• Japanese (日本語)

Japanese Language Learning and Job Search

We are talking to many applicants every week, and the one thing that we can say that 100% will help improve your job search and your chances at getting a position that is a good fit for you is without a doubt improving your Japanese level.  We are not a Japanese school, but we can recommend some tools that we have seen candidates use to help improve their ability.

Japanesepod101.com

This is probably the best site to get started with, as they have a lot of videos and lessons that can be accessed even as a free user.  The various paid plans are a pretty good value for the huge volume of resources.

Lang-8 (Lang-8.com)

We hear from a lot of people that they participate in Lang-8 and do online language exchanges with Japanese native speakers.  There really is no substitute for interacting with native speakers, so this one of the best online platforms. 

Wanikani (wanikani.com)

Wanikani gets high marks for people trying to up their kanji competence.  Their program promises to get you to the 2000 kanji level (pretty much the average in common use) in a year, which we think is an great way to up your skill level to help get a great position.

Anki (ankiweb.net)

Anki is a program for PC & web and an app for mobile phones to make flash cards and study with stacks of cards.  It’s pretty famous among Japanese language students, and a lot of pre-made stacks for various JLPT levels, etc. already exist, making it easy to get going quickly.

It definitely makes it easier for our recruiters to put you forward for positions when you have some Japanese ability.  For the job seeker who right now has little or no ability, start using these tools to study a little every day.  If our recruiter can say you “are currently studying” Japanese, it’s going help a little more than if you are not. If you are a year or more away from looking for a new job, start studying now so you’ll have a better chance at great position when the time comes to make your next move.