In your country, what is it like to be in the last year of University? Do people enjoy every last of one of their senior days? Or do you they get busy for the next step? Well, in Japan, being a Senior is the busiest and most stressful year for them because they have “Shu-Katsu(就活)”. Have you ever heard of this word before? It’s shortened for “Shushoku Katsudou(就職活動)” meaning “job hunting”. If you have been to a Japanese University before, and get to know any senior, you might have already noticed that they always wear a suit, and rarely come to school. Even though you meet them, all they will be talking about is job hunting. So you’ll get the point of how important and difficult it is to get job offers from the companies they are seeking. Probably, job hunting is one of the cultural backgrounds of Japan that happens every year during the Spring through to the Summer. If you are a foreign student studying in Japan, and you are thinking about getting a job like the other students around you, but has no clue how to…well, you came to the right page. This article will explain to you when to start, what you’ll need and a little bit about the process of job hunting.

1. When Do Companies Start Recruiting the Students?

Here is something about job hunting. There is a general schedule like the terms of starting job fair and job interviews, but did you know that the schedule can be changed every year? For example, 5 years ago job fairs were usually opened from December and job interviews started in April. However, these schedules are getting slow and tight each year. Like last year, companies started to hold job fairs in March and job interviews from June. That means students only have 3 months to choose where they want to apply and have less time to prepare for their interview. Luckily, the people who will be graduating in the year 2020, they will be having the same schedule as their senpai. As a matter of fact, if you are going to do job hunting like other Japanese students, you must put in mind that March is the most important month for you. There will be many job fair held in different places and occasions. My advice to you is that you attend as much as possible. Some companies will not even let you apply if you haven’t been to their job fair. Of course, not all companies do that, but if you are aiming for the big company, you won’t regret attending one. And another reason why it’s important to attend is that you get to feel the atmosphere of the company. Some of my friends who decided to go to these job fairs have decided not to apply to the company they were interested in because it was different from what they were expecting after going to their job fair. Moreover, the company will you give you important information about when you can apply for the job and about what it takes to get the job, like how many interviews you may have to go through. So don’t miss out!

2. What Do You Need to Prepare to Apply For Your Dream Company?

This content is restricted to members. If you are an existing user, please log in. We would love for you to register below.

Please Subscribe to Guidable Japan
  Access to premium articles
  New article notifications
   Premium Q&A service available to get your questions answered