One of the largest differences between a Japanese 履歴書 and an academic CV in America is the inclusion of a section called 志望の動機(しぼうのどうき). As always, the internet is not the best informed about how this works. Madtokyo recommends "営業経験を活かして" where the 営業 would be substituted in our case to 大学で言語講師経験を活かして. But is there something better we can write here? Franchir Japan suggests a more direct but also brief example.
Japanese resources online and friends strongly disagree.Native Japanese-language resources prefer a paragraph-length answer and one that highlights why you are a fit (See http://www.chance.jobs/siboudouki/ and http://www.mensetsu-check21.net/douki.html). Among the different examples are prior business experience, life-long ambition, taking advantage of prior experience [non-business], part-time work experience, determination [to get a job], valuable experience in a different field, to improve skills, etc. This gives a feel for the common styles available.
One site even has an entire set of samples across the range for educators (http://www.chance.jobs/siboudouki/kyouiku.html) ranging from "I like little children" to "I've done something similar before (but left for reasons that don't sound bad)" to "This is my life-long ambition."
In my case, I want to convey the following:
(1) Prior experience teaching university courses in America at two universities.
(2) Interest in a future in university teaching in Japan.
My first shot at it was:
大学講師に携わり、私は二アメリカにある大学で経験があります。○○○大学で1学期のクリティカルシンキングの授業を講師しましたと○○○大学で８学期で各学期には授業の全部を担当しました。将来の志望は大学教授ので、○○○大学で英語を教えるのは経験を増やし日本人の英語能力を手伝える。
I had a friend take a look and he changed it to the following:
私はアメリカにある大学で講師の仕事に携わった経験があります。○○○大学で1学期のクリティカルシンキングの授業を講師として教え、○○○大学では4年間哲学と倫理の講師として働きました。将来は大学教授を志望しており、○○○大学の学生の英語能力の向上を手伝いながら、英語を教える経験を増やしたいと考えています。私は日本の学生に様々な価値観を手伝いと思っています。
But right now, it remains incomplete. My friend has made several helpful suggestions for how to make it better (on top of fixing the Japanese) that I will work on in the coming day or so. The most important point is to explain why you personally are a fit, and this current explanation does not make that plainly clear. A second feature that differs -- and was even more strong in his own 履歴書 (he is Japanese, presently earning a MS in Computer Engineering, and found gainful employment) -- is to express how this contributes to Japan. For a Japanese guy, this means using 私たち but for a foreigner this means using 日本 and for an academic specifically 日本の学生.
Note: It is also important to consider hand-writing applications as this shows a high degree of interest in Japan. Is it required of a foreigner? No, it basically is not, but it's good to remember that it shows a certain amount of effort has been put in. And in Japan, attendance (and high-effort low-value things) are seen as demonstrating just the sort of personality they want.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Monday, June 10, 2013
Success Tip #1: The Value of コネ
In looking for work anywhere, connections matter. When I was younger, I worked a summer for a company called Indy Office Solutions -- now Sharp mainly due to connections my parents had with the owners through church. This job paid pretty well for the times and was far better in terms of the type of labor.
At the same time, I probably would have been able to find something on my own. This is largely because the US job market for both academic positions and regular jobs is largely open. Real jobs are posted every day on Monster, craigslist, the CHE, and disciplinary websites like the apa-online and philjobs. And while I connections can give a boost, many people are hired entirely without connections involved.
Japan does have such a system -- for its own college graduates. While I hope to write more on this later, the Japanese system for higher education has only a passing resemblance to the American system from which I came. Based on the ranking of a student's university, they can find work and get interviews for open positions. The interview portions itself largely tests personality and the written 履歴書 evaluates the credentials and acts as a filter. Potential employees will be asked personal questions about whether they are married, how old they are, how long they plan on working for the company, and whether they have children. Also, the date of birth will appear and a picture (no matter the job type).
But I digress. As a foreigner trying to work in academia in Japan, you have zero access to this completely open employment system. The academic job market in Japan is ... rife with cronyism, jingoism, and little fiefdoms. Foreigners are shielded from some of this, but the job market still greatly depends on connections. Thus, a key task is to tell everyone you know that you are looking for work and put out the impression that you would be a pleasant (and competent) co-worker.
In my own case, I told my adviser and a friend who both teach here that I was looking. I did so by asking them for advice for the job search, but beyond mere advice, I was also asking so that they would know I want to find a job and provide me with connections if possible. Through this, I may have one opportunity to teach next semester on Mondays not too far away. While that's just one opportunity, every job that I currently do here has involved some initial hiring for one thing followed by expansion to other things.
At the same time, I probably would have been able to find something on my own. This is largely because the US job market for both academic positions and regular jobs is largely open. Real jobs are posted every day on Monster, craigslist, the CHE, and disciplinary websites like the apa-online and philjobs. And while I connections can give a boost, many people are hired entirely without connections involved.
Japan does have such a system -- for its own college graduates. While I hope to write more on this later, the Japanese system for higher education has only a passing resemblance to the American system from which I came. Based on the ranking of a student's university, they can find work and get interviews for open positions. The interview portions itself largely tests personality and the written 履歴書 evaluates the credentials and acts as a filter. Potential employees will be asked personal questions about whether they are married, how old they are, how long they plan on working for the company, and whether they have children. Also, the date of birth will appear and a picture (no matter the job type).
But I digress. As a foreigner trying to work in academia in Japan, you have zero access to this completely open employment system. The academic job market in Japan is ... rife with cronyism, jingoism, and little fiefdoms. Foreigners are shielded from some of this, but the job market still greatly depends on connections. Thus, a key task is to tell everyone you know that you are looking for work and put out the impression that you would be a pleasant (and competent) co-worker.
In my own case, I told my adviser and a friend who both teach here that I was looking. I did so by asking them for advice for the job search, but beyond mere advice, I was also asking so that they would know I want to find a job and provide me with connections if possible. Through this, I may have one opportunity to teach next semester on Mondays not too far away. While that's just one opportunity, every job that I currently do here has involved some initial hiring for one thing followed by expansion to other things.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
履歴書 Challenge #4: 資格 Understanding Japanese Ideas of Achievements and Expectation
Probably one of the most confusing areas for me at least is what to enter into the section for 資格 qualifications. The clearest piece of advice is to include your driver's license. In my case, as an American, I need to mention which state it is from (or I am choosing to do so on the off-chance that the interviewer or reviewer understands that this is a state by state matter in the United States:
アメリカのインディアナ州普通自動車第一種免許 取得
It does seem odd from an American perspective, but in Japan, earning a driver's license is part of a complex system of licensing. Many students fail the test multiple times and for some of them, it is the only experience they have of being scolded by others. To get a rough idea of what counts, look at this wikipedia entry on licenss: http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E3%81%AE%E8%B3%87%E6%A0%BC%E3%81%AB%E9%96%A2%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B%E4%B8%80%E8%A6%A7%E3%81%AE%E4%B8%80%E8%A6%A7 which gives all the licenses and this one http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E3%81%AE%E6%A4%9C%E5%AE%9A%E8%A9%A6%E9%A8%93%E4%B8%80%E8%A6%A7 which lists all of the different types of qualifications offered by organizations and their corresponding tests. To get a vague impression of how vast and encyclopedic the Japanese qualification system is, look at shikaku-king.com which has everything imaginable under the sun, the pass rates, the price, and all sorts of other details.
What else to include? I am not entirely sure, and I will update this entry as I get feedback. I've won several minor prizes at conferences and a major scholarship from the Japanese government. I also have exceptionally high test scores. On an American CV, it would be odd to list my GRE scores or my LSAT score as a holder of a PhD. In Japan, however, it seems that many 履歴書 include things like TOEIC scores or 英検 qualifications. Consequently, I am tentatively including some exceptional test scores in my CV to prove that I am not merely a native English speaker but (at a minimum) a highly effective test-taker.
Like the TOEIC and 英検, you should include the 日本語能力検定 if you have it. Before writing a 履歴書 and researching the process, I never could understand the point of the JLPT tests beneath 2 (or for that matter 2). The only thing that really seems to have great impact is the JLPT 1. But now, I can see why it may be worthwhile to take the lesser (and more easily passable) tests -- this provides at least some proven qualification of limited Japanese competency. Alas, it is too late to pursue the JLPT 2 for July. Instead, I hope to take the JLPT 1 in December.
Right now, I am planning on the following section:
アメリカのインディアナ州普通自動車第一種免許 取得
It does seem odd from an American perspective, but in Japan, earning a driver's license is part of a complex system of licensing. Many students fail the test multiple times and for some of them, it is the only experience they have of being scolded by others. To get a rough idea of what counts, look at this wikipedia entry on licenss: http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E3%81%AE%E8%B3%87%E6%A0%BC%E3%81%AB%E9%96%A2%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B%E4%B8%80%E8%A6%A7%E3%81%AE%E4%B8%80%E8%A6%A7 which gives all the licenses and this one http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E3%81%AE%E6%A4%9C%E5%AE%9A%E8%A9%A6%E9%A8%93%E4%B8%80%E8%A6%A7 which lists all of the different types of qualifications offered by organizations and their corresponding tests. To get a vague impression of how vast and encyclopedic the Japanese qualification system is, look at shikaku-king.com which has everything imaginable under the sun, the pass rates, the price, and all sorts of other details.
What else to include? I am not entirely sure, and I will update this entry as I get feedback. I've won several minor prizes at conferences and a major scholarship from the Japanese government. I also have exceptionally high test scores. On an American CV, it would be odd to list my GRE scores or my LSAT score as a holder of a PhD. In Japan, however, it seems that many 履歴書 include things like TOEIC scores or 英検 qualifications. Consequently, I am tentatively including some exceptional test scores in my CV to prove that I am not merely a native English speaker but (at a minimum) a highly effective test-taker.
Like the TOEIC and 英検, you should include the 日本語能力検定 if you have it. Before writing a 履歴書 and researching the process, I never could understand the point of the JLPT tests beneath 2 (or for that matter 2). The only thing that really seems to have great impact is the JLPT 1. But now, I can see why it may be worthwhile to take the lesser (and more easily passable) tests -- this provides at least some proven qualification of limited Japanese competency. Alas, it is too late to pursue the JLPT 2 for July. Instead, I hope to take the JLPT 1 in December.
Right now, I am planning on the following section:
年 月 免許・資格
平成10 10 アメリカの○○○州普通自動車第一種免許 取得
平成14 10 LSAT 162点 取得
平成18 8 GRE Verbal 760点 Quantitative 800点 Writing 6点 取得
平成17 12 ○○○大学 教育失格
平成23 5 ハワイイ大学の上広学会のベスト ペーパー賞品
平成24 10 日本政府（文部科学省）奨学金留学生 研究生 取得
The 教育資格 is a certificate I received from my MA institution for taking a teaching course. While I would not say I greatly valued the class, I would say I learned things in it and it is precisely the sort of thing that seems to make sense when comparing with Japanese example 履歴書.
履歴書 Challenge #3: 職歴 What to include?
The next challenge you will face in constructing a Japanese resume is learning what to include. Here, the basic rule is that you include only full-time employment. But I will ask if I am able to violate that rule to show that I have been teaching English in Japan. This will prove valuable for my employment here.
Other than that, the employment section is not especially challenging to fill out. For the line where you enter a job, you generally write 入社 (entered society -- as reaching employment means you have become a 社会人). When you leave work, you can explain this in a number of different ways:
(1) You can indicate that you "一身上の都合により退社" (i.e. have departed from the above organization [company] due to personal circumstances --> left for personal reasons).
(2) If you don't want to say why you left, then you can just say simply 退社
(3) If you want to explain that it was a downsizing,etc., the following phrases can be useful:
リストラ (restructuring)
解雇 (layoff)
If you go back to the same employer, add a line that says 再入社
For your current place of employ place a line beneath it that says: 現在に至る.
[HT: https://madtokyo.wordpress.com/category/get-a-job-in-japan/rirekisho-the-japanese-resume/ and
http://www.franchir-japan.co.jp/English_version/eigo_JapaneseCV.html
for helpful information on this part of the CV]
Other than that, the employment section is not especially challenging to fill out. For the line where you enter a job, you generally write 入社 (entered society -- as reaching employment means you have become a 社会人). When you leave work, you can explain this in a number of different ways:
(1) You can indicate that you "一身上の都合により退社" (i.e. have departed from the above organization [company] due to personal circumstances --> left for personal reasons).
(2) If you don't want to say why you left, then you can just say simply 退社
(3) If you want to explain that it was a downsizing,etc., the following phrases can be useful:
リストラ (restructuring)
解雇 (layoff)
If you go back to the same employer, add a line that says 再入社
For your current place of employ place a line beneath it that says: 現在に至る.
[HT: https://madtokyo.wordpress.com/category/get-a-job-in-japan/rirekisho-the-japanese-resume/ and
http://www.franchir-japan.co.jp/English_version/eigo_JapaneseCV.html
for helpful information on this part of the CV]
Friday, May 31, 2013
履歴書 Challenge #2: 学歴 Graduate School Entrance and Graduation are Written Differently
In my previous post, I explained that the way to enter an undergraduate degree can be confusing for those of us with an American educational background. Further problems can occur when entering your graduate degrees. Turns out that you don't 入学 or 卒業 from your graduate degrees. Instead, you 修士課程入学 into a master's degree and 修士課程終了 when you graduate. Similarly, you 博士課程入学 into a PhD and 博士課程終了 out of it. But in the case of a PhD, you enter it in the following format:
Note carefully that you write しゅうりょう using the right characters as there are two with slightly different meanings: 終了 which means completed as in done and 修了 which means finished (as in graduated).
| 平成18 | 1 | ○○○大学大学院文学研究科哲学専門 修士課程入学 | ||||||||||||
| 平成19 | 5 | ○○○大学大学院文学研究科哲学専門 修士課程修了 | ||||||||||||
| 平成19 | 9 | ○○○大学大学院文学学研究科哲学学専攻 博士課程入学 | ||||||||||||
| 平成25 | 5 | ○○○大学大学院文学学研究科哲学学専攻博士 課程修了（博士（哲学）） | ||||||||||||
Note carefully that you write しゅうりょう using the right characters as there are two with slightly different meanings: 終了 which means completed as in done and 修了 which means finished (as in graduated).
Thus, you express your field after stating that you have 修了した from your program. In my case, that means 哲学.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
履歴書 Challenge #1: 学歴 American Undergraduate Information
One of the first challenges I am facing now is writing a Japanese 履歴書. From what I gather, this matters a great deal. Unlike the free-flowing format of American CVs, the 履歴書 has a strict formula from which deviation is unwise. In fact, it has its own JIS standard template (meaning it has an ISO-like rigidity in the format). Thus, there are thousands of copies of similar files online. Many of the first few I tried did funking things with kerning and what not. Document formatting is broadly a lost art for the Japanese. Here's one: http://office.microsoft.com/ja-jp/templates/TC001057088.aspx.
But the challenge I want to write about is entering American academic information in your 履歴書. Here, the problem is that American universities and Japanese universities are structured quite differently. A Japanese undergraduate student has a 大学, a 学部, a 専攻, and a 学科 all of which have a particular meaning. While my Japanese friends translate these as their university, faculty, major, and specialization, it may be better to think of the 学部 as a college in the sense of the "college of arts and sciences" in American-style university. Alas, those of you who can count will recognize there are four things there.
In writing a U.S. CV, we generally specify only two university and major, i.e. just two things. Perhaps in rare cases, people will state the name of their college within the university, but this is broadly not done and comes across strangely. Further complicated things, I did a dual major as an undergraduate student. This is not possible in a normally structured Japanese university. The reason is that you join a faculty (学部) as a 二年生 or upon entry into university. You then pick a 専攻 within that faculty. And as a third year student you join a lab (研究室) or [professor's] seminar (ゼミ) and the research focus of that will be your 学科. Consequently, it makes no sense in a Japanese university to have two majors since your central work will be from one professor in a particular specialization of a particular major.
Thus, I face two problems: (1) I have only two things to write in four spaces and (2) I need to write two things in one space all at once. I have an undergraduate degree in Chemistry and Philosophy -- not a hybridization but two legitimate full majors as these are understood in American university. I spoke with a friend earlier today who suggested that I do the following to explain this:
I will update if that is not correct. But the solution he suggested worded simply is this, write each major on a separate line for graduation. And this is accurate. In my case, I first selected philosophy and then added chemistry (even though that was my plan all along).
But the challenge I want to write about is entering American academic information in your 履歴書. Here, the problem is that American universities and Japanese universities are structured quite differently. A Japanese undergraduate student has a 大学, a 学部, a 専攻, and a 学科 all of which have a particular meaning. While my Japanese friends translate these as their university, faculty, major, and specialization, it may be better to think of the 学部 as a college in the sense of the "college of arts and sciences" in American-style university. Alas, those of you who can count will recognize there are four things there.
In writing a U.S. CV, we generally specify only two university and major, i.e. just two things. Perhaps in rare cases, people will state the name of their college within the university, but this is broadly not done and comes across strangely. Further complicated things, I did a dual major as an undergraduate student. This is not possible in a normally structured Japanese university. The reason is that you join a faculty (学部) as a 二年生 or upon entry into university. You then pick a 専攻 within that faculty. And as a third year student you join a lab (研究室) or [professor's] seminar (ゼミ) and the research focus of that will be your 学科. Consequently, it makes no sense in a Japanese university to have two majors since your central work will be from one professor in a particular specialization of a particular major.
Thus, I face two problems: (1) I have only two things to write in four spaces and (2) I need to write two things in one space all at once. I have an undergraduate degree in Chemistry and Philosophy -- not a hybridization but two legitimate full majors as these are understood in American university. I spoke with a friend earlier today who suggested that I do the following to explain this:
| 平成11 | 9 | ○○○ 文学部哲学学科 入学 | |||||||||||||
| 平成15 | 5 | ○○○ 文学部哲学学科 卒業 | |||||||||||||
| 平成15 | 5 | 同上 科学部化学学科 卒業 | |||||||||||||
I will update if that is not correct. But the solution he suggested worded simply is this, write each major on a separate line for graduation. And this is accurate. In my case, I first selected philosophy and then added chemistry (even though that was my plan all along).
Failure #1: You Must have Your PhD in Hand
Initially, I won't be supplying the names or enough details to identify the applications. In large part, this is because the world of English-speaking academics in Japan is small, and my goal is not to alienate them or blame them for their hiring choices. But I do want to chronicle what I think went wrong in each application. To that end, I change some of the details but still convey the lesson that I learned from that failure.
I first applied for an amazingly good posting, tenure-track or tenured hires at a 国立 university. They were making several hires as part of a big push to expand their programs directed at international students (and as I later learned their programs directed at Japanese students). I was told there were approximately 40 applicants for two positions. These odds are not terrible considering several of the applicants may be unqualified or underqualified or incompetent as English speakers.
Moreover, the process was managed by a non-Japanese who had control (as far as I am aware) over the hiring decisions. I corresponded briefly with her about the positions and felt that while I was not a perfect match for the field they were hiring for that my background and experience might give me a shot -- especially since they expressed a desire to have several faculty with different skills that were complementary -- and with a PhD in philosophy how wouldn't it be complementary to their more likely choices?
But alas, my applications was not even considered. As a first measure to cull the amount of applications to consider, they skipped over everyone who was not PhD in hand. I myself was not at the time -- though I a now and took that as a lesson to move up my defense date. Unlike America where you can hold off and a letter is sufficient to explain to the committee that you will graduate, Japanese universities and hiring committees expect a PhD in hand at the time of application.
I first applied for an amazingly good posting, tenure-track or tenured hires at a 国立 university. They were making several hires as part of a big push to expand their programs directed at international students (and as I later learned their programs directed at Japanese students). I was told there were approximately 40 applicants for two positions. These odds are not terrible considering several of the applicants may be unqualified or underqualified or incompetent as English speakers.
Moreover, the process was managed by a non-Japanese who had control (as far as I am aware) over the hiring decisions. I corresponded briefly with her about the positions and felt that while I was not a perfect match for the field they were hiring for that my background and experience might give me a shot -- especially since they expressed a desire to have several faculty with different skills that were complementary -- and with a PhD in philosophy how wouldn't it be complementary to their more likely choices?
But alas, my applications was not even considered. As a first measure to cull the amount of applications to consider, they skipped over everyone who was not PhD in hand. I myself was not at the time -- though I a now and took that as a lesson to move up my defense date. Unlike America where you can hold off and a letter is sufficient to explain to the committee that you will graduate, Japanese universities and hiring committees expect a PhD in hand at the time of application.
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