Gone slow so far, only GABA got back to reject me. That’s fine- not only is it off-season, but I kind of applied to them out of formality. The work very much did not seem very stable, which is more what I need right now.
Just my personal opinion, rather than machine translating your resumé for your profile I think providing it in English and trying your best to communicate in messages in Japanese will help match you with jobs that are open to non-N2/N1 level applicants. It’s better to have an open conversation upfront than do multiple interviews with a company that’s not open to English or partial-English communication.
Emphasize instead, your job history and your skills - this is something you can speak confidently about rather than focusing on what you can’t do right now.
Reflecting on the job market here, in the mid-00’s the job market was brutal for non-Japanese folks. N1/N2 was required for service jobs at convenience stores. That changed in 2016, when Tokyo was selected for the ill fated 2020 Olympics - there were a lot more people who moved here as support for the games and Japan’s globalization overall.
Now, there’s a lot more acceptance overall of non-Japanese folks working seamlessly in workplaces; at the same time, folks who had previously been living in Japan have felt a push to learn Japanese where previously 10+ years ago it was generally considered that it was impossible for non-native speakers to learn Japanese enough to qualify for a job.
So, the bad and good news:
The good news is that folks who have worked here for a while who may not have learned N1/N2 Japanese are now getting the opportunity to step into roles that were previously restricted of them due to general xenophobia.
Usually when an N3/N4 speaker joins a team, they’re supported by N1/N2 speakers and bilingual Japanese speakers so it all evens out. Sometimes N3/N4 speakers work alongside other N3/N4 speakers and are managed by someone who is bilingual.
The bad news is that there’s more demand for bilingual speakers than there is supply…so companies who don’t have bilingual speakers or N1/N2 speakers on hand are wary of hiring a N3/N4 if they don’t have the mentorship/infrastructure support for them.
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How I’d use the Japanese based sites is looking around for positions you think would fit your skillset (using machine translate to look at the job positions is ok).
Then, if you find one that you’re qualified or over qualified for, I’d send them a message in Japanese, to the best of your ability, letting them know your skills and your Japanese level. Some companies will be more hungry for your skills and will take a risk - some won’t. Either way, I think you’re right that you can improve your Japanese as much as you can right now, but actually living here will improve it greatly - provided you’re willing to make mistakes and look foolish while your learn on the job!
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Thanks for the extra info.
I’ve decided not to pursue ALT/teaching work right now. Asked around on Reddit and also with some other people, and have really seen how horrible it is. Not to mention I don’t even have the money to move to Japan for 2 months right now, and asking my parents for money I could possibly never pay back with rock-bottom teaching salaries… PLUS I really, don’t like working with kids, and I learned that a few months ago.
Frankly, I don’t even think I’m N4, I think I’d need to give myself time to work back up to that. And that’s fine- I will say, with all the career stuff I’m considering right now besides games, polishing my Japanese does seem (by process of elimination) the least boring and most meaningful thing to do next.
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