Job-Hunting Information
It's important for international students who plan to look for work in Japan to understand the unique culture and rules of the job-hunting process here. To make sure you succeed in finding work, be sure to understand the job-hunting process in Japan, and put together a plan.
The job search in Japan is characterized by a season that begins early, and a long period until job seekers receive their final offers. This system includes several especially unique cultural aspects and customs, so we'll explain a few of them here.
In Japan, it's common for companies to recruit fresh university graduates once a year, meaning that students will take tests to apply to companies while still in school, and then begin working right after graduation. This means that students will have to prepare for the job hunt in their third year of university, or in their first year of graduate school.
The job-hunting season begins with company information sessions. These are good opportunities for students to hear directly and more in-depth from companies about their business values, management policies, future goals, etc. Be sure to attend some information sessions, to better your understanding of the company of your choice.
The SPI test is an aptitude test used by many companies in their recruitment selection process. The test is largely divided into ability and personality sections. The ability test seeks to measure an applicant's basic working abilities, and the personality test seeks to understand the way an applicant thinks about things and people, and their goals. There are many questions that are difficult for international students to answer, such as Japanese language or history questions, so it's best to prepare for this test with a prep test booklet.