One of the formal ways to teach English in Japan is to sign up to the Japan English Teacher (JET) program. I've had a bunch of email from people asking how does one get on the program, so I did some digging and came up with the following. First of all, the JET program is run by each local government in Japan, although it's administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the CLAIR organization, plus the Ministries of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), and the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications. The purpose of the program is...

H.O: Hello! I am looking for a translation job (English <-> Japanese) in which I can work during my free time (I don't want to have to go to the office everyday) as I am working another part time job already. Do you know of any employers or recruiting companies that offer such translation work?Terrie: Translation is probably the most under-appreciated profession in Japan. Not only are jobs hard to find, but most customers consider price to...

I get a lot of mail from readers in India, wondering how to come and work in Japan. Here is one such recent letter from a young woman with a Commerce degree...

Once every now and again I look around the Japan-focused chat boards to get a feel for what people are looking for work and how they find it. Over the last few months, I've noticed more and more postings from people who are dissatisfied with recruiting companies - and labeling one company or another as "useless". But before giving up on recruiters, let's take a step back and look at what you should be using a recruiter for...

Occasionally I get questions from people already working in a Japanese company who are struggling to determine if they are being discriminated against. Here is one such case...

I don't often talk about the job opportunities for marketing and PR positions. In fact there are a ton of jobs out there - however, you don't hear about them much in the foreign media because of the fact that for such positions companies mostly hire from an "inner circle" of marketing professionals. To get into this inner circle, you need to have experience, be in the right industry that the hirer is active in, and...

If you're outside Tokyo, hearing of all the job opportunities available for foreigners here in the capital must be a bit frustrating. Today we have a question from a reader in Shizuoka lamenting the lack of choice in other prefectures...

In polite Japan, people don't talk much about the underside of a paternal working society, where young women in particular are expected to suffer in silence from sexual harassment from their seniors. A pat on the bottom from the boss, awkward questions about one's love life from the bucho, and persistent requests for a date from older male colleagues are all part of the workplace obstacle course. In most foreign companies, things are a bit easier because of Western...

Applying for a job with a multinational company starts with your resume. In this current economic climate, a well-written resume will usually get you to the first interview at least, so it's important that you spend time on it. If you're bilingual, you should always submit both an English and a Japanese resume. This way, you've lowered the point of resistance if the business manager is a foreigner but the HR Manager is a Japanese...

So, you've been to three interviews with the same company. You've met everyone from the Business and HR Managers, to the CEO for Japan. You're totally confident that you're the chosen one, and your recruiter is telling you that you should get ready for some good news on Monday. Then, on Friday night, the final call comes through on your cell phone, "We're sorry, but you didn't get the job..." One of the biggest problems I have as a recruiting consultant is...