In this article, we will provide information for “Ryugakusei” international students who are looking for a job in Japan based on data on the job offer rate for international students as of July 2021. Also, we would like to introduce the impact of the new coronavirus on the job hunting activities of international students and information on employment agencies that support international students in their job hunting activities.
Contents
Job Hunting Situation for International Students Graduating on 2021
Due to the impact of the new coronavirus, this year (2020) has been more challenging than ever for students who are looking for a job. Many companies have reduced the number of recruits or postponed the hiring process, making it difficult to find a job.
In this section, we will take a closer look at the job hunting situation for international students graduating in 2021, based on the results of a survey to international students graduating in 2021 released by DISCO Corporation on August 26, 2020.
Looking at the bar graphs of foreign students and domestic students as of July this year and for the past two years, it shows that although the domestic offer rate is lower than usual, 70% of the students have job offers. On the other hand, the number of international students has decreased by about 10% compared to the previous year, and about 30% of them have job offers.
Compared to last year, there was a slight impact, but companies have resumed hiring new graduates since May, and web-based interviews and other recruiting activities have been conducted on a shorter schedule than usual.
However, this is only the number of students who hold job offers, so it is unclear whether they are really getting job offers from the employer of their choice.
Source：Disco Coporation/外国人留学生の就職活動状況
Graph 1 「7月時点の内定率(経年)」: Job Offer Rate up to July (Within 3 years)
Graph 2 「7月時点の内定率(分離別)」: Job Offer Rate up to July (Humanities and Science)
Graph 3 「7月時点の就職活動状況」: Job Hunting Status up to July
Current Job Hunting Situation for International Students
Due to the effects of the new coronavirus, many companies have either stopped hiring new graduates or reduced the number of jobs they had planned to hire. In addition, schedules were pushed back, which is thought to have led to a decrease in the job offer rate for 2021 graduates.
Also, due to the inability to get a feel for the corporate atmosphere at web briefings and interviews, and because of concerns about the deteriorating economic environment due to the effects of Covid-19, applications were attracted and gathered by large and stable companies that had an easy to understand corporate atmosphere, so it is unclear whether they were able to obtain job offers from their preferred employers.
In addition, although the number of international students finding jobs in Japan is gradually increasing every year, compared to Japanese students, 70% of international students had no job offers as of July. This is probably due to the fact that even if the skills of foreign talent are the same as those of Japanese students, there are few companies that will accept them unless their Japanese language skills are at least at a business level.
Of course, it is important for foreign students who want to work in Japan to improve their Japanese language skills, but Japanese companies, which make decisions based on the ability to communicate in Japanese rather than on skills, may be responsible in no small part for this.
However, an increasing number of Japanese companies are creating an environment in which Japanese language communication is necessary through English education for Japanese employees and global business development. In addition, the number of companies that are introducing Business Japanese learning services for foreigners is gradually increasing, so although it may take some time, the percentage of international student job offers is likely to rise little by little every year.
Employment Agencies and Websites
Employment Agencies and Websites for International Students
From now on, we would like to introduce specialized job-hunting support services for international students who are recent graduates and want to find a job in Japan.
Global Leader
This is an employment agency for international students that handles a wide range of jobs from major Japanese companies to hot start-up companies.
They also offer free lectures on Japanese job-hunting etiquette and job hunting schedules.
Ryukatsu
This is an employment agency for new graduates that only gathers companies that want to hire international students and it provides job information. At weekly seminars, consultants provide information on visas and job hunting tips.
Agent neo
Neo Career is a major company in the human resources industry, is an employment agency for international students. They provide one-on-one job-hunting consultations and advice on interviews and resumes for the companies they introduce, and even if the interview fails, they provide solid feedback as a measure to prepare for the next interview.
Conclusion
There are still many international students who have not yet received any job offers. Although the job hunting situation continues to be difficult for students due to the impact of Covid-19, if you conduct a thorough self-analysis and industry research, and implement a screening strategy, we believe you will eventually get a good result.
If you are a foreign student thinking about finding a job in Japan and would like to work as an IT engineer, please register to G Talent, a recruitment agency specializing in foreign IT engineers. Our professional consultants will support you in your job search for free.
