High demand for bilinguals in japan
Percentage of bilinguals in Japan
In Japan, there is a great demand for Bilinguals. Particularly people who can speak Japanese and English fluently. In the entire world, it is said that about half of the population is bilingual. However, in Japan, that number dwindles down to only 10%. Compared to that to a country in the EU, you can see how low the percentage of Japan is. For example, the percentage of people who can speak another language other than their native language is 98% in Luxembourg, 95% in Latvia, and 94% in the Netherlands.
Considering that Japan has had a long history of being a homogenous nation being separated from other countries by sea, it wasn’t really necessary for Japanese people to learn any other language than the Japanese language. With an economy big enough with more than 100 million people living in Japan, it might not have been a big problem not speaking any foreign languages. However, when Japan started exporting goods overseas and started expanding its business globally, there was high growth in demand for someone who understands Japanese and another language.
Bilinguals and business in Japan
In Japan, a lot of companies are in need of people who can speak foreign languages, especially English. Japanese companies and foreign companies in Japan usually ask candidates to submit their TOEIC score, TOEFL score, or Eiken certificate. These are all popular tests in Japan to show how proficient you are in English.
If you can speak Japanese fluently and also can prove that you are fluent in another language, it will definitely improve your chances of moving further into the next step of the interview.
How to appeal that you are bilingual
Take an English proficiency test
In Japan, there aren’t a lot of people who can speak Japanese and English, both fluently. Most companies require you to be able to communicate in Japanese as a prerequisite, which includes understanding Keigo and Japanese manners. However, it will be very hard for companies to find someone who can speak English and Japanese at the level they want because in most cases, the interviewer can not speak English so it would be difficult for them to judge how good you are in reality.
Therefore, a common way for the company to judge someone’s English ability is by making them submit an English proficiency test score. The most common one is TOEIC, and they only test listening and reading abilities. Another one is TOEFL and this is mainly used for universities admissions but can also be used for some companies. Lastly, there is the Eiken. Eiken is an English language proficiency test and is considered the most prestigious certificate in Japan for assessing English abilities.
Taking these tests will definitely help you advance further in basically any company. Also, if you have graduated from a university overseas, that will also convince the company that you already have a certain level of English proficiency.
Use websites for bilinguals
If you are bilingual and want to work at a company that provides opportunities for bilinguals to grow, you should look into websites that focus on bilingual or global job seekers. Here are the lists of some websites that can help you search more effectively, for companies that focus on hiring bilinguals.
帰国GO Website: https://www.kikokugo.com/
マイナビ国際派就職 Website: https://global.mynavi.jp/
Doda グローバル Website: https://doda.jp/global/
CareerCross Website: https://www.careercross.com/
CFN Website: https://careerforum.net/ja/
By signing up to these websites, you can skim through job boards that only focus on hiring bilingual applicants. Although you should always look at many places to find the best place for you to work, it is highly recommended to start looking at these places first to save time.
Participate in career forums
Lastly, participating in career forums is highly recommended, because it actually gives you a chance to appeal to the interviewer that you are a bilingual candidate and that you can play an active role in the company right away.
The most popular career forum is the Boston Career Forum. This career forum is organized by CFN and has a long history of supporting bilinguals, especially those who are living overseas land a job in Japan. We have written many articles about CFN and the Boston Career Forum before. If you are interested and want to learn more about it have a look at these articles.
Ultimate guide: Boston Career Forum 2021, companies, when, where
How 2021 Boston Career Forum is different from other years
DISCO, CFN career forums (Boston, London, Tokyo, etc.)
【2021】Job hunting schedule for new grads in Japan
Another popular event will be マイナビ 国際派 (Mynavi Kokusaiha). This event is hosted by Mynavi which is one of the major companies for a job search in Japan.
Boston Career Forum 2021 is for bilinguals
Take advantage of the online event
Since Boston Career Forum is one of the oldest and has an excellent track record of supporting bilingual job seekers, we will explain in detail why bilinguals should participate in this years’ event.
Boston Career Forum is an annually held event, and it is always hosted in the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It used to be hard for people who aren’t residing in the northeast region of the United States to participate in the Boston Career Forum 2021. Transportation fee, booking a place to stay, thinking about which company you should prioritize applying to because the venue is so huge…
These are all becoming a problem of the past. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the event has completely migrated to an online event. Therefore, you now only need to focus on your application forms, and interview preparation. With the Boston Career Forum 2021 moving to an online event, people that are residing in Japan or any other place can participate in the event as well.
Can anyone participate in the event?
People often wonder if they are eligible to participate in the event. The common mistake everyone makes is that they need to be someone that is currently attending a university overseas. However, that is not entirely correct. Basically, there are no limitations to who can participate in the event, but each company will have its own specification or requirement for who can apply to the company.
Here are some FAQs that can be found on the official CFN website.
No, the primary participants of the Career Forum are college seniors, master’s students in their final year, recent college graduates and experienced professionals looking for full-time employment opportunities. Additionally, internships are also available and we encourage college sophomores, juniors and first-year master’s students to attend the event.
No, students and professionals at all levels of Japanese are welcome to attend the Career Forum. However, most companies will expect business level proficiency in Japanese. Please view each company profile for specific language requirement.
Most of the interviews at the Career Forum are held in Japanese, but it varies from company to company. Some companies send their HR staff from Japan, and others from the United States. Interviews may be held in both Japanese and English so that the recruiters may assess your language ability.
