosphere where they can immediately consult if there are any concerns.Annual Income and Future Potential of Back-end EngineersAs demand for websites and web services continues to increase, the work of engineers as a whole will not disappear. In particular, work such as service improvement and maintenance will continue semi-permanently, including the occurrence of deficiencies and prevention of security problems.Also, back-end work tends to be more difficult than front-end languages, and because it has a wide range of work, there is a lot of knowledge to remember, and there is a widespread impression that there are high barriers to entry for those who want to learn it from completely inexperience. This means that if you look at it differently, you have fewer rivals. Given the small number of back-end engineers in the market, it will certainly be an advantage if you accumulate skills and experience.However, many companies are now moving from servers to the cloud, and it is also true that automation is progressing through technological innovation in programming languages. Against this backdrop, it is expected that back-end engineers in the future, might want to only make things according to specifications or conveying their point of view and ideas. In order not to be so, it is essential to become a back-end engineer with added value of plus alpha as well as chasing the latest technology every day.The average annual income of back-end engineers is about 4 million yen, which is relatively high among engineers. The reason for this is that, as mentioned above, the skills and knowledge required in addition to programming are diverse in order to prevent the occurrence of defects.Let’s Aim to Become a Back-end Engineer with Added ValueBackend engineers are responsible for supporting critical parts of systems and websites. Although it is expected to play an active role in various companies in the future, now with cloud computing and program automation it is difficult to affirm that there is an absolute future in this field.However, that is because the value of a back-end engineers who can only do what they are told declines. The future of back-end engineers who can actively look for service improvements and move forward to find and fulfill requests from clients will be bright. For that reason, it is also effective to gain the knowledge and skills of the front end to increase the added value. So, why don’t you improve your skills to raise your value so that you can be in great demand to any Japanese company?

Due to the development of information technology, companies around the world are steadily placing importance on information. It is because they’ve realized that identifying valuable information from a vast amount of information and utilizing it in business situations will lead to growth.Along with this, the demand for “Data Scientists” who analyze a large amount of data and collect useful information is increasing rapidly. Also, it has been selected as United States’ best job for the third consecutive year, so from now on there will be great expectations on data scientists.This time, we will introduce the job description and necessary skills for data scientists, which has attracted attention both in Japan and overseas.Japan’s Data ScientistsData scientists work in a wide variety of industries. But what they have in common is that it is a profession to solve business problems with advanced data analysis technology.Big data analyzed by data scientists is held and collected by companies. With the evolution of technology, it has become possible to collect information that could not be learned before, and to manage a large amount of data that had been abandoned, so it became possible for each company to collect a huge amount of data.Data scientists who gather these vast amounts of inconsistent data and gain insights into company performance have become an important occupation in today’s world where data is being valued.For example, based on the purchase history of consumers, analyzing data that summarizes age, gender, and what kind of product was purchased and at what time can provide useful information for marketing.A beverage manufacturer installed an eye tracker, a device that can track an individual’s line of sight in a vending machine, and after analyzing the purchaser’s line of sight they found out that the looks gathered in the lower part of it. Up until now, it was believed that the products should be placed following the “Z-law” on the shelves of the vending machines, but data overturned the “Z-law” of moving the line of sight of the beverages from the upper left place to the bottom of the vending machine to increase sales. It can be said that this is also an example of how big data has led to corporate performance.While the needs of data scientists are increasing year by year, according to the “Survey Report on Latest Trends and Future Estimates of IT Human Resources” published by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, it is predicted that there will be a shortage of human resources related to “big data” or “IoT intelligence” of about 48,000 people.Against this background, there are data science programs at universities in the United States. Although the average annual income of a person working as a data scientist in the United States is 10 million yen, it seems that the number of data scientists cannot be secured unless efforts are made to create a place for development.In Japan, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications opened an online course called “Data Science Exercises for Working People” in May 2019, and started creating opportunities to learn practical data analysis methods. As it can be seen from these efforts, there is an urgent need to develop data scientists in many countries.Required skills and IncomeWhen you hear about the skills required for data scientists, many people may imagine that is about “IT skills to collect and analyze data”. Of course, skills to handle data are indispensable, but in addition to that, business skills to make use of data in business and statistical analysis skills to make predictions from analysis results are also required.◆IT skillsFor data scientists, SQL, the language for manipulating data is an essential skill. The ability to use SQL means that you can do everything from data extraction to analysis yourself, saving you the trouble of asking engineers. And knowledge of R, Ruby, Python, etc. is also important in order to process the data in a form that can actually be used.◆Statistical Analysis SkillsIn order to collect and analyze appropriate data, knowledge and skills related to statistics are required. There is an “Statistics official certification” that tests your ability for statistics, making it ideal for acquiring knowledge and skills for performing statistics.◆Business skillsEven if you analyze data and perform statistics, there is no point if we don’t lead business issues to solutions. You need to be able to understand the challenges faced by companies businessmen, in areas like marketing, sales, and finance, and to think about ways to logically solve them.Furthermore, when sharing the results of data analysis obtained internally, there is a possibility that the other party may not understand even if you try to explain it using specialized knowledge and words. In that case, presentation skills and writing skills that make it easy to understand are essential.Many data scientists read specialized books and study to acquire qualifications every day to learn in a wide range of fields. By constantly learning the latest technologies and knowledge, it will lead to hints for solutions.The average annual income of data scientists is said to be at least about 6 million yean a year or more, depending on the size of the company, the length of the service, and the type of work. Compared to other occupations, it is expensive, and as the number of companies that value data increases, the annual income is expected to increase further.Let’s Follow Your Ideal CareerLarge companies and venture companies differ in their work content and environment when working as data scientists. Some say, “I joined the company as a data scientist, but what I was actually entrusted with was to check the operation of the program and work without being a data scientist.” By knowing the characteristics of each, let’s be aware of it to avoid differences with your career map.◆Large companiesLarge corporations tend to have an “environment to nurture people”. This is a characteristic of a large company that has a large number of employees and can provide careful feedback about the work you do. Also, being involved in large-scale operations because it is a large company is a privilege.◆Venture companiesVenture companies involved in AI solutions are experiencing a rapid increase in the needs of data scientists. The adoption of data scientists is aggressive and the difficulty is low.Venture companies do not have as many opportunities to engage in large projects as large companies. Also, if you are a new graduate who has no work experience as a data scientist, or if you change jobs from another industry, there is a possibility that the training environment is not prepared.However, venture companies are characterized by a great deal of discretion given to them. Ventures are suitable for those who want to have great responsibility and also think that they want to do various operations on their own.Some have said that “the rise of AI will eliminate the need for data scientists in the future”. Although there is a possibility that data collection will be left to AI, there is no change in the concern about the shortage of data scientists. With the development of IT technology, the importance of data will increase further in the future.That is why there is a future where information gathering will coexist with AI and analysis of the obtained data will coexist with human beings by dividing the field of expertise. Data scientists will continue to be active throughout the world.Let’s Realize How Bright the Future is a Data Scientist!A data scientist with great expectations both in Japan and overseas. It is no exaggeration to say that it is an advanced profession because of the wide variety of skills and knowledge required.One of the things that makes attractive to data scientists is that they can solve all the challenges and lead many companies to a better direction. Why don’t you consider changing jobs based on future possibilities?

“It’s difficult to write a resume in Japanese” “I don’t know how to write it because it’s my first time” “How important is a resume?” There may be many foreigners who think this way.In Japan, the resume is the standard for passing before continuing to the interview. That’s why you need to write your resume in correct Japanese, while following Japanese business manners.A resume can be called the first barrier. But, if you learn how to write it properly, anyone can create a high-quality resume.This article is for foreigners who do not know how to write resumes, such as basic information like name, address, education/work history, license/qualifications, motivation, hobbies / special skills, etc. Let’s carefully explain how to write a resume.If you are a foreigner who has trouble writing a Japanese resume, please use this text as a reference. Let’s aim to create a resume that makes people think: “I want to meet this person!”.Resume Writing RulesBefore you start writing your resume, there are writing rules that you should know first. The two most important rules are:①If you make a mistake, write a new resume.②Do not re-use resumes with the same content.In case of making a mistake in a handwritten resume, do not attempt to correct the mistake by crossing it out or using whiteout. Since it will give a bad impression, it’s better to rewrite it.You can avoid these mistakes by first drafting with a pencil and then writing above it with a black ballpoint pen. Recently, an increasing number of companies accept resumes created on computers. However, it is important to understand that there are still many companies to which resumes should be handwritten.It is also important not to re-use the same resume. People who work at companies are professionals at reviewing resumes. For this reason, if you use the same resume that was also used for another company, it won’t seem solid and will make difficult to communicate your motivation to join the company. Create a resume for each company. That is a vital point to pass the document screening.There are other writing rules. It is important to be careful with Japanese polite sentence closer, “masu” (-ます), “-desu” (-です), and to make sure that all the items are filled in and that there are no typographical mistakes or omissions.If you register on a career change website or to a career change service, you can rest assured that a reliable agent will check your resume.How to write a resume -basic information-Let’s understand how to write a resume while valuing the rules for writing a resume. First, I will explain how to write basic information on resumes.①DateEnter the date you will submit your resume, not the date you wrote your resume. In case of mailing the application, enter the mailing date. Please fill in the date of the interview if you are taking it to an interview. Also, let’s make compatible the year writing into either the Japanese calendar ex. 「令和X年」 or the Western calendar ex. 「20XX年」.②NameAlthough it is a name, write your name in the place where “氏名” is written. Make sure to leave a space between the last name and the name. In the furigana above the name field, enter “Hiragana” or “Katakana” according to your resume.To identify which one to write, use Hiragana if the word “Furigana” is written in Hiragana, and Katakana if the word “Furigana” is written in Katakana. In Japan, the family name is written in front and the first name is written behind.③Birth date and ageWrite it according to the calendar type that is written on the date of ①, “Japanese calendar” or “Western calendar”. Enter your current age at the time you submit or mail your resume.④Address and contact informationEnter the address without omitting zip code, prefecture, address, building name, and room number. Please fill in the Furigana correctly. If the contact address is the same as the address, enter “same as above”. If you would like to write another contact, do not omit it.⑤Phone number/email addressf you do not have a fixed phone, enter the mobile phone number only. Please enter your web e-mail address, not the mobile phone e-mail address. The company will contact you with the information listed here, so be sure not to make any mistakes.⑥PhotoMany foreigners may be wondering where to shoot. It is common to take photos for resumes at ID photo booths installed at train stations and photo studios.In that case, it is basic to shoot it with a black or blue suit and no hat. Paste the front photo (bust-up photo) taken within 3 months to your resume. When pasting, cut it into a size of 3cm wide x 4cm long, and paste it with glue.How to write a resume -Education History and Work History-①Education historyFirst of all, “Education History” is clearly stated in the center of the first line. The educational background will be written from the second line, the general rule is to write from the previous academic background.The final educational background is not “the last school you graduated” but “the highest educational institution”. For example, if you graduate from a university and enter a vocational school, the university has a higher standard as an educational institution, so you should write first “university” as previous academic background.The school name must be an official name. Please write properly department, major, major subject, etc. Enrollment and graduation years must be displayed the same as the date (Japanese or Western calendar). If you dropped out of school, indicate “dropped out”, and if you are currently in school, state “expected graduation”.②Work historyWrite a line below the academic background and specify “work history” in the center. In the order of the company where you worked, enter “year of hire, company name, type of industry, number of employees, concise job description” and “year of leave/reason for retirement”.If the reason for retirement is for personal reasons, specify “retirement due to personal reasons”, and if you retire due to dismissal, state “retirement due to company circumstances”. Also, if you are currently working, you have to state “Present”. Finally, write “End” in the last line.How to write a resume -Licenses and Certifications-“License/Qualification” is in principle the official name. Also, it is necessary to indicate the year of acquisition of each one correctly. It’s important to make sure to state at the top the license or qualification that can be used in the company you want to apply. If you have not acquired any, specify “None”.How to write a resume -Motivation/Reasons for application-In the resume, the “Motivation” field is the one that can promote yourself the most. It is important not to write a reason that you can use to apply to any company. You should investigate the company you want to apply, and to concretely write what kind of experience you have had, your skills, and what you want to do after joining the company.＜Example sentence＞I have a large experience in system design that goes from infrastructure to application. I hope that by making use of the know-how I have cultivated so far; I would be able to help you to promote global business development. I can speak English and Japanese. I want to drive the business to further accelerate your global expansion.＜Advice＞I’ll explain the difference between “Kisha” and “Onsha”, both meaning is “your company”.Kisha (貴社): Use this when writing resumes or emails.Onsha (御社): Use for interviews and business talks.Although it is a small detail, by remembering this, it can give a good impression by using it properly.How to write a resume -Hobbies/Special skills-Hobbies and special skills may become a topic in conversations with interviewers. For this reason, avoid “nothing in particular” or to leave it in blank. If your hobbies and special skills are related to your work, it will lead to appeal. Please try to include specific details. Also, please note that hobbies and feats that give negative impressions of gambling and crimes are better to avoid.＜Example sentence＞My hobby is futsal. I participate in a team with Japanese friends. I communicate in Japanese while enjoying playing the game. One of my special skills is DIY. I like to assemble things, to move my hands and make various things using my head. I often use and find useful this construction skill in system development situations.How to write a resume -Personal aspirations, Commuting, Marital Status-①Personal aspirationsClarify the desired job type. It is a rule of principle to state that your workplace, salary, and treatment can be according to the company regulations.②CommutingSpecify the commute time to the company and your nearest station. As a general rule, commuting time should be 90 minutes or less. If you live in a remote area or are coming to Japan, it is necessary to state that you will be able to commute without problem after joining the company. “最寄り駅” means the closest station from home.③Marital StatusForeigners who are married will circle “Yes” in the marital status field. If you are single, please circle “No”.Write a high-quality resume and work for a Japanese company of your choice!Many foreigners are reluctant to Japan’s resume. However, if you learn how to write it properly, you can create a resume that will interest companies.Let’s create a high-quality resume, by keeping correct Japanese expressions and Japanese business manners. As long as you write politely, you will have the chance to work for a Japanese company of your choice.

While the IT market is expanding globally with the emergence of new technologies such as AI and IoT, the shortage of IT engineers has become a serious issue in Japan. To solve this shortage of IT engineers, the Japanese government and companies are considering using foreign engineers’ abilities. In this article, we will explain the reasons of why foreign engineers are needed in Japan and the advantages and disadvantages of working in Japan.Why foreign engineers are needed in JapanIn recent years, many innovative IT technologies such as AI, IoT, blockchain and robots have appeared. Meanwhile, the demand for IT engineers is expanding as a business leader in response to the so-called “4th Industrial Revolution”. Despite this, the current situation is the lack of IT engineers in Japan.Japan’s shortage of IT engineers has become serious.Japan is aging with a declining birthrate and declining population at a much faster rate than other developed countries. While the demand for IT engineers is increasing, the number of new employees is decreasing, and the shortage of IT engineers will become more serious as the labor force decreases.According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, there is about 170,000 shortage of IT personnel (*) in 2015, compared to about 900,000. In the future, the gap between supply and demand will continue to widen, and by 2030 it is predicted that there will be a shortage of about 410,000 (optimistic) to about 790,000 (pessimistic) IT human resources. In particular, the information security field will have a shortage of 193,000 in 2020, and the AI, IoT, and big data fields will have a shortage of 48,000 people in 2020.Source：Ministry of Economy, Trade, Industry “Survey results on latest trends and future estimates of IT human resources”※“IT human resources” refers to “human resources belonging to the information system department of IT companies and user companies”The acquisition of foreign engineers is progressing.A simple way to solve the shortage of IT engineers in Japan is to increase the supply. For this reason, there is an active movement toward the acquisition of new engineers. Acquisition of female engineers and senior engineers are also progressing, but as mentioned above, there is a limit to increasing the supply of IT engineers only in Japan, where population decline is inevitable. Now, the acquisition of foreign engineers is progressing.More companies are actively hiring foreign engineers!Japan’s leading IT company “Rakuten” uses English as its official language and actively recruiting foreign engineers. Most of the members of the freeware app for instant communication “LINE” are foreign engineers; the company is established in Kyoto where the development base (LINE KYOTO) is located. It was reported that nearly 80% of the approximately 1,000 applicants were foreigners. In the e-commerce company app “Mercari”, nearly 90% of the 50 newly hired engineers were foreigners.In addition to these large companies, more and more companies are hiring foreign engineers in SMEs and venture companies.“Points-based System for Highly-Skilled Foreign Professionals ” to receive preferential treatment for immigrationIn Japan, the “Points-based System for Highly-Skilled Foreign Professionals” has started in 2012. The purpose of this system is to bring in talented people from overseas and revitalize Japan. By satisfying certain requirements, you can receive preferential treatment for immigration; IT talent like engineers are also eligible. The advanced human resource point system makes it easy for talented foreign engineers to work in Japan, and the number of given certifications is increasing year by year.>> Click here for details of the advanced human resources point systemNumber of foreign engineers working in JapanSource：Graph created based on the notification of foreign employment status (Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare)According to a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the number of foreign workers working in the information and communications industry in Japan is increasing year by year. In 2018, it was 57,620, an increase of about 5,000 compared to the previous year (52,038). Compared to 2008 (18,030 people), it has increased over three times.In terms of nationality, China has the largest number, followed by Korea, Vietnam, the United States, and the Philippines.Pros of working in Japan for foreign engineersAdvantage 01: Employment is stable.Although it is said that Japan’s particular employment practice of “lifetime employment” has collapsed, long-term employment practices remain in Japanese companies. Besides, there are few cases in which employees are dismissed at Japanese companies; unless there are serious violations of laws or contracts. The fact that employment is stable can be said to be a great advantage for foreign engineers who want to commit to the company for a long time.Advantage 02: Education system is in order.Many Japanese companies conduct extensive employee training on the premise of long-term employment. The contents of work and work processes are made into manuals, and Japanese companies are characterized by extensive training and OJT. For foreign engineers who want to utilize the learned skills and know-how acquired in Japan in their home countries, Japanese companies with a well-developed educational system are attractive.Advantage 03: Earn more money than in your home country.Many foreign engineers work in Japan to send money back to their home countries. Engineers’ salary levels vary from country to country, so it’s hard to say, but if Japanese salary levels are higher than your home country, working for a Japanese company should be a good choice.Advantage 04: Public medical insurance is fulfilling.As a general rule, foreigners working in Japan must pay insurance premiums and take out public medical insurance in the same way as Japanese. As a result, you can receive the same medical services as Japanese. Japan’s public health insurance system (universal public healthcare) is at the top level in the world. There are many countries where there is no system for public medical insurance or in many countries where the system has not yet matured, so there are many foreigners who feel that it is easy to use the full public medical insurance.Advantage 05: There are many attractive things: Culture, Security, and Infrastructure.In recent years, an increasing number of foreigners are interested in Japanese culture, manga, anime, Japanese food and traditional crafts. Many foreigners have the perception of “safety”, “good infrastructure”, “clean cities”, “friendly people” about Japan. Many foreign engineers choose to work in Japan to live in their favorite country.Cons of working in Japan for foreign engineersDisadvantage 01: Possible long working hours.For many years, long working hours have become normal in many Japanese companies, especially in the IT industry. While recent work style reforms have made working hours more appropriate, there are companies unable to reduce working hours. Foreign engineers may feel dissatisfied with overtime, low salaries or not having enough private time.Disadvantage 02: Some companies lack cross-cultural understanding.In Japan, the phrase “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” is used. This is one way of thinking, but if you go too far, both workers and employers may not be able to respect the differences between their cultures and lifestyles and may become a problem. When working in Japan, the point is whether you choose a company with a system that can accept different cultures.ConclusionJapanese companies, mainly in the IT industry, are working to hire foreign engineers to increase their competitiveness. Increasing numbers of companies are promoting the internationalization of the internal environment to accept foreign engineers. In the future, the environment where foreign engineers can work easily will improve, and the field where foreign engineers can play an active role will expand more and more.Big events in Japan like the 2019 Rugby World Cup, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games and the 2025 Osaka World Expo, are continuing to be held, and now Japan is attracting worldwide attention. Now that the whole country is showing great excitement, it is the best time for foreigners to work in Japan. If you like Japan and have aspirations to expand your career as an engineer, why don’t you try challenging to find a job or change your job in Japan?

If you would like to learn how to write a Japanese CV in Japanese, please click Here!In this page, our firm G Talent, specialized in foreign IT engineer’s recruitment, prepared a Japanese CV sample that can be downloaded for foreign IT engineers who are thinking of changing jobs and we will explain how to create it.Two Documents Required for Job-hunting: Japanese Resume “Rirekisho” & Japanese CV “Shokumu-keirekisho”When applying for a job in Japan, you will generally need two documents: a Japanese Resume “Rirekisho” and a Japanese CV “Shokumu-keirekisho”.Japanese Resume (Rirekisho) – Document that conveys your background (education, work experience) and basic information (name, date of birth, contact information, etc.)Japanese CV (Shokumu-keirekisho) – Document that appeals to the past work experience (company you worked at, job description, skills you used, etc.)On this page, we will guide you to download the Japanese CV sample and how to create your own. The first thing you need to clear before you start job hunting is to create a Japanese CV.Your CV will determine whether you can pass the documents screening and get an interview. Therefore, it has to be easy to understand and the content should promote your skills.It may seem a little difficult, but if you understand how to write it, you can easily create it, so let’s look back on your experience and skills you have learned!※Please click on the following page to see how to make a Japanese resume.How to Write a Japanese Resume (Download Template)Japanese CV “Shokumu-keirekisho” Sample for DownloadFirst, download the sample of the Japanese CV “Shokumu-keirekisho” from the button below.Download Template職務経歴書(Template with English guidance).docx※ Available in Microsoft Excel format.When the download is complete, open the file.From now on, we will guide you through on how to write your CV according to the sample.How to Write the Japanese CV “Shokumu-keirekisho” for IT EngineersThe purpose of submitting your Japanese CV is to get the company interested in your work experience and to get the chance of an interview.To achieve that goal, let’s first understand the four key points to create a great Japanese CV.< Key Points >Fill in with the specific job description. (Avoid abstract content)Specify your achievements (Appeal with your strengths)Choose an easy-to-understand layout (Make it easy for companies to read it)Make sure there are no mistakes when filling it (especially make sure there are no mistakes on the period of employment!)And, if you want to create your CV based on the sample you have downloaded this time, it will be divided in the following eight key elements.< 8 Key Elements of a Japanese CV >Name and Submission dateProfessional SummarySummary of work experienceSummary of experience and knowledgeTechnical skillsProfessional background (work experience)Certifications/LicensesPersonal summary (self-PR)Next, we will describe these eight elements in detail.1～5 (from Name to Technical skills)First, we will explain the following 1~5 points.1.Name and submission DateEnter your name and the creation date in the upper right corner.Please fill in the date in which you will submit your Japanese CV.※Always be careful to update every time to a new date.Companies want the most up-to-date information, so if the date is more than three months old, please correct it to a new date.2.Professional summaryPlease fill out your previous work experience with simple sentences.The first thing that the company’s HR looks at is the professional summary, this part will help them to visualize your past work experience.3.Summary of work experienceFill in all the companies you have worked for, from the newest company (the company you were last enrolled) and in order, enter the employment dates and the official company name.※In case of Japanese Resume, the companies are listed in order from the oldest company. However, in the Japanese CV, since the experience and skills are the ones that should be appealing, it’s important to write them in a different order, which should be from the most recent job description.If there is a period during which you were not enrolled in a company, due to studying abroad, please also indicate this. If you have not been with a company for a long period, it can give a bad impression to the company’s HR.So, if there is a blank period, be sure to enter it here.4.Summary of experience and knowledgeBe sure to enter what you want to make an impact with, like the experience and knowledge you have gained from your previous work experience.For example, if you have an experience that you want to make stand out, be specific not only in the type of job that you experienced, but also by including the number of years. Furthermore, by including the programming languages that you are good at in your development experience, it will make clear on what kind of languages you are good at developing.5.Technical SkillsIf you are an IT engineer, you need to clearly communicate how much practical work experience you have, such as operating systems, languages, frameworks, middleware, and tools. As well, enter the working level to properly convey your skills to the companies that you will apply to.Languages and frameworks that you have no experience with and learned on your own should be labeled as “self-learning.”6.Professional background (work experience)We will continue to explain the element 6.6.Professional background (work experience)The work experience is the most important part. We will describe each entry and all the important points to write it below.#1. Please fill in each company you have worked atFill in the following items, so when the company you applied for reads your Work History, they can understand the past company’s business, size, what department you belong to, and how long you have been working.Additionally, same as in the “Summary of work experience”, fill in all the companies you have worked for, from the newest company (the company you were last enrolled) to the oldest.Company name (Official name)Employment Period (Date of joining- Date of retirement)Company’s Business and number of employeesDepartment#2. Enter the job description and projects you were involved at the companyFill out the following items so when the company you applied looks at your Job History, they can understand what kind of system development, role, and the results you have been achieved at the company.Then, please enter separated each project. If it is not a project-based job, please enter and separate each role or product you were involved with.Project period (Period in each role)Project overview (Easy to understand)Description of the work within the project (Easy to understand with bullet points, etc.)The results you have achieved in the projectDevelopment phase of the project that you were in charge (design, development, testing, etc.)Environment used in the project (programming language, framework, OS, DB, etc.)Project size and your roleRegarding the achievements, please indicate your contributions to the project.Please try to enter not only big accomplishments, but also small achievements, like, whether the project was completed without any problems, if the system’s performance or efficiency was improved or if the efficiency of the surrounding members was improved.By entering your achievements, you will also be able to show the company that you are applying, a high level of commitment to the results.7.Certifications/Licenses & 8.Personal Summary (self-PR)Finally, we will explain the following points.7.CertificationsEnter the qualifications that can be appealing to the company.IT related certificates and language certificates will be appealing from a practical perspective.8.Personal Summary (self-PR)At this point, since the self-promotion has already been done with the previous elements, there is no problem in filling it with simple contents. Write down how your skills, experience, and abilities can contribute to the company you are applying to.If you are highly motivated to join the company you are applying for, it may be a good idea to fill in the reason to join the company and your motivation, rather than your own self-summary.ConclusionWe presented above an effective method for creating a Japanese CV “Shokumu-keirekisho” for foreign IT engineers in Japan. Be sure to be prepared when you start job hunting, since the chances of going to an interview will increase when submitting a Japanese CV.If you are a foreign IT engineer working in Japan and need advice on your Japanese Resume or Japanese CV, please use G Talent, a recruitment agent specialized in foreign IT engineers.

If you would like to learn how to write a Japanese resume in Japanese, please click here!In this page, you can download the Japanese Resume template for foreigners who are thinking of changing jobs to a Japanese company, we will easily explain how to create it.Two Documents Required for Job-hunting: Japanese Resume “Rirekisho” & Japanese CV “Shokumu-keirekisho”When applying for a job in Japan, you will generally need two documents: a Japanese Resume and a Japanese CV.Japanese Resume (Rirekisho): Document that conveys your background (education, work experience) and basic information (name, date of birth, contact information, etc.)Japanese CV (Shokumu-keirekisho): Document that appeals to the past work experience (company you worked at, job description, skills you used, etc.)In your resume, easily share your background and basic information with the company you applied for, then, you will appeal to the companies you applied with your work experience and skills displayed in your Japanese CV.On this page you will learn how to write a Japanese Resume.This kind of Resume is unique to Japan, and sometimes unique Japanese expressions are used.However, if you understand how to write it, you can easily create it.On this page, we have created a Japanese Resume Template for Foreigners, so please feel free to download it and create a resume using this template.※Please click on the following page to learn how to make a Japanese CV “Shokumu-keirekisho”.How to Write“Shokumu-keirekisho” for Foreign IT EngineersDownload Japanese Resume TemplateFirst, download the template of the Japanese Resume “Rirekisho” from the button below.Download Templaterirekisho_format.xlsx – 31 KB※ Available in Microsoft Excel format.When the download is complete, open the file.From now on, we will guide you through on how to write your Japanese Resume according to the sample.How to Write the Japanese Resume for ForeignersThe Japanese Resume is divided into the following five major sections:Basic Personal InformationAcademic/Work HistoryLicenses or QualificationsSpecial Skills, Self-promotion, Commuting Time, etc.Space for Personal Requests１.How to Write a Japanese Resume – Basic Personal InformationWe will explain where to enter the basic information. Also, how to write it in accordance with the above numbers (1 to 10).1.Resume Submission DateEnter the date (year / month / day) in which you will submit your resume.* The date of creation is OK, but if the date is more than 3 months ago, please modify it to a new date.2.氏名 – Full NameThis is the space to enter your name.Enter your name in Hiragana at the top, next to “furigana”.Please fill in your name at the bottom in English or Katakana.* Since the phonetic entry (furigana) is already entered here, there is no problem if you type it in English.If you are from China or Korea, please write in Kanji.First enter your “Last Name”, then leave a space and enter your “First Name”.*In this template “furigana” is written in Hiragana, but in case of using a different format, “furigana” may be written in Katakana. In that case, you will have to fill it in katakana.3.国籍 – NationalityPlease enter your country of origin (nationality).4.生年月日（年齢） – Date of birth (Age)The date of birth is written in the following format “(Year) 年/ (Month) 月/(Day)日生.”Enter the year, month and day you were born in.* The kanji “生” at the end means “born”.The age is written in the following format “満(Age)歳”.Enter your age in this section.* The kanji “満” at the beginning refers to the current age.5.性別 – GenderChoose your gender.Please circle either male (男) or female (女).6.現住所 – Current AddressEnter your current address.＜If you live in Japan＞If you live in Japan, please enter your address in Japanese as much as possible.In the case of a Japanese address, enter the reading (furigana) of the address in Hiragana at the top, and fill in the current address at the bottom in Japanese (Kanji or Katakana).* “Furigana” is not required for the numbers of the address.Please enter your current address in English.The upper part of the reading (furigana) is unnecessary.7.電話 – Telephone numberEnter a phone number that can be reached (ex. mobile phone number).If you live overseas, be sure to include the country code as well.8.メールアドレス – E-mailPlease enter an email address where you can be contacted.9.連絡先 – ContactBasically, there is no need to input it, just enter “同上”.Same as above refers to the same contents entered in 6 to 8.For when the company contacts you, if there is no problem with the address, telephone, and e-mail address entered from 1 to 8, just write “同上”.If you want to use an address, telephone, or e-mail address other than the stated above, enter the extra address, telephone, and/or e-mail address different from 6 to 8.10.PhotoAttach an image taken from the front (chest-up photo) within 3 months.Don’t wear a hat, and choose a photo that shows your face from the front.In Japan, CV photos are generally wearing a tie to make a good impression.Photos for resumes can also be taken at photo studios and photo booths installed at most stations and other locations.If you want to select one of the photos you have, be sure to look straight ahead and choose a photo with a bright tone that looks professional and presentable.2.How to Write a Japanese Resume – Academic/Work HistoryWe will explain how to write it in accordance with the above numbers (1 and 2).In the space for Academic and Work history, first enter your educational background in chronological order, and then enter your employment history in chronological order.When filling in educational background, please fill in the first line with “Academic Background (学歴)”, and when filling in your work history, please enter in the first line “Work history (職歴)”.Doing so will make it easier for HR professionals at the applied company to see where your academic and work history is written when looking at your resume.1.学歴 – Academic BackgroundFirst, write “学歴” in the center of the first line.The academic background should be written from the second line, but it is a rule to write one before the final academic background. Final education is not the last school graduated, but the highest educational institution.For example, if a university graduate enters a Japanese language school after graduating from university, the university has a higher standard as an educational institution, so the person should write the educational background (high school, etc.) one before the university.Be sure to write the official school name in this field. Write down the department, and major courses.Visa acquisition and joining procedures will proceed according to the information on your resume, so please fill in correctly the enrollment date and graduation date so there is no mistake.* If you drop out of school, write “drop out (中退)”. If you are in school, write “expected graduation (卒業見込み)”.2.職歴 – Work HistoryLeave one line below your educational background and write “Work history (職歴)” in the center.Fill in the following order, starting with the company you first joined.The year and month when you joined the companyCompany name (official name)Department and position titleYear and month when you left the company and reasons for thatIn the resume, the reason for leaving the company is generally written as “Left the company for personal reasons (一身上の都合により退職)”.On the other hand, if you are currently employed, enter “Current (現在に至る)”. Then, finally, write “over (以上)” to complete this section.There is also a space for education and work history in the upper right corner of the resume format.If the education and work history is too large to fit on the left side of the format, please add and fill in the rest.3.How to Write a Japanese Resume – Licenses and QualificationsIn the “Licenses and qualifications（免許・資格）” field is a must to write the official name.Also, enter the acquisition year correctly.If you have a license or qualification that can be used in the company you want to apply for, be sure to enter it.If you do not have any licenses or qualifications, please write “None in particular (特になし)” on the first line.4.Special Skills, Self-promotion, Commuting Time, etc.We will explain how to write it in accordance with the above numbers (1 to 3).1.特技・自己PRなど – Special skills, self-PR, etc.“Special skills, self-promotion, etc.” can be an important topic of conversation in interviews. Therefore, do not leave it blank.The details of your skills will be highlighted in your Japanese CV, so make sure your resume is brief and specific.Also, be careful not to write anything related to criminal activities, like gambling, to avoid giving a negative impression.2.通勤時間 – Commuting timeEnter the commute time from home to work. If commuting time takes 30 minutes, enter “about 30 minutes (約30分)”. If it is 1 hour, enter “about 1 hour (約１時間)”.If you are currently living overseas or living in a place where you cannot commute from your current address in Japan, you do not need to fill out this section.3.扶養家族（配偶者を除く）・配偶者・配偶者の扶養義務 – Dependents (excluding spouse), spouse, spouse’s obligation to supportDependents(扶養家族) are members of a family that are supported by one’s income. The reason for listing your dependents on your resume is that the company will need to know the number of dependents when calculating income taxes and applying for social insurance such as health insurance.In “扶養家族（配偶者を除く）”, the Dependents (excluding spouse) field, enter the number of dependents excluding the spouse.For example, if you have a spouse and three children, or if you maintain your child with your own income, your spouse will not be counted, so the “Dependent (excluding spouse)” number will be three.Spouses are not counted in the “Dependents (excluding spouses)” item, even if the spouse is also being supported on one’s income.If one of the three children is already earning a living as a member of society, there will be two dependents (excluding spouse).In the “Spouse(配偶者)” section, if you are married and have a spouse, check “Yes (有)”. And if you are not yet married and have no spouse, please mark “No (無)”.If you want to support your spouse with your income, check the box for “Yes (有)” in the “配偶者の扶養義務(Spouse Obligation)” section. If your spouse is working and he or she is already working for a company that has social insurance, please mark “No (無)”.If your spouse works, but does not have social insurance at the company and you need to apply for social insurance at the company where you work for your partner, check “Yes(有)”.5.本人希望記入欄 – Space for Personal RequestsFill in the desired conditions (work description, work location, salary, etc.), but in general, it is common to write “I will comply with your company regulations (貴社規定に従います)”.However, please fill out any conditions that you consider essential at the time of the application.It is advisable to fill out “I will comply with your company regulations (貴社規定に従います)”, since you will be able to communicate your desired conditions directly in the interview.ConclusionThe resume used in Japan is quite unique, but it can be created very easily if you learn how to write it.There are some companies that do not need a Japanese Resume when applying, but in most cases, you will need a resume when you start the paperwork for joining the company, so we recommend to be prepared when you start your job hunting.Are you an IT engineer who wish to work in Japan?G Talent is a global employment agency that specializes in offering jobs for international IT engineers who wish to work in Japan. On G Talent, many positions are offered by global companies that are actively hiring international engineers. If you are interested, feel free to talk to our bilingual career consultants.TAlK TO OUR CONSULTANT FOR FREE*It is free! You’ll be asked to register first. It takes only 1 minute.

There is a serious shortage of IT engineers in Japan. Engineers needed the most include cyber security, machine learning and cloud engineers. For international IT engineers who wish to work in Japan, there are more opportunities in these sectors.Moreover, language requirements and cultural etiquette are less important in these sectors. Learn IT skills in demand, and land a job that offers attractive working conditions and pays well. Read this article in Japanese. IT skills in demand in Japan in 2022 Cyber security The demand for cyber security engineers is significantly increasing. In 2021, the domestic market value was 1,135.7 billion yen with a growth rate of 13.4%. The growth rate is projected to increase, given the acceleration of remote work and the current social conditions. If you are a security engineer, you are likely to have many job opportunities in Japan.   Useful certifications for security engineersRegistered Information Security Specialist Examination: A qualification to prove your expertise in information security, offered by IPA. After the qualification is obtained, you are eligible to apply for a national certificate for Registered Information Security Specialist.CISSP: A qualification to prove your expertise in information security, offered by (ISC)², International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium. Cloud As more and more internet services shift to cloud, the demand for cloud engineers is increasing. The market value of cloud computing was 2,875 billion yen in 2020 with a growth rate of 22%. In addition, the demand for public clouds, such as SaaS and IaaS, is especially high.More than half of the Japanese companies that provide cloud services use AWS. If you are an AWS engineer, you have many job opportunities in Japan.   Useful certifications for cloud engineersAWS certifications: A certificate to validate cloud expertise. AWS offers several levels: associate, professional and speciality. There are also certificates for those who are specialized in the fields such as network, data and machine learning.Google Certified Professional: A certificate to prove your expertise in Google cloud platform. Machine Learning The use of AI in services and products is now commonplace. The sales in automation services and personalised services are increasing rapidly.In 2019, the market growth rate of machine learning was 95%. As the use of machine learning will increase in the future, machine learning engineers will have many job opportunities in Japan as well. Useful certifications for machine learning engineersDeep Learning for ENGINEER: This is a certificate to validiate your knowledge and implementions skills in deep learning. It is offered by the Japan Deep Learning Association (JDLA). *The exam is available only in Japanese.Python 3 Certified Data Analyst Examination: A certificate to prove your advanced knowledge and skills in deep learning.  5G The market growth rate of 5G is projected to be 80.3% between 2020 to 2027. It is a field that is expected to create many job opportunities in the near future. Jobs related to 5G include embedded engineers, network engineers and IoT engineers. To work with 5G, the knowledge and skills in the development of embedded software and network are required.The article below explains the details of the 5G market in Japan and skills you need to be an engineer who works with 5G.5G market in Japan and skills you need to be an engineer who works with 5G Programming languages and developer tools in demand in Japan According to the research conducted by GitTap, the skills that are most in demand among Japanese companies are AWS, Python and JavaScript (January, 2022).AWS is a cloud computing service offered by Amazon. In Japan, more than half of the companies that provide cloud services use AWS. The market of cloud computing is expanding and the demand for AWS engineers is projected to increase. The article below explains programming languages in demand in Japan in detail. The programming languages in demand in Japan Summary International IT engineers have many job opportunities in Japan since there is a serious shortage of IT engineers. This is especially the case in some fields such as cyber security, cloud and AI. The following  jobs are some of the examples of jobs that are in demand in Japan. Python engineer Job Summary：Implement mathematical models, develop optimization algorithms, conduct software testing while working closely with professors. Salary：7M yen~ Learn More about This Job Automation engineer Job Summary：Develop and maintain automation platforms. Develop new automation products. Salary：7M yen~ Learn More about This Job CTO Job Summary：Chief Technology Officer for a financial system Salary： 8M yen~ Learn More about This Job GitTap is a job matching platform for highly skilled international IT engineers. The platform has many senior level jobs, which leads the average salary range of the advertised jobs to be 6-12M yen. There are also many remote positions available. The platform allows you to find a job efficiently by not only applying for positions but also getting scouted and conducting informational interviews. It is free to use, please feel free to register. Browse Jobs on GitTap G Talent is an employment agency for international IT engineers who wish to work in Japan. Bilingual consultants will assist you to land your dream job! To learn more about the service, please click the link below. Learn more about G Talent

DevOps engineers create solutions for improving the development speed of applications and systems as well as ensuring the stable operation of services. Being involved in both development and operations, they are responsible for a wide range of tasks, from developing and improving applications and systems to building and operating infrastructure environments such as the cloud. “DevOps” is a word coined from combining “Development” and “Operations”. To put it simply, it is an idea that the development side and the operation side cooperate to ensure speedier development, while also providing stable service operation. Due to the focus of DevOps on improving development speed, it is easy to confuse this with agile development, which will be explained later. Amongst all the different IT engineering jobs, to be a DevOps engineer requires a wide range of skills and plenty of experience. With a higher level of responsibility comes higher salary. The average annual income for a DevOps engineer is somewhere between 5 to 15 million yen, while the average for IT engineers in general is 4.52 million yen (※doda company survey). In the future, the demand for DevOps engineers is expected to rise, as the industry becomes more specialized due to increasing system complexity and more infrastructure environments transitioning to the cloud. This article provides a brief overview of what a DevOps engineer does and explains how you can become one too. DevOps engineers differ from infrastructure engineers A lesser-known position amongst IT engineers, the DevOps engineer is often compared to infrastructure engineers. This is because both are involved in tasks like server management. The table below provides a brief overview of the differences between DevOps engineers and infrastructure engineers, for you to get a good idea of what DevOps engineers do. ◆Differences between DevOps engineers and infrastructure engineers What sets a DevOps engineer apart from an infrastructure engineer is the former’s involvement in the development side. Both DevOps engineers and infrastructure engineers work on networks and servers, but DevOps engineers also engage in application and system development. You can think of DevOps engineers as one level beyond infrastructure engineers. This is why DevOps engineers must have more knowledge and experience than just infrastructure engineers. The No.1 role of DevOps engineers is automation Now let’s take a look at what DevOps engineers do. As explained earlier, DevOps is a concept born to “speed up development” and to “enable stable operation” of the system at the same time. What do DevOps engineers do to achieve these goals? Here are some of the specific roles DevOps play in the IT industry. “Infrastructure as Code (IaC),” essential for stable system operation Infrastructure as Code (IaC) means to get infrastructure settings written in code in order to automate the building process of the environment for operating and developing systems and software. In creating infrastructure, the task of typing all the commands according to a design can be extremely tedious and costly, especially as the scale increases. In addition, people cannot always avoid making little mistakes. Once infrastructure settings are written in code, all you need is just to execute it in order to automatically create an infrastructure environment. Also, executing the same code means you can reproduce identical environments at scale without the risk of human error. By allowing multiple servers to reproduce the same environment, problems caused by differences in infrastructure settings are less likely to occur. As a DevOps engineer, you want to achieve the stable operation of a system. Therefore, IaC is an important skill to keep in mind in order to minimize the workload and avoid human errors when creating infrastructure. However, you need skills for building the infrastructure to be able to practice IaC, which means more investment in acquiring those skills may be necessary. You may also need experience working as an infrastructure engineer. Build a CI/CD Pipeline to speed up development Building a CI/CD pipeline is a key skill for DevOps engineers who seek to “speed up” the development of applications and systems. A CI/CD pipeline is an automated set of steps required to practice CI/CD. CI/CD is a method of automating build, integration, testing, etc. to make software development faster and increase the speed before production. CI (Continuous Integration) is a method of automating code changes from build to test. CD (Continuous Delivery) is a method that allows software that has passed testing to be automatically released into a production environment. ◆ CI/CD pipelines Simply put, by building a CI/CD pipeline, the entire process of Build – Integrate – Test – Release – Deploy becomes automatic. Any changes to your code will be automatically applied to every step from build to test to deployment, thus reducing the lead time of your development process. By getting everyone on a development team to work with this pipeline, software release becomes much faster. CI/CD tools include on-premises and cloud types, with some examples being Jenkins and Drone for the on-premises and Travis CI and CircleCI for the cloud. DevOps engineers need to use different tools to build CI/CD pipelines depending on their objectives. “Knowledge of managed services” to reduce management cost and working time A managed service allows a company to outsource part of the operation management and maintenance of a serve. Stably operating a server is no simple task. From hardware procurement to equipment/line management to trouble handling, the operation management and maintenance of a server requires expertise offered by dedicated professionals, which can be quite costly. This is where managed services come in. By capitalizing on managed services, you can reduce the amount of work devoted to issues such as fault response and security measures. This allows for improved efficiency and ultimately leads to stable system operation. Since not all engineers in a company are knowledgeable about infrastructure, leveraging managed services to reduce management costs and work hours is an important task for DevOps. As you can see, being a DevOps engineer is not so much about working directly on products and services, but rather focusing on creating solutions to increase productivity for developers and operators. 2021 Roadmap for becoming a DevOps Engineer So, what does it take to become a DevOps engineer? This section is based on the article, “The 2021 DevOps RoadMap for Developers” which is another highly recommended read. Now, let’s take a look at the roadmap for becoming a DevOps engineer. There are 9 steps in total. ◆Roadmap for becoming a DevOps Engineer 1. Learn a programming language To be involved in system development, you need to know a programming language. If possible, become proficient in at least one of: Java, Python, or Ruby Each has its own characteristics. Java is generally an all-rounder in any environment, while Python is relatively simple and easy to understand. Ruby originated in Japan and thus more resources are available in Japanese. Its code is simple and easy to read, making it beginner friendly. 2. Understand different OS concepts This comes under the area of “Operations.” In the past, only system operation managers and support personnel were responsible for the OS and hardware. However, as DevOps engineers engage in both systems and infrastructure, OS-related knowledge is necessary. You need to be familiar with important systems such as process management, memory storage and file systems. 3. Learn server management For stable service operation, you must build a server to create a system and environment. More specifically, you need to monitor the operational status of applications/services and the usage of CPU, memory, and other resources; update the system, fix programs that need to be improved, and respond to failures. All of these require general knowledge of a server. 4. Learn about network and security The evolving technology nowadays allows for easy access everywhere on the web, which also means security challenges are on the rise. As poor security measures can lead to the leakage of important data such as customer information, it is critical to learn about network and security. Make sure to have basic but essential ones down, including DNS, FTP, SSL, etc. 5. Understand middleware and learn how to set it up Middleware is software that performs intermediate processing between an application and an OS in a computer. Examples of middleware are the web server, application server, and database management server. ◆About middleware Understanding the structure of a web server or application server, and learning how to set it up, will give you a better understanding of the system. Doing so allows you to proceed to the next step where you make the system operation more efficient and automate the building of the infrastructure environment. 6. Learn Infrastructure as Code (IaC) As explained earlier, Infrastructure as Code (IaC) means to have the infrastructure settings written in code in order to automate the creation of operation/development environments for systems and software. The benefits of IaC include no need to manually repeat the same process when creating a different environment, an easier grasp of current infrastructure and server configuration, and no need to manage procedures. 7. Learn CI/CD pipeline building tools Again, CI/CD is a method of automating build, integration, testing, etc. to speed up software development and to make it ready for release into production immediately. There are various tools for building CI/CD pipelines from open source to commercial ones. However, one tool cannot automate all of CI/CD, and it is common to create a CI/CD pipeline by combining tools that are appropriate for a specific development stage. This means you need to learn to use multiple tools. 8. Learn to monitor software and infrastructure In addition to middleware setup and deployment, software and infrastructure monitoring is another important role of DevOps engineers. Monitoring means constantly checking for anomalies or problems with the functionality of an application, network, server, OS, or middleware. There are already a variety of tools available for monitoring, so DevOps engineers need to be able to choose the right tool for their companies’ needs. 9. Learn about the public cloud The public cloud is a service that provides cloud computing environments such as servers, storage, databases, and software through the Internet to an unspecified number of users, including companies and individuals. These include Amazon Web Services (AWS), IBM Cloud, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Since there is no need to own a server in-house, the use of the public cloud is rapidly spreading nowadays, and many companies have already moved their servers to a cloud environment. As a DevOps engineer, you need basic knowledge of the public cloud. AWS and GCP are well known public clouds that you should get a grasp of. This is the 2021 roadmap for becoming a DevOps engineer. A DevOps engineer, being a type of IT engineer, of course needs a programming language. On top of that, you should also know how to work with various tools and infrastructures (especially the cloud). As mentioned at the beginning of the article, to be a DevOps engineer requires a wide range of knowledge and experience, and therefore it is a position one step beyond application engineers and infrastructure engineers. Sounds worth aiming for? “DevOps” is a model or concept, “agile development” is a development method As already explained, “DevOps” is a coined word that combines “Development” and “Operations”. The idea of DevOps was born from the contradiction between the development side and the operation side. While the former wants to develop applications and systems quickly, the latter wants to ensure stable operation. In other words, in order to make a system better, the development side generally takes a policy of “adding new features and updating existing ones.” On the other hand, the operation side often takes a policy of “if things are running stably, keep them as they are,” in order to consistently provide a comfortable experience to the users and to avoid troubles with systems and functions as much as possible. The concept of “DevOps” was born to bridge these contradicting interests. Now, “agile development” is a method that, when developing applications and systems, repeats the development process of “planning → design → implementation → test” many times in a short period of time. Once you have a rough idea of the system you want to create, you iterate through planning, design, implementation, and test, and release the system relatively early. After the system is released, you then repeatedly improve it based on feedback from users and clients. This allows for agility and flexibility in development. Agile development is the opposite of waterfall development. Waterfall development is a method in which the development process of “design → development → implementation → test” is divided into each stage and developed step by step. In this method, developers decide in advance all the functions and spec details to be installed in the system, then start development and complete one step after the other. Basically, you never go back to the previous stage, and thus systems and software are released only after the entire process is completed. In the past, this has been the customary strategy for many companies. However, it is common to discover improvements or to receive feedback from users after releasing systems or applications. Even with all the time spent during waterfall development, extra work is always necessary to use this method successfully.. As a result, more and more companies are adopting agile development because it is easy to respond to user needs when “planning → design → implementation → testing” is repeated over and over in a short period of time. Agile development is very compatible with “DevOps,” an idea that enables both speedier development and stable service operation. By incorporating agile development, DevOps engineers can “speed up development” while creating a mechanism that allows developers and operators to collaborate to achieve “stable service operation.” This is why this newer development method is currently in high demand. ◆The difference between agile development and waterfall development Source: Agile and DevOps Quality Assurance and Reliability By the way, the word DevOps first appeared in 2009 at a conference called “O’Reilly Velocity 09” hosted by O’Reilly. The term appeared in the presentation, “10 Deploys a Day：Dev and Ops Cooperation at Flickr” by John Allspaw and Paul Hammond, who were at the time engineers at an image-hosting service, Flickr. In this presentation, they proposed that the development side and the operation side can bring about fast development that deploys more than ten times a day by cooperating toward a common purpose. (*To deploy means to make the program usable.） DevOps Engineers are increasingly in demand as IT and DX advance Today, there is a growing demand for DevOps engineers. This is because, along with the progress of IT and the promotion of digital transformation (DX), there is a growing need for a shorter development period and flexibility in system development. As previously explained, development today requires companies to continue to improve their services after release using feedback from users. This makes for the rising demand for DevOps who can contribute in stabilizing operations while accelerating not only development but also improvement speed. According to the article, “Ask Hitachi, the Current Role of DevOps and DevSecOps in Large-scale Development“, the company has adopted the idea of DevOps. The article reports that DevOps is getting increasing attention due to many Japanese companies and organizations having begun to work on DX. DX is typically applied in new businesses, and therefore the business model is not clear, and the system specifications are not fixed. Thus, the idea of DevOps has been adopted because it is necessary to improve fixing the problems that come out after development and release, while also ensuring stable operation. In this way, the concept of DevOps is gaining more recognition regardless of whether it is a large company or a small- and medium-sized venture company. Moving forward, given that the demand for public clouds such as AWS and GCP will also increase, there will be more spotlight on DevOps engineers who provide expertise on these areas while also being able to engage with the development side. Summary Now you have it, an overview of DevOps engineers. The path to becoming a DevOps engineer is steep, given the wide range of knowledge and experience required. There is no correct way to become a DevOps engineer. However, if you are an inexperienced IT engineer with a goal of becoming a DevOps engineer, it is relatively easy to step up after gaining experience as an infrastructure engineer or a WEB application engineer. We offer two services for IT engineers: “G Talent“, a career transition service and “GitTap“, a scouting and job information website that allows you to contact companies directly. For foreign IT engineers working in Japan and Japanese IT engineers seeking a global environment, we offer a variety of recruitment opportunities. Please check out the “G Talent” and “GitTap” service pages.