Career Path Guide for Working in Japan
Japanese shukatsu timeline, ES writing, SPI and other aptitude tests, 3 to 5 interview rounds, naitei timing, recruit suits, and routes for international students.
Japanese graduate hiring still runs on a fixed campus-recruiting rhythm. The official Keidanren rule was abolished in 2021, but many large companies continue to cluster internship, ES, SPI, interview, informal offer, and October ceremony timing around the same calendar. A student can easily spend 6 to 9 months on 30 to 50 applications.
Shukatsu calendar
For April graduation, preparation often begins in the third undergraduate year or first master’s year. April and May are for self-analysis, industry research, and OB/OG visits. June to August are summer internships through Rikunabi, Mynavi, or company sites, often 1 to 5 days.
Autumn and winter internships from October to December can connect directly to early screening. On March 1, many companies release full recruiting information and open ES submission. April and May bring ES, SPI, and first interviews; June 1 is still treated by many firms as the formal interview start line.
Informal offers, 内々定, often appear from June to October, and the formal 内定 ceremony is usually around October 1. Foreign consulting, IT, and companies such as Recruit, CyberAgent, and Mercari can start one year earlier, so students aiming at those routes should prepare from the second year.
Source: MHLW: Graduate hiring statistics, Mynavi: Job-hunting schedule, Keidanren: Industry-academia discussion.
ES and resume workload
The 履歴書 is usually a fixed school or JIS-style resume. The ES, entry sheet, is company-specific and asks different questions for each employer.
Common prompts include ガクチカ, usually 800 to 1,200 Japanese characters about what the student worked hardest on; 自己 PR, another 800 to 1,200 characters with evidence; 志望動機, often 1,000 to 1,500 characters about the company and industry; and a 5-year or 10-year career plan.
One company can require 3,000 to 5,000 characters. Thirty companies becomes 100,000 to 150,000 characters, plus revision for each employer. Since 2024 and 2025, some companies have also introduced AI-writing checks, so copied ChatGPT-style ES paragraphs are a real screening risk.
Source: Mynavi: Entry sheet preparation, Rikunabi: ES writing.
SPI, Tamatebako, and TG-WEB
The common web tests are SPI by Recruit, Tamatebako by SHL Japan, and TG-WEB by Humanage. SPI usually covers verbal, non-verbal math, and personality in about 60 to 80 minutes. Tamatebako often covers calculation, verbal, English, and personality in 40 to 60 minutes. TG-WEB is known for harder logic and calculation questions in about 30 to 50 minutes.
Cutoff scores are not public, but 60 to 70 percent is a practical target. International students struggle most with SPI verbal questions because they assume native-level Japanese reading, kanji, and text interpretation. Some applicants spend 1 to 2 months only on SPI workbooks, while others target foreign consultancies or IT startups that use different tests.
Source: Mynavi: Aptitude tests, One Career: SPI preparation.
Interviews run 3 to 5 rounds
After ES and tests, interviews often run 3 to 5 rounds. First interviews can be group style with 5 to 6 students. Group discussion usually has 4 to 6 students and 30 to 60 minutes. Later interviews move to HR, field employees, department heads, and executives.
Recruit suits are still the default: black or navy, plain white shirt, dark shoes, and conservative hair. A full set from Aoki, Aoyama, or Konaka commonly costs ¥20,000 to ¥50,000. Even when a company writes “free clothing,” many students still choose a suit unless the company culture clearly supports casual dress.
Source: Mynavi: Interview preparation, Rikunabi: Interview manners.
Offers and pressure tactics
An informal offer before June 1 is 内々定 and has weak legal force. A formal 内定 around October 1 is closer to a labor contract promise. Submitting an acceptance form does not mean a student can never decline, but early notice is safer and more respectful than a late December cancellation.
オワハラ means pressure to end other recruiting activities. Examples include forcing a student to cancel interviews, sign immediately, or promise not to apply elsewhere. University career centers and the MHLW’s New Graduate Hello Work are the safer consultation points when that pressure appears.
Source: Rikunabi: Interview manners, MHLW: Fair hiring and graduate support.
Routes for international students
International students using the graduate-hiring route follow the same calendar as Japanese students, but they should filter for foreign-student hiring records. Rikunabi and Mynavi have foreign-student filters, and global-facing companies in trading, banking, IT, and internet services may support English interviews.
Other routes can fit better. Foreign consultancies and finance recruit early and may offer ¥5,000,000 to ¥10,000,000 new-graduate compensation. Japanese IT startups use Wantedly and LinkedIn more often and may hire year-round with ¥4,000,000 to ¥7,000,000 starting compensation.
Science graduate students should check Acaric. Bilingual students should check CFN Career Forum. After receiving an offer, a student status usually needs to change to 技人国 or another work status; for April entry, filing in February or March is the practical deadline.
Source: Immigration Services Agency: Procedures for employment after study, Mynavi Global: International students.
Common mistakes
Skipping summer internships because they look separate from hiring can leave a student late by March. Foreign firms, IT companies, and consultancies often create the gap from June of the third undergraduate year.
Using the same motivation essay for 30 companies is visible to recruiters. Rewrite the motivation for each employer by checking business line, job type, assignment possibility, and overseas work.
Answering “no questions” at the reverse-question stage wastes the final signal of interest. Prepare 2 or 3 questions for each company about business content, training, assignment, overseas projects, or evaluation.
Useful terms
- 就活: Japanese job hunting
- ES: entry sheet
- SPI / 玉手箱 / TG-WEB: aptitude tests
- リクルートスーツ: conservative job-hunting suit
- 内々定 / 内定: informal and formal offer stages