Experienced non-Japanese residents are more available than ever before.
September 2020 — Companies looking to recruit foreign staff in Japan may fear that now is not the right time to hire. Our data tells us that they may be wrong.
Yes — businesses have suffered financially. Staff across Japan have been let go, Hiring initiatives stopped. Tax-funded government relief measures did little to stop the bleeding and an ill-timed “Go To” travel campaign in July may have exacerbated the situation.
But in Q3 this year, we’ve seen an improvement in the jobs sector. A faint heartbeat getting stronger. It’s muffled — but it’s there. For companies willing to cast a wider net, hiring staff now could ensure their human resource needs are in place as consumer confidence grows.
Companies looking specifically to hire foreigners have more options than they realize right now. Japan has strict travel restrictions in place for non-Japanese people entering the country — both tourists and returning long-term residents. So finding the ideal foreign talent at the moment might seem difficult. That is — if you’re only looking for potential new staff from outside Japan.
There is a solution. It’s more readily available than most hiring managers think: foreigners who are already residents of Japan.
In our second edition of the GPlusMedia Intelligence Report, we look at why companies should leverage a resource closer at hand to fill vacancies.
The Asahi Shimbun reported in March 2020 that Japan is now home to a record high 2.9 million foreigners. Many are here for the duration of their careers. Many are raising families. Many are multilingual. All pay taxes, contribute to their communities and help the economy grow.
It appears that many are also looking for employment.
It may be modest, but GPlusMedia employment services are seeing an increase in job searches across Japan. A statistic that had been falling steadily through June as the coronavirus situation grew.
Lately, though, GaijinPot Jobs and CareerEngine have seen the number of job searches by foreigners in Japan go up 9%. At the same time, job searches from those currently overseas have risen 7%.
Furthermore, a recent poll on our Japan Today news site suggests that 55% of foreigners in Japan are in need of income from a new job.
Smart companies should use these two small insights to their advantage.
Rather than looking for the perfect candidate from overseas to fill a position, there are many suitable people already in Japan. On top of skills required for the position, they have experience working in Japan as well as the cultural and language know how that enables them to get to work quickly. Companies willing to provide these candidates with a little extra attention, support and training can comfortably fill many needed roles.
As competitors struggle — specifically in the tourism and travel industries — now is an opportunity for smart businesses to pick up experienced employees who are looking for a safer place to work. Further, new recruitment and entry-level hiring by Japanese companies is currently at an all-time low, meaning that sharp and talented younger workers are more available than ever.
Foreign job seekers who are already residents of Japan:
- have valid working visas.
- are experienced working in Japanese companies.
- have supportive homes and communities.
- speak the language and are familiar with Japanese culture.
Most importantly, for the businesses that hire them, skilled foreign workers living in Japan are looking for long-term and continued employment. They want workplaces they can contribute to and grow with — much as companies are looking for the same from new hires.
New resume highlights
As of Q3 this year, GPlusMedia employment and recruitment services has over 11,000 current active users on the site. To the end of that quarter, we’ve received new resumes from over 300 foreign residents with native-English or other language skills plus business-level Japanese ability or higher.
Here are summaries of just three of our most recent users.
- Translation & localization expert: A 35-year-old woman from the U.S. with eight years experience in Japan, including five years in the IT sector on translation and localization for video games. A graduate from a Japanese university, certified with JLPT N2 and currently living in Tokyo.
- Sales, marketing & customer support: A 30-year-old woman from the Ukraine with five years B2C sales and customer support experience in the travel industry, but now working at an IT company. Certified with JLPT N1 and currently living in Saitama.
- Embedded software engineer: A 37-year-old man from the Philippines with four years experience in Japan as a senior software engineer at an automotive company. Certified with JLPT N2 and currently living in Yokohama.
If your company wants to hire foreign job seekers already living in Japan with valid working visas, GPlusMedia employment services can help.
We have a new, limited-time trial package available that includes access to our most successful options at a heavily reduced, one-time entry price. It’s the perfect way to try our service with very low risk.
Contact our employment experts to interview the best international and multilingual foreign job candidates living in Japan right now.