Jobs After JET

I was inspired to write this post after a recent events that I never thought would be possible after JET. Jobs! More requests for job interviews and job offers! After JET, the one thing I promised myself was:

• I will not go to post-grad. Nothing wrong with continuing studies, but for me, I wanted to start making money. And in my chosen field, Communications, it’s something best learned on the job. And…

• I will not leave JET unemployed!

This is probably one of the most intense worries that kept me up at night. Landing a job in a time where many were losing jobs. During what I knew was to be as my last year in Japan, I was scared as hell about what would happen next. Attempting to look back over the past few years I felt like I hadn’t gained anything concrete that could help me secure a job after JET.

Some friends of mine waited until they got home to job hunt. Which is fine, and sooner or later some did manage to find a job…but I was determined not to be like that. This post is for everyone who is determined and dedicated to securing work after JET:

I will get a job before I finish JET!

Give yourself enough time. It’s best to decide and commit to when to leave as soon as possible, so that preparations can be made. I made my decision a year in advance. It may seem a lot, but time is probably the best thing to give yourself. This gives a good amount of time to check off any last minute items on the bucket list. Whether it be more traveling, more studying, or gaining experience, etc.

Update your resume (CV). As soon as possible, then add/edit/rearrange in anyway necessary for job postings. I started on mine as soon as summer vacation was over. Some places like the United States, I heard, are limited to a one-page resume. Canada’s standard is two, but only if you have enough experience to fill two pages. If you barely make two pages, cut some stuff out, adjust margins or shrink fonts (no less than 8points), to fit onto one page. There is no standard for a resume length unless an employer states it. Until then, presentation, appeal and content are more important.

Job hunting. Depending where you want to go after JET, or any current job, look everywhere! With the Internet it’s easy to submit resumes (CV), and applications everywhere around the world. There’s a lot of great resources including employment agencies, government provided job banks, etc. Some people will suggest that you research and apply to only a few employers that you would one day want to work for. “One day”, is the keyword here. There’s a popular phrase that I heard at my University Alumni seminar and it goes, “Right now you are at Point A, and you want to get to Point B (your dream job), don’t care how you get to Point B so long as you know you’re going to get there. Meaning, times of finding a job are hard these days. Whatever job that comes, may not be the job we want, but it’s a stepping stone in some way. I agree to still do serious research, but don’t limit yourself. Worry about making job decisions when the offers come. For now, apply for everything that seems suitable, because it can’t hurt.

job hunting: finding a job after JET

Applying for jobs. If you want to stay in Japan think about putting up a profile on Gaijin Pot, other other employment banks. Big cities usually have an International Association that would offer a bulletin board with job postings. For jobs back home or in another country, check out job banks, employment agencies, and company websites for opportunities. Change your resume (CV) and cover letter to suit the company. Competition is high these days, so to get noticed it’s best to have an eye-catching resume. This can be done either through design, or a simple rearrangement of content. Try to avoid doing the standard layout: Name, Objective, Education, Experience, Skills, Reference. There are tons of other job-hunters with the exact layout. Play around with headers, delete others if you have too much information, or cut stuff out if it’s too much. For example, “Objective” is more of a filler these days for someone that doesn’t have enough to fill a page.

Keep Applying & Revamping. JET let’s us off at a shitty time of the year. SMACK DAB in the middle of summer when barely anyone is hiring. The best thing to do is try and find an employer whose willing to wait for you to finish contract. Breaking contract is a possibility, and completely left to the individual’s digression. If it’s a great opportunity then the only thing I can say to that is…you’re already done JET, and this is your future. Until then the job comes along, don’t give up. From September to May (when I landed a job), I was applying for at least 5 jobs each week. No joke. Sometimes more, but never less than five. I applied all over the world, rearranged my resume a dozen times and rewrote my cover letter each time as well. There was a time I changed the layout and design of my resume completely. In January, I started to panic that I would come out of JET unemployed. A girlfriend of mine helped me work out a new resume format for me to try out. I had nothing to lose. My previous format landed me jobs throughout university, into the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and into JET. I could only assume that it was time to consider a new game plan. I continued to use both, just in case, but in the end my new resume is the one that landed me interviews and job offers.

Interviews. Many employers are very understanding, especially when you’re upfront honest that you’re overseas. A lot of my interviews were conducted over Skype, interviews in Japan were made in person. Don’t be afraid to travel for it.  One time I flew to another country for a serious job interview, for a position that I later turned down, twice! Sometimes it’s good to go in person if you have the resources and its convenient. I had to ask myself, down the road, would I ever look back and regret not going? I don’t now! Give it a shot, it can also make a nice, short getaway trip!

Job Offer. It never hurts to apply, or do an interview. The important decision comes when there’s an offer on the table. It might or might not be what you really wanted, but who knows what it could lead to. I got a marketing job, which at first I wasn’t too sure about, but so far it’s been great!

Delayed Job Offers.  Even if we don’t hear from an employer right away our resume will always be kept on file for a certain length of time. After a few months after leaving Japan, even up until now I started hearing from companies I applied for a year ago. So who knows!

I hope this is helpful in soothing any nerves about finding a job after JET. It’s hard and a bit nerve-wrecking, but don’t give up! Keep applying and keep putting yourself out there and you’ll land something that will lay the fist stepping stone to where you want to go.

Good luck out there!

You’re at Point A, don’t worry about how you get to Point B

Job hunting Tip!

• Take a advantage of social media. Job postings can be found on sites like Twitter and LinkedIn. Set up a LinkedIn profile if you can! A lot of my interview offers came from employers learning about me on LinkedIn.
• Use your contacts, via friends and family. Ask people to help you keep an eye out for postings. The job I have now came from a posting a friend passed me! I am forever grateful!