“I want to work in Japan to gain experience and change jobs in search of an exciting environment to gain new skills and knowledge”. There are many foreign engineers who think so. However, even if you change jobs in Japan, you must go through a work visa procedure, if the type of activities remains the same.If you fail to do so, you will face a penalty. Therefore, I will explain in detail the work visa procedures required when changing jobs.How can foreign engineers change jobs in Japan?Currently, the job change market in Japan is booming. Especially in the IT field, where there is a remarkable shortage of human resources, we are continuing to hire a large number of engineers. The needs of foreign engineers are rising, driven by the wave of globalization and the number of companies that want to hire foreign engineers is increasing rapidly.However, not only engineers but also any other foreigner have to follow the predetermined procedures to change jobs. I will explain each possible case and what I would like you to pay attention when changing jobs to work in Japan for the long term. Please note that the required documents and procedures may differ depending on the job contents of the new job.【CASE.1】The job description of your next job will be exactly the sameWhat you need to be careful about when you change jobs is whether your job is different from the previous job. If you have exactly the same job content or are within the scope of your current status of residence, you can change jobs relatively smoothly.In that case, the necessary procedure is to carry out a “Notification of the change of employers” to the Immigration Bureau with the work visa residence card within 14 days after changing jobs. You can choose to notify by direct contact, mail or Internet.If you do not submit a notification, a fine of “200,000 yen or less” will apply. Alternatively, the next visa renewal will result in penalties such as shortening the period of stay. The company where you change your job will not do it for you, so go to the “Regional Immigration Bureau” or “Foreign Resident Information Center” and notify by yourself.【Reference】Ministry of Justice: “Notifications concerning activity organizations”【CASE.2】After changing jobs, I’m not sure if my work activities are within the scope of my visa.If the foreign engineer performs the same duties as the previous job at the new work place, there is no need to change the status of residence. However, the work visas you currently own are those visas for working in a company you previously worked for.For this reason, it cannot be stated whether or not the duties of a newly working company are recognized within the scope of activities of residence status.To get rid of those concerns, apply for a “working qualification certificate” at the regional immigration office. By applying to a work qualification certificate, you can check whether the current work visa corresponds to the job description of your new job. It will be issued after clearing the examination, so it is possible to be sure about your status and concentrate on the job.【CASE.3】I would like a job with a completely different job description.As you progress in your career as a foreign engineer, you may start thinking about new challenges. If you wish to change your job to a job outside the scope of activities defined by your status of residence, you must do your own “Application for Change of Status of Residence” by yourself before changing jobs.You can apply to that change at any time during the period of stay. However, if you change jobs outside of the scope before you get permission to change, you will be considered as doing an “activity other than that permitted under one’s resident status”. If this happens, you may not be granted permission to change your application and your status of residence may be revoked, so be sure to remember to apply for permission to change your status of residence.List of procedures and documents required for changing jobsA work visa allows foreigners to work in Japan and get paid. There are 18 types of status of residence that are allowed to work depending on the scope of activities.If you perform a job that is outside the scope of your work visa after changing jobs, you may be illegally employed. For this reason, it is necessary to have a firm understanding of the range of activities in which your status of residence is permitted. Although the contents mentioned above are included, we will explain each procedure and required documents.【No change of duties】 If the period of stay is 3 months or moreFirst of all, let’s check if there is no change in the job description and that the expiry date is not imminent. If your period of stay is more than 3 months, you will apply for a work qualification certificate from the Regional Immigration Bureau. It is possible to obtain a “working qualification certificate” by performing this application procedure. The work qualification certificate confirms whether the job description of the company you are working for falls within the defined scope of your visa.Obtaining a work qualification certificate reduces the risk that you will be assigned to work outside the scope of activities of your status of residence at your new job. Also, the procedure is almost the same as a normal application for renewal of period of stay. In addition, it is a major premise that there is no change in the job contents in the application, so let’s confirm it.＜Required documents for application for work qualification certificate＞Working qualification certificate application formTax certificate slip / retirement certificate of the company you worked for beforeA copy of the company’s registry, latest financial statements, company information, etc.Employment contract, letter of appointment, salary appointment letter.Employment NotificationWritten statement of reasonsPassport / resident card【Reference】Ministry of Justice: “Application for Certificate of Employment Qualification”＜How to prepare necessary documents＞Download application for work qualification certificate from the above siteRequest for issuance of Tax certificate slip and retirement certificate from the company where you worked.Issuance of Registry copy, financial statements, company information, employment contract, letter of appointment, salary appointment letter, employment notification / written statement of reasons at the company where the job was transferred.【No change of duties】 If the period of stay is less than 3 monthsWhen there is no change in the job description, but the change of job may be less than 3 months before the expiration date. In that case, “Application for Renewal of Residence Period” is required. You should attach the company information of the job change destination to the regional immigration office. Also, make sure that there is a risk that you will be forced to return to your home country if you are not allowed to stay in the company or if the new job description doesn’t meet the requirements.＜Application for permission to change status of residence＞Application form for renewal of period of stayPassport, original residence card and copyRecent Tax declaration certificate, Tax payment certification (resident tax) * In addition to the above required documents, the following documents are required.Tax certificate slip / retirement certificate of the company you worked for beforeA copy of the company’s registry, latest financial statements, company information, etc.(For companies that do not have financial results, the business plan for the next year, materials such as sales to date)Employment contract (documents that describe the activity, period, status, compensation, etc.)Written statement of reasons【Reference】Ministry of Justice: About “Application for Renewal of Residence Period” ＜How to prepare necessary documents＞“Application for Renewal of Residence Period” should be downloaded from the above site.Tax declaration certificate and tax payment certification must be issued at your local government office.Request for issuance of tax certificate slip and retirement certificate from the company where you worked.Issuance of Registry copy, financial statements, company information, employment contract, letter of appointment, salary appointment letter, employment notification and written statement of reasons at the company where the job was transferred.【In the case of change of duties】 application is required regardless of the period of stay.If your job is outside the scope of your current status of residence, you must apply for a “change of residence status” to the regional immigration office regardless of the period of residence. You do not need to apply for permission to change status of residence if your job is within the scope of your current status of residence. If you have a period of stay of more than 3 months, you should obtain a “working qualification certificate”.＜Application for permission to change status of residence＞Application for permission to change status of residenceTax certificate slip / retirement certificate of the company you worked for beforeA copy of the company’s registry, latest financial statements, company information, etc.(For companies that do not have financial results, the business plan for the next year, materials such as sales to date)Employment contract (documents that describe the activity, period, status, compensation, etc.)Written statement of reasonsPassport / resident card【Reference】Ministry of Justice: “Application for permission to change status of residence”＜How to prepare necessary documents＞Application for permission to change status of residence is downloaded from the above site.Request for issuance of tax certificate slip and/or retirement certificate of the company you worked for beforeCopies of registered books, financial statements, company guides, employment contracts and written statement of reasons are issued at the company where the job is changed.Consult with a professional if you are not sure of your work visaThere are various procedures and application documents for the first job change in Japan, and you may get confused. In order to alleviate those concerns one by one, it is very time consuming to search for the necessary procedures and documents for changing jobs.“There are too many necessary documents” “There are a lot of specialized words that I can’t understand”. One way to reduce this burden is to get professional support from those who are familiar with renewal procedures for work visas. How about considering a smooth job change?＜Supervision＞ACROSEED Inc.／佐野 誠（Makoto Sano）After graduating from university, engaged in administrative scrivener work specialized in hiring foreigners. In 2006, he was appointed as the representative of the current ACROSEED group with administrative scrivener corporation, social insurance labor corporation, and tax accountant corporation. He specializes in foreign employment consulting from large companies to small and medium-sized enterprises, and is good at residence procedures. In addition, he is engaged in consulting for highly licensed and highly licensed consulting and lectures on foreign employment. Providing professional services for foreigners and foreign-employed companies, with the mission of “Contributing to harmony and vitalization of Japanese society”.

“It’s difficult to write a resume in Japanese” “I don’t know how to write it because it’s my first time” “How important is a resume?” There may be many foreigners who think this way.In Japan, the resume is the standard for passing before continuing to the interview. That’s why you need to write your resume in correct Japanese, while following Japanese business manners.A resume can be called the first barrier. But, if you learn how to write it properly, anyone can create a high-quality resume.This article is for foreigners who do not know how to write resumes, such as basic information like name, address, education/work history, license/qualifications, motivation, hobbies / special skills, etc. Let’s carefully explain how to write a resume.If you are a foreigner who has trouble writing a Japanese resume, please use this text as a reference. Let’s aim to create a resume that makes people think: “I want to meet this person!”.Resume Writing RulesBefore you start writing your resume, there are writing rules that you should know first. The two most important rules are:①If you make a mistake, write a new resume.②Do not re-use resumes with the same content.In case of making a mistake in a handwritten resume, do not attempt to correct the mistake by crossing it out or using whiteout. Since it will give a bad impression, it’s better to rewrite it.You can avoid these mistakes by first drafting with a pencil and then writing above it with a black ballpoint pen. Recently, an increasing number of companies accept resumes created on computers. However, it is important to understand that there are still many companies to which resumes should be handwritten.It is also important not to re-use the same resume. People who work at companies are professionals at reviewing resumes. For this reason, if you use the same resume that was also used for another company, it won’t seem solid and will make difficult to communicate your motivation to join the company. Create a resume for each company. That is a vital point to pass the document screening.There are other writing rules. It is important to be careful with Japanese polite sentence closer, “masu” (-ます), “-desu” (-です), and to make sure that all the items are filled in and that there are no typographical mistakes or omissions.If you register on a career change website or to a career change service, you can rest assured that a reliable agent will check your resume.How to write a resume -basic information-Let’s understand how to write a resume while valuing the rules for writing a resume. First, I will explain how to write basic information on resumes.①DateEnter the date you will submit your resume, not the date you wrote your resume. In case of mailing the application, enter the mailing date. Please fill in the date of the interview if you are taking it to an interview. Also, let’s make compatible the year writing into either the Japanese calendar ex. 「令和X年」 or the Western calendar ex. 「20XX年」.②NameAlthough it is a name, write your name in the place where “氏名” is written. Make sure to leave a space between the last name and the name. In the furigana above the name field, enter “Hiragana” or “Katakana” according to your resume.To identify which one to write, use Hiragana if the word “Furigana” is written in Hiragana, and Katakana if the word “Furigana” is written in Katakana. In Japan, the family name is written in front and the first name is written behind.③Birth date and ageWrite it according to the calendar type that is written on the date of ①, “Japanese calendar” or “Western calendar”. Enter your current age at the time you submit or mail your resume.④Address and contact informationEnter the address without omitting zip code, prefecture, address, building name, and room number. Please fill in the Furigana correctly. If the contact address is the same as the address, enter “same as above”. If you would like to write another contact, do not omit it.⑤Phone number/email addressf you do not have a fixed phone, enter the mobile phone number only. Please enter your web e-mail address, not the mobile phone e-mail address. The company will contact you with the information listed here, so be sure not to make any mistakes.⑥PhotoMany foreigners may be wondering where to shoot. It is common to take photos for resumes at ID photo booths installed at train stations and photo studios.In that case, it is basic to shoot it with a black or blue suit and no hat. Paste the front photo (bust-up photo) taken within 3 months to your resume. When pasting, cut it into a size of 3cm wide x 4cm long, and paste it with glue.How to write a resume -Education History and Work History-①Education historyFirst of all, “Education History” is clearly stated in the center of the first line. The educational background will be written from the second line, the general rule is to write from the previous academic background.The final educational background is not “the last school you graduated” but “the highest educational institution”. For example, if you graduate from a university and enter a vocational school, the university has a higher standard as an educational institution, so you should write first “university” as previous academic background.The school name must be an official name. Please write properly department, major, major subject, etc. Enrollment and graduation years must be displayed the same as the date (Japanese or Western calendar). If you dropped out of school, indicate “dropped out”, and if you are currently in school, state “expected graduation”.②Work historyWrite a line below the academic background and specify “work history” in the center. In the order of the company where you worked, enter “year of hire, company name, type of industry, number of employees, concise job description” and “year of leave/reason for retirement”.If the reason for retirement is for personal reasons, specify “retirement due to personal reasons”, and if you retire due to dismissal, state “retirement due to company circumstances”. Also, if you are currently working, you have to state “Present”. Finally, write “End” in the last line.How to write a resume -Licenses and Certifications-“License/Qualification” is in principle the official name. Also, it is necessary to indicate the year of acquisition of each one correctly. It’s important to make sure to state at the top the license or qualification that can be used in the company you want to apply. If you have not acquired any, specify “None”.How to write a resume -Motivation/Reasons for application-In the resume, the “Motivation” field is the one that can promote yourself the most. It is important not to write a reason that you can use to apply to any company. You should investigate the company you want to apply, and to concretely write what kind of experience you have had, your skills, and what you want to do after joining the company.＜Example sentence＞I have a large experience in system design that goes from infrastructure to application. I hope that by making use of the know-how I have cultivated so far; I would be able to help you to promote global business development. I can speak English and Japanese. I want to drive the business to further accelerate your global expansion.＜Advice＞I’ll explain the difference between “Kisha” and “Onsha”, both meaning is “your company”.Kisha (貴社): Use this when writing resumes or emails.Onsha (御社): Use for interviews and business talks.Although it is a small detail, by remembering this, it can give a good impression by using it properly.How to write a resume -Hobbies/Special skills-Hobbies and special skills may become a topic in conversations with interviewers. For this reason, avoid “nothing in particular” or to leave it in blank. If your hobbies and special skills are related to your work, it will lead to appeal. Please try to include specific details. Also, please note that hobbies and feats that give negative impressions of gambling and crimes are better to avoid.＜Example sentence＞My hobby is futsal. I participate in a team with Japanese friends. I communicate in Japanese while enjoying playing the game. One of my special skills is DIY. I like to assemble things, to move my hands and make various things using my head. I often use and find useful this construction skill in system development situations.How to write a resume -Personal aspirations, Commuting, Marital Status-①Personal aspirationsClarify the desired job type. It is a rule of principle to state that your workplace, salary, and treatment can be according to the company regulations.②CommutingSpecify the commute time to the company and your nearest station. As a general rule, commuting time should be 90 minutes or less. If you live in a remote area or are coming to Japan, it is necessary to state that you will be able to commute without problem after joining the company. “最寄り駅” means the closest station from home.③Marital StatusForeigners who are married will circle “Yes” in the marital status field. If you are single, please circle “No”.Write a high-quality resume and work for a Japanese company of your choice!Many foreigners are reluctant to Japan’s resume. However, if you learn how to write it properly, you can create a resume that will interest companies.Let’s create a high-quality resume, by keeping correct Japanese expressions and Japanese business manners. As long as you write politely, you will have the chance to work for a Japanese company of your choice.

While the IT market is expanding globally with the emergence of new technologies such as AI and IoT, the shortage of IT engineers has become a serious issue in Japan. To solve this shortage of IT engineers, the Japanese government and companies are considering using foreign engineers’ abilities. In this article, we will explain the reasons of why foreign engineers are needed in Japan and the advantages and disadvantages of working in Japan.Why foreign engineers are needed in JapanIn recent years, many innovative IT technologies such as AI, IoT, blockchain and robots have appeared. Meanwhile, the demand for IT engineers is expanding as a business leader in response to the so-called “4th Industrial Revolution”. Despite this, the current situation is the lack of IT engineers in Japan.Japan’s shortage of IT engineers has become serious.Japan is aging with a declining birthrate and declining population at a much faster rate than other developed countries. While the demand for IT engineers is increasing, the number of new employees is decreasing, and the shortage of IT engineers will become more serious as the labor force decreases.According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, there is about 170,000 shortage of IT personnel (*) in 2015, compared to about 900,000. In the future, the gap between supply and demand will continue to widen, and by 2030 it is predicted that there will be a shortage of about 410,000 (optimistic) to about 790,000 (pessimistic) IT human resources. In particular, the information security field will have a shortage of 193,000 in 2020, and the AI, IoT, and big data fields will have a shortage of 48,000 people in 2020.Source：Ministry of Economy, Trade, Industry “Survey results on latest trends and future estimates of IT human resources”※“IT human resources” refers to “human resources belonging to the information system department of IT companies and user companies”The acquisition of foreign engineers is progressing.A simple way to solve the shortage of IT engineers in Japan is to increase the supply. For this reason, there is an active movement toward the acquisition of new engineers. Acquisition of female engineers and senior engineers are also progressing, but as mentioned above, there is a limit to increasing the supply of IT engineers only in Japan, where population decline is inevitable. Now, the acquisition of foreign engineers is progressing.More companies are actively hiring foreign engineers!Japan’s leading IT company “Rakuten” uses English as its official language and actively recruiting foreign engineers. Most of the members of the freeware app for instant communication “LINE” are foreign engineers; the company is established in Kyoto where the development base (LINE KYOTO) is located. It was reported that nearly 80% of the approximately 1,000 applicants were foreigners. In the e-commerce company app “Mercari”, nearly 90% of the 50 newly hired engineers were foreigners.In addition to these large companies, more and more companies are hiring foreign engineers in SMEs and venture companies.“Points-based System for Highly-Skilled Foreign Professionals ” to receive preferential treatment for immigrationIn Japan, the “Points-based System for Highly-Skilled Foreign Professionals” has started in 2012. The purpose of this system is to bring in talented people from overseas and revitalize Japan. By satisfying certain requirements, you can receive preferential treatment for immigration; IT talent like engineers are also eligible. The advanced human resource point system makes it easy for talented foreign engineers to work in Japan, and the number of given certifications is increasing year by year.>> Click here for details of the advanced human resources point systemNumber of foreign engineers working in JapanSource：Graph created based on the notification of foreign employment status (Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare)According to a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the number of foreign workers working in the information and communications industry in Japan is increasing year by year. In 2018, it was 57,620, an increase of about 5,000 compared to the previous year (52,038). Compared to 2008 (18,030 people), it has increased over three times.In terms of nationality, China has the largest number, followed by Korea, Vietnam, the United States, and the Philippines.Pros of working in Japan for foreign engineersAdvantage 01: Employment is stable.Although it is said that Japan’s particular employment practice of “lifetime employment” has collapsed, long-term employment practices remain in Japanese companies. Besides, there are few cases in which employees are dismissed at Japanese companies; unless there are serious violations of laws or contracts. The fact that employment is stable can be said to be a great advantage for foreign engineers who want to commit to the company for a long time.Advantage 02: Education system is in order.Many Japanese companies conduct extensive employee training on the premise of long-term employment. The contents of work and work processes are made into manuals, and Japanese companies are characterized by extensive training and OJT. For foreign engineers who want to utilize the learned skills and know-how acquired in Japan in their home countries, Japanese companies with a well-developed educational system are attractive.Advantage 03: Earn more money than in your home country.Many foreign engineers work in Japan to send money back to their home countries. Engineers’ salary levels vary from country to country, so it’s hard to say, but if Japanese salary levels are higher than your home country, working for a Japanese company should be a good choice.Advantage 04: Public medical insurance is fulfilling.As a general rule, foreigners working in Japan must pay insurance premiums and take out public medical insurance in the same way as Japanese. As a result, you can receive the same medical services as Japanese. Japan’s public health insurance system (universal public healthcare) is at the top level in the world. There are many countries where there is no system for public medical insurance or in many countries where the system has not yet matured, so there are many foreigners who feel that it is easy to use the full public medical insurance.Advantage 05: There are many attractive things: Culture, Security, and Infrastructure.In recent years, an increasing number of foreigners are interested in Japanese culture, manga, anime, Japanese food and traditional crafts. Many foreigners have the perception of “safety”, “good infrastructure”, “clean cities”, “friendly people” about Japan. Many foreign engineers choose to work in Japan to live in their favorite country.Cons of working in Japan for foreign engineersDisadvantage 01: Possible long working hours.For many years, long working hours have become normal in many Japanese companies, especially in the IT industry. While recent work style reforms have made working hours more appropriate, there are companies unable to reduce working hours. Foreign engineers may feel dissatisfied with overtime, low salaries or not having enough private time.Disadvantage 02: Some companies lack cross-cultural understanding.In Japan, the phrase “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” is used. This is one way of thinking, but if you go too far, both workers and employers may not be able to respect the differences between their cultures and lifestyles and may become a problem. When working in Japan, the point is whether you choose a company with a system that can accept different cultures.ConclusionJapanese companies, mainly in the IT industry, are working to hire foreign engineers to increase their competitiveness. Increasing numbers of companies are promoting the internationalization of the internal environment to accept foreign engineers. In the future, the environment where foreign engineers can work easily will improve, and the field where foreign engineers can play an active role will expand more and more.Big events in Japan like the 2019 Rugby World Cup, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games and the 2025 Osaka World Expo, are continuing to be held, and now Japan is attracting worldwide attention. Now that the whole country is showing great excitement, it is the best time for foreigners to work in Japan. If you like Japan and have aspirations to expand your career as an engineer, why don’t you try challenging to find a job or change your job in Japan?

At G Talent, our bilingual career advisors who are well versed in the IT industry will assist IT engineers from around the globe with their career change. We have many interesting stories to tell from our past candidates who were successful with their job hunting through our support and today we interviewed Mr. G.S to share his experience. Coming to Japan after building a career as an infrastructure engineer ―Could you briefly tell us about your background? After graduating from university, I worked for eight years at the same university as an infrastructure engineer. At the same time, I also worked as a freelancer for a biotech company in the Netherlands and took a part in a couple of start-ups in my local city. I was responsible for building pipelines and automating different parts of infrastructure, as well as operating and maintaining Linux servers as a Linux engineer.To be able to grow faster I wanted to work in a larger team and also wanted to try different areas, so I started working in a hosting company with a team of great SRE engineers. I worked there for a year before coming to Japan in May 2022. It was a meaningful time for me. I can definitely say that I learned a lot during that time. ―What made you decide to work in Japan in the first place? My wife is Japanese. We met in Russia and lived there for quite some time, but we wanted to try living in another country. New Zealand was initially on the top of our list of places to move to, but after some discussion, we decided to try moving to Japan, my wife’s home country.  Reliable, considerate, and supportiveThat’s how my career consultant was like at G Talent ―Could you tell us why you chose G Talent?Actually, I was not actively looking for a job when we first came to Japan in May 2022 because I had a part-time job. But after living in Japan for a while, I decided to open my profile on LinkedIn. Various recruitment agencies immediately contacted me, including G Talent, which I already knew as a professional IT recruitment agency that helps foreign IT engineers find professional jobs in Japan. What was really appealing to me about G Talent was the professionalism of the career consultant who contacted me. As an IT-savvy bilingual career consultant, she paid close attention to my experience and desire to find a job that would allow me to make the most of my skills in Japan. This is the main reason I decided to register with G Talent. She answered my questions carefully, one by one, and was very considerate and supportive. Because of her, I was able to move forward with my job change with peace of mind. Thanks to all her efforts and support, I was able to find the perfect company for myself. Inspiring passionate team members and the company’s future vision ―What factors made you decide to join the current company?Out of four companies that I received offers from, I chose the one that is a leader in its area and has a team of very passionate engineers. I met with them in person and found them to be very friendly. I also thought the relaxed atmosphere in the office suited me.Another major factor was that the company’s technical direction matched the skill areas I wanted to enhance from then on. I signed on with them on September 1, 2022, thinking that the company would enable me to grow further as an engineer while learning new technologies.―Tell us about your current job and work environment.As a Linux Server Engineer, I am primarily responsible for the maintenance of Linux servers. If there are any additional management requests or user issues which need to be resolved, working closely with my team members, I also help in identifying potential issues.The current company introduces a hybrid work style that combines working from home with coming to the office. Currently, I work from home once a week and come to the office four days a week. But starting next year, I will be working from home three days a week and coming to the office only two days a week. The company’s official language is Japanese, including most of the documents. So, it is sometimes a little difficult for me because my Japanese is not very good yet. However, whenever I don’t understand something, people around me explain it in English. Thanks to their support, I have been able to proceed with my work smoothly. Before joining the company, I met with my current team and was told, “Language is not a problem. You can always communicate in English if you have difficulty with Japanese.”. Our team has non-Japanese members, including myself. We communicate with each other using whatever language (English or Japanese) is suitable at the time. We also have a lot of interaction within the team, such as going out to eat sushi together after work.In terms of living, Japan and Russia have many cultural differences, so I had to get used to that. It was fun to learn new things one at a time. It has been about eight months since we moved to Japan, and I have been enjoying a fulfilling life with a good work-life balance. Dedicated to further growth as an engineer ―Where do you see yourself in the future?I think there are two main career paths for IT engineers. One can either switch to management after gaining experience, or specialize in a particular field as an engineer. From now on, I aim to grow as an engineer by acquiring various new skills and knowledge, rather than driving the team as a project manager. Although I don’t have a specific goal, I want to develop my skills in automation, virtualization and cloud, and eventually become an engineer well-versed in those areas. The company provides us with access to an online learning platform where we can learn the skills we want to acquire through videos, and I plan to use it proactively.ーFinally, do you have a message for foreign IT engineers considering a career in Japan?Based on my experience, I can tell you that G Talent is one of the most reliable recruitment agencies for finding jobs in Japan’s IT industry. As I mentioned earlier, their career consultants carefully pay attention to your experience and desires, and evaluate the company culture, desired conditions, and other fine details to find the optimal match for you. You don’t have to be afraid if you’re not good at Japanese. There are more options to leverage your abilities than you can imagine. So, just follow your passion! After the interview What did you think? We hope that this article will be of help to those who are looking for a new career in Japan, and for those who are currently working in Japan, considering a career change.G Talent/GitTap supports global talents with their job search. Please click the banner below to learn more about our services. Please feel free to contact us as well.

At G Talent, our bilingual career advisors who are well versed in the IT industry will assist IT engineers from around the globe with their career change. We have many interesting stories to tell from our past candidates who were successful with their job hunting through our support and today we interviewed Mr. K.H to share his experience. “I wanted to acquire advanced skills from the leading source of technological advancement in Asia.” ―Could you briefly tell us about your background? After graduating from a Bangladeshi university, I came to Japan in May 2006 and studied Japanese at a Japanese language school in Hyogo Prefecture for two years. This was followed by further education at an IT vocational school, and in 2014, I graduated from the Graduate School of Applied Information Science at Hyogo Prefectural University.In April of that year, I joined a company in the same prefecture and worked as a web director for two years. In 2016, I wanted to further utilize the skills and knowledge I had cultivated, so I moved to a system development company based in Ibaraki Prefecture, where I was involved in web application development for about six years. In October 2022, I joined a company that provides technical human resource services. ―What made you decide to work in Japan in the first place? I first became interested in Japan when I learned about Japanese culture at school as a child. I often wondered what kind of country it would be like. The main reason I decided to come to Japan was very simple – I wanted to acquire advanced skills from the leading source of technological advancement in Asia.Japan and Bangladesh have completely different cultures, so I had a very difficult time acclimating to the new living environment. In the beginning, the hardest part was the food. As I’m a Muslim, I don’t eat any pork or drink any alcohol. But just before leaving for Japan, I was disappointed to hear from a friend that there are many foods in Japan that contain pork. During the first three days, I could not eat anything. After that, I subsisted only on milk and bread until I adjusted to my situation. After living in Japan for almost 17 years, this experience has become a fond memory. Nothing is more reassuring than receiving support from an IT-savvy professional in both languages ―Could you tell us why you chose G Talent?I found out about G Talent when I was starting to think about changing jobs, and I looked at its website. I was very interested to know about the support I would receive from their bilingual career consultants who are well-versed in the IT industry. I have lived in Japan for a long time, but since Japanese is not my mother tongue, I sometimes have difficulty in understanding when it comes to complicated topics. There are times communicating in English is so much easier. I thought it would be a great help if I could get support in both languages, so, I decided to contact them.The career consultant at G Talent exceeded my expectation. Not only did she explain everything in detail switching between Japanese and English depending on my level of understanding, she was also able to read between the lines and showed a deep understanding of what I was trying to say. I was pleasantly surprised, and at the same time, I decided to register with G Talent, thinking that with her support, I could proceed with my career move with confidence.I was also grateful for the fact that she remembered me even after a period of time had passed.　To tell you the truth, I had my first meeting with her in February 2021 and was referred to several companies for interviews, but I had to pass on the opportunity as we couldn’t reach an agreement for several reasons. After that, I took a break from career change for a while. However, when I received a New Year’s greeting e-mail from her, I made a promise to myself, “In 2022, I will definitely work on a career move once again”. When I called her a while later, there was another surprise. Even though it had been more than six months since we last spoke, she remembered me immediately, just by giving my name, and I was so thrilled. It made me even more determined to do my best. Subsequently, I managed to get an official job offer from the company I wanted to join. It happened only two months after the phone call. Thanks to her extraordinary support, everything went so smoothly this time. The decisive factors were: a work environment that allows skill improvement & work location ―What factors made you decide to join the current company?Among the job offers that I received from three companies, I decided to join the current company that focuses on the technical human resource services business for two reasons. First, the company could provide an environment where I could enhance my skills and knowledge in the software field while making use of them.Another deciding factor was the work location, which also affected my decision t change jobs. There was no international school for my five-year-old child in the vicinity of my former workplace and home. I did a lot of research and found a suitable school in Kanagawa Prefecture that I really wanted to send my child to. It would be great to move and work for a company near there if possible, and surprisingly, G Talent’s career consultant found me a perfect position that matched my background and skills in the same area. With a lot of luck coupled with happy coincidences, I was finally able to join my current company.―Tell us about your current job and work environment.I am currently working as a reverse engineer and have two main roles. One of them is to convert an existing desktop application into a web application. The other is to decipher the desktop application program and create a basic design document in Japanese.Basically, every application has a basic design document, and engineers use it as a basis for coding and other tasks. But this desktop application doesn’t have one. I never thought I would be in charge of this project, and it is so challenging to write everything in Japanese, but I am finding it very rewarding. In parallel with these tasks, I also share the knowledge of web applications that I acquired through previous jobs for many years with other IT engineers.I am very satisfied with the work environment. Employees are friendly and helpful, and if I have any questions or concerns, they are always willing to be of assistance. I am especially grateful to my boss, the group leader, for taking great care of me from day one so that I can work with peace of mind. As for working style, each employee can decide at his own discretion. I like the fact that I can flexibly make my own decisions, such as coming to the office if I want to and working from home if I prefer to do so. Aiming to be an IT engineer who can complete the entire software development process alone ―Where do you see yourself in the future?As an IT engineer specializing in software, my primary goal is to be able to complete the entry-exit process of software development on my own. In the future, I would also like to work for a Japanese company that is expanding into the global market.What I find attractive about Japanese companies is that the people working there all have a spirit of harmony. People at ｔhe Japanese companies I have worked for so far have all fostered an attitude of mutual respect for differences in position and values while working together to achieve a common goal. I thought it was wonderful that even when cleaning the office, the CEO himself proactively participated in the activity with employees.I would like to take the next step when I am able to fulfill my duties at my current company and make significant progress as an IT engineer. At that time, I would be happy to consult with the career consultant at G Talent again.ーFinally, do you have a message for foreign IT engineers considering a career in Japan?When you catch a cold or feel unwell, you go to the hospital. If you don’t describe your symptoms, the doctor will not be able to determine the cause. The same is true of the relationship between a recruitment agency and a job seeker. If you don’t tell the truth about your skills and background, there will be a mismatch between you and the company, and this could lead to a major problem. I think the first step to a successful job change is to draw a clear line between what you can do and what you cannot do, and to present your true self without trying to make yourself look good. At the same time, I think it is very important to clarify what you want to do in your new job and tell your career consultant about that. After the interview What did you think? We hope that this article will be of help to those who are looking for a new career in Japan, and for those who are currently working in Japan, considering a career change.G Talent/GitTap supports global talents with their job search. Please click the banner below to learn more about our services. Please feel free to contact us as well.

At G Talent our bilingual career advisors who are well versed in the IT industry will assist IT engineers from around the globe with their career change. We have many interesting stories to tell from our past candidates who were successful with their job hunting through our support and today we interviewed Mr. M.H to share his experience. Seeking a place to demonstrate and further enhance his skills and abilities ―Could you briefly tell us about your background? After graduating from Mawlana Bhashani Science & Technology University in Bangladesh with a Bachelor of Science (Engg.) degree in Information & Communication Technology, I started working at a domestic company as an iOS engineer in 2013. I worked for several companies in Bangladesh for about five years. After that, I received an offer from a Japanese company and came to Japan for the first time in 2019. My stint with that company lasted for two years. I then made a career move to another Japanese company and lived and worked in Fukuoka city for some time. However, I had to make a hasty decision to leave the company and return to Bangladesh temporarily for some of my personal family-related issues.Fortunately, I received an offer from another Japanese company around the same time. It was a short-term contract that allowed me to work remotely from my home country, so I worked for them for about 8 months. In 2022, I decided to return to Japan and seek new employment, and in November of the same year, I moved to a Japanese fintech company where I am working now. ―What made you decide to work in Japan in the first place?  The reason why I choose Japan in the first place is that there are far more opportunities for IT engineers than in my home country. Recently, there have been some new developments, such as a Japanese firm launching a software company, but the IT industry itself in Bangladesh is not that large at this point. I chose to work in Japan because I was seeking a place where I could demonstrate and further enhance my skills and abilities. Working in tandem with the career consultant to create a new career path ―Could you tell us why you chose G Talent?I have heard that some recruitment agencies do not understand the details of the positions that companies are looking for and end up contacting candidates who are not a good match. The career consultant at G Talent was completely different. She scrutinized my profile on LinkedIn before contacting me and fully grasped my experience and skills, thus finding the optimal position that would allow me to make full use of them. I felt confident that I could rely on G Talent and decided to register with them right away. I felt like it was destiny calling because I received the email from the career consultant about the same time I returned to Japan. She was very supportive and responded to my questions in a timely manner. It was like I was working in tandem with her on planning my career path, which was very reassuring, and I am grateful for that. Moved by appealing work environment & business areas with great potential ―What factors made you decide to join the current company?I received offers from three companies, including one that provides QR code payment services and another that sells a mobile messenger application. I chose the fintech company with cryptocurrency as its core business for two main reasons. First, the friendly and comfortable work environment that I was able to perceive through the personality of the person who interviewed me. This man, who is now my boss, was positive, friendly, cooperative, and very pleasant to talk to. I felt that his character reflected the atmosphere within the company. Second, I thought that by joining the company, I would be able to create something new by utilizing my expertise and skills. In the fintech industry, which has been growing rapidly in recent years, cryptocurrency requires extremely advanced technology to ensure strong security. It is a field with great potential, not only in terms of business growth, but also in terms of dramatic technological advancement.I never imagined that I would be involved in cryptocurrency, but it has always been my hidden desire to work in a field where I can enhance my technical skills by tackling difficult issues. I am very happy that my dream has come true through this new job.―Tell us about your current job and work environment.I am currently working as an iOS engineer, while also taking on the role of managing the team. I am also involved in the hiring of engineers and interviewing candidates on a weekly basis. In addition, I actively participate in meetings where the company makes decisions.The work environment is just fantastic and far exceeds my expectations before joining the company. At work, we are encouraged to come up with and develop new ideas and try them out on a trial basis. The development team members and all the other employees are very supportive and friendly, while the company itself is a great place to work. What I find wonderful about this company is the culture of mutual respect and care for each other as individuals, which transcends the relationship between company and employee, or boss and subordinate. I am especially grateful to my boss, who was very understanding of my decision to continue working from Fukuoka. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, but I had been used to working in Fukuoka since my previous job, and I wanted to continue living there if possible. When I discussed this with my boss, he suggested, “Then how about working remotely from Fukuoka?”.I joined the company in November 2022, and for the first week, I stayed in Tokyo and worked in the office. After that, I started working from home in Fukuoka. Daily communication with my boss and team members is done via Slack. 40% of our engineers can speak English, so we communicate in English at meetings. Some Japanese members are not very good at English, so we sometimes use translation tools to communicate with them. Making steady progress in career at the current company ―Where do you see yourself in the future?I am very satisfied with my current company, including the salary and benefits provided, and would like to work there for a long time. I would also like to improve my skills as an IT engineer, and in the future, advance my career and become a manager. I believe that in the not-too-distant future, cryptocurrency will become a new standard comparable to currencies such as the Japanese yen, US dollar, and Euro. Even in the stock market, I expect that many people will be interested in investing in it as well. The company I work for now is one of the leading firms in this field in Japan, and I am confident that we will eventually become the top company. I am determined to strive for a bright future with them.In my spare time, I run a community for university students in Bangladesh remotely, where I teach programming for free for an hour every Saturday. I teach them how to prepare for job interviews as well since they are aiming to work as IT engineers for companies in Asia like Japan, Singapore and USA, Europe after graduation. I would definitely recommend G Talent to any competent person who is looking for a job in Japan.ーFinally, do you have a message for foreign IT engineers considering a career in Japan?Regardless of your field of expertise, years of experience as an IT engineer is just a number, and it is meaningless unless it is accompanied by skills that you can be proud of. This is something I always try to keep in mind, and I always remember to keep on learning and working to improve my skills. Another important thing is not to chase after rewards. I can tell you from experience that as long as you continue to grow, the rewards will follow. If you are willing to take on new challenges and improve yourself, I am sure you will find a job that is perfectly suited for you. After the interview What did you think? We hope that this article will be of help to those who are looking for a new career in Japan, and for those who are currently working in Japan, considering a career change.G Talent/GitTap supports global talents with their job search. Please click the banner below to learn more about our services. Please feel free to contact us as well.

At G Talent, our bilingual career advisors who are well versed in the IT industry will assist IT engineers from around the globe with their career change. We have many interesting stories to tell from our past candidates who were successful with their job hunting through our support and today we interviewed Mr. H.W to share his experience. Studied NLP while working as a support engineer ―Could you briefly tell us about your background? I majored in computer science at a university in China. After graduation, I came to Japan to study NLP (natural language processing) in the master’s program at Waseda University and received my master’s degree in March 2022. As for research on NLP, I worked on the theme of “how to turn difficult sentences such as academic papers into simple sentences at the level used in daily conversation” and developed a text generation model.Wanting to acquire not only skills as an IT engineer but also business skills necessary for practical work, I accepted a job as a support engineer for a foreign telecommunications equipment manufacturer for a year while I was still in school. I was in charge of the entire process from inquiries from major telecommunications carriers about router malfunctions and other problems to analyzing and identifying the causes and reporting them to the client in cooperation with overseas IT engineers.I was responsible for a number of projects that rivaled those of my seniors on the team, and I started my career move when my most challenging project was successfully completed. Consequently, I met with G Talent and was introduced to Japan’s leading AI company, and I have been working as an AI engineer at that firm since August 2022. ―What made you decide to work in Japan in the first place? The first reason was language. When I was a second-year high school student, I became interested in the Japanese language and started studying on my own. I continued my studies and in my first year of college, I took the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) and was able to pass the N1, the most difficult level. I then decided to come to Japan to study NLP at a Japanese university while making use of my language skills.I have been living in Japan for four years now, and I was surprised at times in the beginning because the culture and business practices are different from those in China. For example, Japanese companies are paid after developing and providing products and services, but in my county, payment is generally made in advance. I sometimes imagined that if I were to run a company in Japan, it would be difficult to manage cash flow. A job offer in just two weeks and efficient support ―Could you tell us why you chose G Talent?I learned about G Talent while doing research on job transferring. I was very interested in G Talent because the company could introduce carefully selected vacancies at global and venture companies to people like myself who are seeking an opportunity in Japan. It all started when I contacted them, the job-transferring agency for high-class global engineers.I sent an email and was surprised to receive an immediate reply from a career consultant. As we continued to communicate with each other, she always responded promptly, which was very reassuring. After paying close attention to my experience, skills, and desires, she introduced me to the most suitable company. Thanks to her efficient support, I was able to receive an official job offer within a short period of two weeks. Encountering the optimal company where he can use all his acquired skills ―What factors made you decide to join the current company?I strongly felt that the AI company was the best possible place for me because I could leverage my knowledge in NLP, programming skills, and the business skills I had cultivated in the field. I was deeply moved by the company’s vision of realizing a future society where everyone can share values through universal design that combines natural language processing, speech recognition, and image analysis technologies with data structuring technology. I have been able to apply the various business skills I acquired in my previous job, such as how to work in a team, report writing skills, and customer relation skills, to practical use. I am happy to be working for a company that promotes the research and development of cutting-edge AI technologies.―Tell us about your current job and work environment.As an AI engineer, I am involved in the development of our company’s unique high-precision information search service. Let’s suppose that there is a natural question such as “What kind of services does G Talent offer?”. With this service, you can get an answer that collects and processes highly similar information from accumulated knowledge and information.If the answer derived by the AI does not meet your expectations, you can also navigate the pull-down menu of the response rankings to find the next possible answer. It’s a completely new service, so there are a lot of things to do, such as learning new knowledge and applying it to practical work. However, it’s the only area I want to master further in the future, and besides, I enjoy the hard work as well.In terms of working styles, except for meetings with clients, we basically work remotely. The location and hours of work are left to the discretion of each individual, so I am able to work in a very flexible manner. I am currently having a relationship with a Japanese woman, and she has a job that requires her to take weekdays off. In order to make time to spend together, I often take weekday afternoons off and work on weekends instead. My immediate goal is to improve NLP skills ―Where do you see yourself in the future?My main goal is simply to hone my NLP skills, and when I am able to grow further as an IT engineer, I would like to advance my career to the next stage.On a personal note, I have not been back to China in the four years since I came to Japan, and I hope to return with my girlfriend soon for a trip. Just as I chose to study in Japan because of my interest in the Japanese language, she is studying Chinese and has a strong interest in Chinese culture. Depending on her wishes, we may move to China in the future. Having met someone I want to share my life with, I am even more motivated to work, and I am able to spend my days fulfilled both professionally and personally.  After the interview What did you think? We hope that this article will be of help to those who are looking for a new career in Japan, and for those who are currently working in Japan, considering a career change.G Talent/GitTap supports global talents with their job search. Please click the banner below to learn more about our services. Please feel free to contact us as well.

Because of the rapid growth of the IT industry, as well as population decrease, the demand for IT engineers in Japan is increasing day by day. This means that international engineers who wish to work in Japan are likely to have many job opportunities.Nevertheless, because of the language and cultural barriers, it is often not easy for international engineers to find the right company in Japan. This article will introduce you to the rankings of tech companies in Japan, which will help you find the best companies to work for, as well as help you learn the trends.The tech companies with the highest growth rate in Japan in 2021This is the ranking of the tech companies that have the highest growth rate in 2021 in Japan, according to Deloitte.Many of these companies are actively hiring new employees, and are experienced in international recruitment. If you find a company that interests you, do not hesitate to contact them.RankCompany NameInternational Recruitment History*1BE AIRー2Spartyー3SheepMedical〇4AI inside〇5HOPEー6YAMAPー7Crunch Styleー8zig-zag〇About 30 % of the employees. Official language in the engineering department is English9stmnー10AmaziaーReference：Deloitte（https://www2.deloitte.com/jp/ja/pages/about-deloitte/articles/news-releases/nr20211214.html）※Companies that mention international recruitment on their official websites (June, 2022)：SheepMedical (https://www.sheepmedical.com/recruit)AI inside (https://inside.ai/career/)zig-zag (https://www.zig-zag.co.jp/recruit/202201-backendengineer/)The companies offering the highest annual salariesFor many job seekers, salary is one of the most important things to consider when choosing a company to work for.These rankings show the companies offering the highest annual salaries in the system integration sector, the AI sector, and the SaaS sector.System IntegrationRankCompany NameAverage Annual Salary (M)International Recruitment History*1Nomura Research Institute1,225ー2Information Services International-Dentsu1,047〇18 international employees（December, 2021）3SRA Holdings1,033ー4Kudan1,022ー5Mitsubishi Research Institute1,009ー6ITOCHU Techno-Solutions933〇7OBIC933ー8HITACHI890〇About 10 % of the employees (April, 2021)。Aiming to exceed 30%, by 2030.9FUJITSU865〇475 international employees（2020）10KOZO KEIKAKU ENGINEERING860〇39 international employees (June, 2021)Reference：業界動向サーチ（https://gyokai-search.com/）※Companies that mention international recruitment on their official websites (June, 2022)：Information Services International-Dentsu（https://www.isid.co.jp/sustainability/data.html）ITOCHU Techno-Solutions（https://www.ctc-g.co.jp/company/sustainability/reports/document/CTC_CSR_10_all.pdf）HITACHI（https://www.hitachi.co.jp/New/cnews/month/2021/04/0420.pdf）FUJITSU（https://www.fujitsu.com/jp/about/csr/esgdata/social/）KOZO KEIKAKU ENGINEERING（https://www.kke.co.jp/corporate/organization/）AIRankCompany NameAverage Annual Salary (M)International Recruitment History*1ExaWizards814〇2AI inside776〇20% of the employees3MetaReal730〇9% of the employees4BrainPad721ー5PKSHA Technology714ー6FRONTEO705〇About 53% of the employees in the group7Neural Pocket684〇8Silver Egg Technology677〇9HEROZ668ー10Morpho666ー参照：業界動向サーチ（https://gyokai-search.com/）※Companies that mention international recruitment on their official websites (June, 2022)：ExaWizards（https://exawizards.com/team/member）AI inside（https://note.inside.ai/n/n7f06a5d87a17）MetaReal（https://www.metareal.jp/recruit/metareal-style/#figure）FRONTEO（https://www.fronteo.com/corporate/locations/）Neural Pocket（https://www.neuralpocket.com/recruit.html）Silver Egg Technology（https://www.silveregg.co.jp/archives/recruit/2239）SaaSRankCompany NameAverage Annual SalaryInternational Recruitment History*1PLAID887ー2SCALA886〇3Asteria834〇4Uzabase797ー5TeamSpirit757〇6Property Data Bank755ー7freee705ー8HENNGE704〇9SRE Holdings697ー10OBIC BUSINESS CONSULTANTS686ーReference：業界動向サーチ（https://gyokai-search.com/）※Companies that mention international recruitment on their official websites (June, 2022)：：SCALA（https://scalagrp.jp/ir/esg/）Asteria（https://www.asteria.com/）TeamSpirit（https://www.teamspirit.com/ja-jp/blog/entry/b-20191125.html）HENNGE（https://hennge.com/jp/ir/images/202011161500.pdf）The largest tech companies by revenueRevenue is another important factor when choosing a company to work for. These are the rankings of the companies that have the largest revenue in the field of system integration, AI, and SaaS. System integrationRankCompany NameInternational Recruitment History*1FUJITSU〇475 international employees（2020）2NEC〇251 international employees(2020) 3NTT DATA〇About 10% of the employees in the group(2022)4HITACHI〇About 10% of the employees in the group(April, 2021)。Aiming to exceed 30% by 20305OTSUKA CORPORATIONー6Nomura Research Instituteー7ITOCHU Techno-Solutions〇8TIS〇155 international employees（2020）9SCSK〇42 international employees（April, 2020） 10BIPROGY〇Reference：業界動向サーチ（https://gyokai-search.com/）※Companies that mention international recruitment on their official websites (June, 2022)：FUJITSU（https://www.fujitsu.com/jp/about/csr/esgdata/social/）NEC（https://jpn.nec.com/csr/ja/data/index.html）NTT DATA（https://www.nttdata-gsl.co.jp/recruit/company/vision/）HITACHI（https://www.hitachi.co.jp/New/cnews/month/2021/04/0420.pdf）ITOCHU Techno-Solutions（https://www.ctc-g.co.jp/company/sustainability/reports/document/CTC_CSR_09_all.pdf）TIS（https://www.tis.co.jp/documents/jp/ir/finance/annual_report/ar2020_05.pdf）SCSK（https://www.scsk.jp/corp/csr/diversity.html）BIPROGY（https://biprogy.disclosure.site/ja/themes/107）AIRankCompany NameInternational Recruitment History*1FRONTEO〇About 53% of the employees in the group2Appier Group〇3Preferred Networksー4PKSHA Technologyー5BrainPadー6AI inside〇20% of the permanent employees7Double Standardー8Advanced Mediaー9MetaReal〇9% of the employees10ALBERTー参照：業界動向サーチ（https://gyokai-search.com/）※Companies that mention international recruitment on their official websites (June, 2022)：FRONTEO（https://www.fronteo.com/corporate/locations/）Appier Group（https://www.appier.com/ja-jp/about）AI inside（https://note.inside.ai/n/n7f06a5d87a17）MetaReal（https://www.metareal.jp/）SaaSRankCompany NameInternational Recruitment History*1Sansan〇2Cybozu〇3RAKUSー4Money Forward〇5freeeー6EM SYSTEMSー7Appier Group〇8Info Martー9OBIC BUSINESS CONSULTANTSー10SMSーReference：業界動向サーチ（https://gyokai-search.com/）※Companies that mention international recruitment on their official websites (June, 2022)：Sansan（https://jp.corp-sansan.com/mimi/2020/05/ocean-02.html）Cybozu（https://cybozushiki.cybozu.co.jp/casestudy/oneteam/）Money Forward（https://recruit.moneyforward.com/member/interview/0007）Appier Group（https://www.appier.com/ja-jp/about）SummaryData of companies’ growth rate, revenue, and the average annual salary helps to find the right company. In addition, you are more likely to land a position by getting in touch with the companies that already have experience in international recruitment.Bizmates, Inc. offers services that connect international engineers and companies that are actively hiring international IT engineers.GitTap is a job platform for international IT engineers who wish to work in Japan. All companies on the platform are actively hiring international IT engineers. Many of the most highly respected companies in Japan are using GitTap, including ExaWizards, which offers the highest salary in the AI sector.Browse jobs on GitTap G Talent is an employment agency for international IT engineers who wish to work in Japan. Bilingual consultants who specialise in the IT sector will introduce you to appropriate jobs that match your skills and experiences. To register the service, please visit the page below. Register on the platform 

There is a serious shortage of IT engineers in Japan. Engineers needed the most include cyber security, machine learning and cloud engineers. For international IT engineers who wish to work in Japan, there are more opportunities in these sectors.Moreover, language requirements and cultural etiquette are less important in these sectors. Learn IT skills in demand, and land a job that offers attractive working conditions and pays well. Read this article in Japanese. IT skills in demand in Japan in 2022 Cyber security The demand for cyber security engineers is significantly increasing. In 2021, the domestic market value was 1,135.7 billion yen with a growth rate of 13.4%. The growth rate is projected to increase, given the acceleration of remote work and the current social conditions. If you are a security engineer, you are likely to have many job opportunities in Japan.   Useful certifications for security engineersRegistered Information Security Specialist Examination: A qualification to prove your expertise in information security, offered by IPA. After the qualification is obtained, you are eligible to apply for a national certificate for Registered Information Security Specialist.CISSP: A qualification to prove your expertise in information security, offered by (ISC)², International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium. Cloud As more and more internet services shift to cloud, the demand for cloud engineers is increasing. The market value of cloud computing was 2,875 billion yen in 2020 with a growth rate of 22%. In addition, the demand for public clouds, such as SaaS and IaaS, is especially high.More than half of the Japanese companies that provide cloud services use AWS. If you are an AWS engineer, you have many job opportunities in Japan.   Useful certifications for cloud engineersAWS certifications: A certificate to validate cloud expertise. AWS offers several levels: associate, professional and speciality. There are also certificates for those who are specialized in the fields such as network, data and machine learning.Google Certified Professional: A certificate to prove your expertise in Google cloud platform. Machine Learning The use of AI in services and products is now commonplace. The sales in automation services and personalised services are increasing rapidly.In 2019, the market growth rate of machine learning was 95%. As the use of machine learning will increase in the future, machine learning engineers will have many job opportunities in Japan as well. Useful certifications for machine learning engineersDeep Learning for ENGINEER: This is a certificate to validiate your knowledge and implementions skills in deep learning. It is offered by the Japan Deep Learning Association (JDLA). *The exam is available only in Japanese.Python 3 Certified Data Analyst Examination: A certificate to prove your advanced knowledge and skills in deep learning.  5G The market growth rate of 5G is projected to be 80.3% between 2020 to 2027. It is a field that is expected to create many job opportunities in the near future. Jobs related to 5G include embedded engineers, network engineers and IoT engineers. To work with 5G, the knowledge and skills in the development of embedded software and network are required.The article below explains the details of the 5G market in Japan and skills you need to be an engineer who works with 5G.5G market in Japan and skills you need to be an engineer who works with 5G Programming languages and developer tools in demand in Japan According to the research conducted by GitTap, the skills that are most in demand among Japanese companies are AWS, Python and JavaScript (January, 2022).AWS is a cloud computing service offered by Amazon. In Japan, more than half of the companies that provide cloud services use AWS. The market of cloud computing is expanding and the demand for AWS engineers is projected to increase. The article below explains programming languages in demand in Japan in detail. The programming languages in demand in Japan Summary International IT engineers have many job opportunities in Japan since there is a serious shortage of IT engineers. This is especially the case in some fields such as cyber security, cloud and AI. The following  jobs are some of the examples of jobs that are in demand in Japan. Python engineer Job Summary：Implement mathematical models, develop optimization algorithms, conduct software testing while working closely with professors. Salary：7M yen~ Learn More about This Job Automation engineer Job Summary：Develop and maintain automation platforms. Develop new automation products. Salary：7M yen~ Learn More about This Job CTO Job Summary：Chief Technology Officer for a financial system Salary： 8M yen~ Learn More about This Job GitTap is a job matching platform for highly skilled international IT engineers. The platform has many senior level jobs, which leads the average salary range of the advertised jobs to be 6-12M yen. There are also many remote positions available. The platform allows you to find a job efficiently by not only applying for positions but also getting scouted and conducting informational interviews. It is free to use, please feel free to register. Browse Jobs on GitTap G Talent is an employment agency for international IT engineers who wish to work in Japan. Bilingual consultants will assist you to land your dream job! To learn more about the service, please click the link below. Learn more about G Talent

DevOps engineers create solutions for improving the development speed of applications and systems as well as ensuring the stable operation of services. Being involved in both development and operations, they are responsible for a wide range of tasks, from developing and improving applications and systems to building and operating infrastructure environments such as the cloud. “DevOps” is a word coined from combining “Development” and “Operations”. To put it simply, it is an idea that the development side and the operation side cooperate to ensure speedier development, while also providing stable service operation. Due to the focus of DevOps on improving development speed, it is easy to confuse this with agile development, which will be explained later. Amongst all the different IT engineering jobs, to be a DevOps engineer requires a wide range of skills and plenty of experience. With a higher level of responsibility comes higher salary. The average annual income for a DevOps engineer is somewhere between 5 to 15 million yen, while the average for IT engineers in general is 4.52 million yen (※doda company survey). In the future, the demand for DevOps engineers is expected to rise, as the industry becomes more specialized due to increasing system complexity and more infrastructure environments transitioning to the cloud. This article provides a brief overview of what a DevOps engineer does and explains how you can become one too. DevOps engineers differ from infrastructure engineers A lesser-known position amongst IT engineers, the DevOps engineer is often compared to infrastructure engineers. This is because both are involved in tasks like server management. The table below provides a brief overview of the differences between DevOps engineers and infrastructure engineers, for you to get a good idea of what DevOps engineers do. ◆Differences between DevOps engineers and infrastructure engineers What sets a DevOps engineer apart from an infrastructure engineer is the former’s involvement in the development side. Both DevOps engineers and infrastructure engineers work on networks and servers, but DevOps engineers also engage in application and system development. You can think of DevOps engineers as one level beyond infrastructure engineers. This is why DevOps engineers must have more knowledge and experience than just infrastructure engineers. The No.1 role of DevOps engineers is automation Now let’s take a look at what DevOps engineers do. As explained earlier, DevOps is a concept born to “speed up development” and to “enable stable operation” of the system at the same time. What do DevOps engineers do to achieve these goals? Here are some of the specific roles DevOps play in the IT industry. “Infrastructure as Code (IaC),” essential for stable system operation Infrastructure as Code (IaC) means to get infrastructure settings written in code in order to automate the building process of the environment for operating and developing systems and software. In creating infrastructure, the task of typing all the commands according to a design can be extremely tedious and costly, especially as the scale increases. In addition, people cannot always avoid making little mistakes. Once infrastructure settings are written in code, all you need is just to execute it in order to automatically create an infrastructure environment. Also, executing the same code means you can reproduce identical environments at scale without the risk of human error. By allowing multiple servers to reproduce the same environment, problems caused by differences in infrastructure settings are less likely to occur. As a DevOps engineer, you want to achieve the stable operation of a system. Therefore, IaC is an important skill to keep in mind in order to minimize the workload and avoid human errors when creating infrastructure. However, you need skills for building the infrastructure to be able to practice IaC, which means more investment in acquiring those skills may be necessary. You may also need experience working as an infrastructure engineer. Build a CI/CD Pipeline to speed up development Building a CI/CD pipeline is a key skill for DevOps engineers who seek to “speed up” the development of applications and systems. A CI/CD pipeline is an automated set of steps required to practice CI/CD. CI/CD is a method of automating build, integration, testing, etc. to make software development faster and increase the speed before production. CI (Continuous Integration) is a method of automating code changes from build to test. CD (Continuous Delivery) is a method that allows software that has passed testing to be automatically released into a production environment. ◆ CI/CD pipelines Simply put, by building a CI/CD pipeline, the entire process of Build – Integrate – Test – Release – Deploy becomes automatic. Any changes to your code will be automatically applied to every step from build to test to deployment, thus reducing the lead time of your development process. By getting everyone on a development team to work with this pipeline, software release becomes much faster. CI/CD tools include on-premises and cloud types, with some examples being Jenkins and Drone for the on-premises and Travis CI and CircleCI for the cloud. DevOps engineers need to use different tools to build CI/CD pipelines depending on their objectives. “Knowledge of managed services” to reduce management cost and working time A managed service allows a company to outsource part of the operation management and maintenance of a serve. Stably operating a server is no simple task. From hardware procurement to equipment/line management to trouble handling, the operation management and maintenance of a server requires expertise offered by dedicated professionals, which can be quite costly. This is where managed services come in. By capitalizing on managed services, you can reduce the amount of work devoted to issues such as fault response and security measures. This allows for improved efficiency and ultimately leads to stable system operation. Since not all engineers in a company are knowledgeable about infrastructure, leveraging managed services to reduce management costs and work hours is an important task for DevOps. As you can see, being a DevOps engineer is not so much about working directly on products and services, but rather focusing on creating solutions to increase productivity for developers and operators. 2021 Roadmap for becoming a DevOps Engineer So, what does it take to become a DevOps engineer? This section is based on the article, “The 2021 DevOps RoadMap for Developers” which is another highly recommended read. Now, let’s take a look at the roadmap for becoming a DevOps engineer. There are 9 steps in total. ◆Roadmap for becoming a DevOps Engineer 1. Learn a programming language To be involved in system development, you need to know a programming language. If possible, become proficient in at least one of: Java, Python, or Ruby Each has its own characteristics. Java is generally an all-rounder in any environment, while Python is relatively simple and easy to understand. Ruby originated in Japan and thus more resources are available in Japanese. Its code is simple and easy to read, making it beginner friendly. 2. Understand different OS concepts This comes under the area of “Operations.” In the past, only system operation managers and support personnel were responsible for the OS and hardware. However, as DevOps engineers engage in both systems and infrastructure, OS-related knowledge is necessary. You need to be familiar with important systems such as process management, memory storage and file systems. 3. Learn server management For stable service operation, you must build a server to create a system and environment. More specifically, you need to monitor the operational status of applications/services and the usage of CPU, memory, and other resources; update the system, fix programs that need to be improved, and respond to failures. All of these require general knowledge of a server. 4. Learn about network and security The evolving technology nowadays allows for easy access everywhere on the web, which also means security challenges are on the rise. As poor security measures can lead to the leakage of important data such as customer information, it is critical to learn about network and security. Make sure to have basic but essential ones down, including DNS, FTP, SSL, etc. 5. Understand middleware and learn how to set it up Middleware is software that performs intermediate processing between an application and an OS in a computer. Examples of middleware are the web server, application server, and database management server. ◆About middleware Understanding the structure of a web server or application server, and learning how to set it up, will give you a better understanding of the system. Doing so allows you to proceed to the next step where you make the system operation more efficient and automate the building of the infrastructure environment. 6. Learn Infrastructure as Code (IaC) As explained earlier, Infrastructure as Code (IaC) means to have the infrastructure settings written in code in order to automate the creation of operation/development environments for systems and software. The benefits of IaC include no need to manually repeat the same process when creating a different environment, an easier grasp of current infrastructure and server configuration, and no need to manage procedures. 7. Learn CI/CD pipeline building tools Again, CI/CD is a method of automating build, integration, testing, etc. to speed up software development and to make it ready for release into production immediately. There are various tools for building CI/CD pipelines from open source to commercial ones. However, one tool cannot automate all of CI/CD, and it is common to create a CI/CD pipeline by combining tools that are appropriate for a specific development stage. This means you need to learn to use multiple tools. 8. Learn to monitor software and infrastructure In addition to middleware setup and deployment, software and infrastructure monitoring is another important role of DevOps engineers. Monitoring means constantly checking for anomalies or problems with the functionality of an application, network, server, OS, or middleware. There are already a variety of tools available for monitoring, so DevOps engineers need to be able to choose the right tool for their companies’ needs. 9. Learn about the public cloud The public cloud is a service that provides cloud computing environments such as servers, storage, databases, and software through the Internet to an unspecified number of users, including companies and individuals. These include Amazon Web Services (AWS), IBM Cloud, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Since there is no need to own a server in-house, the use of the public cloud is rapidly spreading nowadays, and many companies have already moved their servers to a cloud environment. As a DevOps engineer, you need basic knowledge of the public cloud. AWS and GCP are well known public clouds that you should get a grasp of. This is the 2021 roadmap for becoming a DevOps engineer. A DevOps engineer, being a type of IT engineer, of course needs a programming language. On top of that, you should also know how to work with various tools and infrastructures (especially the cloud). As mentioned at the beginning of the article, to be a DevOps engineer requires a wide range of knowledge and experience, and therefore it is a position one step beyond application engineers and infrastructure engineers. Sounds worth aiming for? “DevOps” is a model or concept, “agile development” is a development method As already explained, “DevOps” is a coined word that combines “Development” and “Operations”. The idea of DevOps was born from the contradiction between the development side and the operation side. While the former wants to develop applications and systems quickly, the latter wants to ensure stable operation. In other words, in order to make a system better, the development side generally takes a policy of “adding new features and updating existing ones.” On the other hand, the operation side often takes a policy of “if things are running stably, keep them as they are,” in order to consistently provide a comfortable experience to the users and to avoid troubles with systems and functions as much as possible. The concept of “DevOps” was born to bridge these contradicting interests. Now, “agile development” is a method that, when developing applications and systems, repeats the development process of “planning → design → implementation → test” many times in a short period of time. Once you have a rough idea of the system you want to create, you iterate through planning, design, implementation, and test, and release the system relatively early. After the system is released, you then repeatedly improve it based on feedback from users and clients. This allows for agility and flexibility in development. Agile development is the opposite of waterfall development. Waterfall development is a method in which the development process of “design → development → implementation → test” is divided into each stage and developed step by step. In this method, developers decide in advance all the functions and spec details to be installed in the system, then start development and complete one step after the other. Basically, you never go back to the previous stage, and thus systems and software are released only after the entire process is completed. In the past, this has been the customary strategy for many companies. However, it is common to discover improvements or to receive feedback from users after releasing systems or applications. Even with all the time spent during waterfall development, extra work is always necessary to use this method successfully.. As a result, more and more companies are adopting agile development because it is easy to respond to user needs when “planning → design → implementation → testing” is repeated over and over in a short period of time. Agile development is very compatible with “DevOps,” an idea that enables both speedier development and stable service operation. By incorporating agile development, DevOps engineers can “speed up development” while creating a mechanism that allows developers and operators to collaborate to achieve “stable service operation.” This is why this newer development method is currently in high demand. ◆The difference between agile development and waterfall development Source: Agile and DevOps Quality Assurance and Reliability By the way, the word DevOps first appeared in 2009 at a conference called “O’Reilly Velocity 09” hosted by O’Reilly. The term appeared in the presentation, “10 Deploys a Day：Dev and Ops Cooperation at Flickr” by John Allspaw and Paul Hammond, who were at the time engineers at an image-hosting service, Flickr. In this presentation, they proposed that the development side and the operation side can bring about fast development that deploys more than ten times a day by cooperating toward a common purpose. (*To deploy means to make the program usable.） DevOps Engineers are increasingly in demand as IT and DX advance Today, there is a growing demand for DevOps engineers. This is because, along with the progress of IT and the promotion of digital transformation (DX), there is a growing need for a shorter development period and flexibility in system development. As previously explained, development today requires companies to continue to improve their services after release using feedback from users. This makes for the rising demand for DevOps who can contribute in stabilizing operations while accelerating not only development but also improvement speed. According to the article, “Ask Hitachi, the Current Role of DevOps and DevSecOps in Large-scale Development“, the company has adopted the idea of DevOps. The article reports that DevOps is getting increasing attention due to many Japanese companies and organizations having begun to work on DX. DX is typically applied in new businesses, and therefore the business model is not clear, and the system specifications are not fixed. Thus, the idea of DevOps has been adopted because it is necessary to improve fixing the problems that come out after development and release, while also ensuring stable operation. In this way, the concept of DevOps is gaining more recognition regardless of whether it is a large company or a small- and medium-sized venture company. Moving forward, given that the demand for public clouds such as AWS and GCP will also increase, there will be more spotlight on DevOps engineers who provide expertise on these areas while also being able to engage with the development side. Summary Now you have it, an overview of DevOps engineers. The path to becoming a DevOps engineer is steep, given the wide range of knowledge and experience required. There is no correct way to become a DevOps engineer. However, if you are an inexperienced IT engineer with a goal of becoming a DevOps engineer, it is relatively easy to step up after gaining experience as an infrastructure engineer or a WEB application engineer. We offer two services for IT engineers: “G Talent“, a career transition service and “GitTap“, a scouting and job information website that allows you to contact companies directly. For foreign IT engineers working in Japan and Japanese IT engineers seeking a global environment, we offer a variety of recruitment opportunities. Please check out the “G Talent” and “GitTap” service pages.