Kimberly Matsuno (Niigata, 2019-2022)
Navigating life after JET can be difficult—especially when it comes to job hunting. As we’ve seen time and time again this year across [CONNECT]’s career section, your time spent in Japan on the JET Program provides you with skills and experiences that can assist you in a wide range of interesting and exciting careers. But, if you’re anything like me during my last few months as a JET, you’re probably not too sure where to begin when it comes to finding all those exciting careers.
As the career section editor, I have interviewed dozens of successful JET alumni, attended career fairs, and sat in multiple career seminars this past year. It’s safe to say that I’ve recently learned about a ton of resources that I wish I had known about sooner. So, to help those who are looking for some guidance when it comes to finding a post-JET job, I’ve put together a list of six essential resources to help get you pointed in the right direction.
Industry Specific Job Boards
For Higher Education/Research: JREC-IN Portal
For those seeking a career in higher education or as a researcher at a university, this platform should be the first place you look. The site is operated by the Japan Science and Technology Agency to assist in the expansion of the career paths of research personnel in Japan.
For ESL Teaching Positions: O-HayoSensei
This twice-monthly newsletter provides subscribers with open ESL positions across Japan straight to their inbox. The newsletter is similar to the classified section in a newspaper, so there is no search function per se, but for those always open to a new position, the one-time fee of $12 USD may just be worth it to guarantee you get a jump on other applicants.
For those in the Creative Industry: Creative Tokyo
For those looking to get into a creative industry (including tech/IT), Creative Tokyo is a good website to bookmark. Creative Tokyo is a connection-centric networking organization for creative folks living in the greater Tokyo area. It started as a small 10-person group looking to share ideas in a crowded Shibuya bar and has grown into a much larger organization, which now hosts networking events and, you guessed it, a jobs board.
Foreigner-Focused Job Boards
If you’ve lived in Japan for a while, you’ve likely heard of the “big three” platforms for foreigners looking for jobs in Japan: Daijob, GaijinPot, and Jobs in Japan. While these platforms are certainly worth a browse, there are several smaller platforms that may also be worth your time.
Career Cross is one of Japan’s largest recruitment sites for foreign-affiliated companies—particularly in IT and web design. It provides information on bilingual work in Japan for bilingual Japanese and English speakers. Job seekers can search by job type (full-time, part-time, contract, etc.), minimum salary, and Japanese language requirements.
Jopus Connecter is unique in that the platform provides job seekers with the opportunity to connect with a foreign employee, called a Connecter, who is already working at the company the job seeker is interested in before applying. The platform lists jobs in a range of fields including manufacturing, business development, global sales, marketing, translation, administration, corporate planning, design, and more.
This platform focuses on connecting career changers with both international and Japanese companies in Japan. Job seekers can filter by salary range, remote work, international company, and more. The platform often has mid-level and senior-level jobs listed, so it would be a great place to look for someone looking to advance their career.
Metropolitan Employment Service Centers
Did you know that the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare runs multiple public employment offices specializing in providing job counseling and placement services for non-Japanese residents in Japan? Well, they do! We’ve listed three of the largest below, but it’s worth asking if the largest municipality near you has one as well.
Tokyo Employment Center for Foreigners
Foreign Residents Support Center, Yotsuya Tower 13th floor, 1-6-1 Yotsuya, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo (TEL 03-5361-8722）
Nagoya Employment Center for Foreigners
Yamaichi Bldg. 8th floor, 2-14-25, Nishiki, Naka-ku, Nagoya-shi
(TEL 052-855-3770)
Osaka Employment Center for Foreigners
Hankyu Grand Building 16th floor, 8-47 Kakuda-cho, Kita-ku, Osaka
(TEL 06-7709-9465)
National Job Boards
International job boards such as Indeed and LinkedIn are used in Japan—though possibly to a lesser extent than your home country. Japanese job seekers seem to prefer recruitment agencies and Japan-based job boards. Whether or not to use a recruiter is a whole conversation on its own, but, for those with proficient language skills, there are a few job platforms that may be worth your time.
Doda is probably the most well-known and most used job search site among job changers in Japan. Many of the job openings are unique to Doda and are not posted on other job search platforms. Their website currently boasts over 280,000 available jobs to filter through.
Recruit Agent prides itself on holding the record for the highest number of job placements according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Recruit Agent is more of a “recruiter style” platform in which a career advisor will call you to discuss your ideal job conditions/requirements, but the platform does also have a public job search feature for those who wish to go about it on their own.
Although the total number of job postings is lower than Recruit Agent or Doda, Mynavi Agent may be more suitable for those seeking employment in areas outside the major metropolitan areas. The company also has a secondary search platform called “Mynavi Baito” for those who may be interested in part-time jobs.
Japanese-Focused Job Boards in your home country
For those on the fence or focused on returning to their home country, there are platforms available that allow you to search for jobs utilizing your Japanese and international experience. The three sources below are specific to the United States/North America, but please reach out to the JET alumni community in your country for resources available to you.
Nihongo Jobs is a job board that showcases jobs in the United States that need or desire Japanese language and/or business culture skills. Many of the jobs on the platform are for positions within the American branches of major Japanese corporations such as Fujitsu, Yoshinoya, Capcom, and more.
Quick USA is a Japanese-style recruitment agency that helps job seekers find placement in American branches of Japanese corporations. Former Japanese Teacher of English, Takeshi Yamagishi, offers free career consultations to current JETs and JET alumni looking to work in the United States.
American Association of Teachers of Japanese
Looking to switch from teaching English, to teaching Japanese? The American Association of Teachers of Japanese is a non-profit, non-political organization of individuals and institutions seeking to promote the study of Japanese language, linguistics, literature, culture, and pedagogy, at all levels of instruction. They have a job board for Japanese teaching positions ranging in level from kindergarten to university.
The JETAA community
With over 70,000 JET alumni and 52 JETAA chapters worldwide, there is a good chance that there is another JET alum out there working a job similar to what you’re looking for. The JETAA community in general is very supportive of returning JETs with many chapters hosting career events and networking events. There are also several job search platforms run by JETAA chapters and organizations.
This Google group, co-operated by USJETAA and JETwit, emails members open jobs submitted by other JET alumni. Since JET alumni submit the open positions themselves, applicants can rest assured knowing that they have at least one contact already within the company.
AJET & JETAAI Job Listing Facebook Group
Similar to the JETAA Job Board, this Facebook group allows job seekers to view jobs posted by other JET alumni. This group posts jobs within Japan and around the world.
No list of career services available to JETs would be complete without mentioning CLAIR’s career support services including the Career Vision Conference, Essentials of Job-Hunting in Japan Webinar, After JET Networking and Career Consultations, and the JET Program Career Fairs. Unfortunately for current job seekers, these events have already passed for the 2024 career hunting season, but the Essentials of Job-Hunting in Japan Webinar is available to view on YouTube—offering helpful tips when it comes to writing a Japanese resume and interviewing in Japan.
Kimberly Matsuno is a JET alum (Niigata 2019-2022) currently serving as USJETAA‘s Content Strategist. She was an ALT in Niigata from 2019-2022, during which time she contributed to [CONNECT] Magazine as both a writer and a section editor. She is excited to continue contributing to [CONNECT] and to assist in fostering relations between current JETs and the JET alumni community