How to write a resume in Japanese | Part-2

This article continues from “How to write a resume in Japanese | Part-1”.
In Part-1, we write about where to find a resume sheet and how to prepare your photo. If you haven’t read it yet, read Part-1 first.

How to fill out each field on the resume

Writing Rules

• Write with a black ballpoint pen (erasable pens are not acceptable).
  
• Add “ (country name) “ to the end of all entries for events that took place outside of Japan (such as school enrollment and graduation).
  • For example:
    カリフォルニア州立大学ロサンゼルス校卒業（アメリカ合衆国）
    
• Do not mix up Western and Japanese calendars (It is recommended to use the Western calendar).
  • Correct:
    2016年　入学
    2021年　卒業
  • Wrong:
    2016年　入学
    令和3年　卒業
    
• Do not make copies of your handwritten resume, even if you are applying for multiple jobs at the same time.
  
• Basically, you can’t correct your resume with correction fluid or double lines (if you make a mistake, you have to rewrite it), so if you are worried about filling out your resume in Japanese, draft it with a pencil or type it on a computer.

「 年 月 日現在」(Date you submit)

Write the date you will submit your resume. Note that this is not the date you fill out the form.

If you are sending it by mail, write the date you drop it into a mail post. If you are attaching it to an email, write the date you send it.

「氏名・ふりがな」(Your name)

In the name field, write your name as it is written on your residence card (在留カード). If your name is written in kanji, write it in kanji; if not, write it in the alphabet or katakana.

If 「ふりがな」 is written in hiragana, write your name in hiragana; if 「フリガナ」 is written in katakana, write your name in katakana.

If it is divided into 「姓」(family name) and 「名」(first name), write your family name in the 「姓」 field and your first name in the 「名」 field.

「生年月日」 (Date of birth)

Write your birthday in the order of 「年」(year), 「月」(month), and 「日」(day).

If it says「（満　才/歳）」, write your age on the day you submit your resume. If you are preparing your resume the day before your birthday and submitting it the day after your birthday, you will need to write your age after your birthday.

*If you are from a country that uses East Asian age reckoning, such as South Korea (한국 나이), be sure to write your age using the Western way of counting ages.

「男・女」 (Gender)

Write your gender. If you are a man, circle 「男」; if you are a woman, circle 「女」.

Although this is an outdated custom, some part-time employers use this field to order uniforms. This is optional, so you can leave it blank if you don’t want to write it down.

「現住所」(Address)

Write your registered address. Write your postal code in small letters next to the 〒 symbol, and write your address below it. You can write your address as it is written on your residence card (在留カード). Don’t forget to write the name of your apartment building name, too.

「連絡先」(Address to contact)

If your contact information is the same as the one you entered in 「現住所」, write 「同上」 in this place. （「同上」means “same as above”.）
Fill out this form only if you are staying at a different place than your current registered address.

「電話」(Phone number) *The 1st one

The first 「電話」field is where you should write your phone number. It can be a landline or cell phone number, but make sure it is a number that you can receive a call from the company you are applying for a job.

「メールアドレス」(E-mail address)

Write down your e-mail address.

「電話」(Phone number) *The 2nd one

This is only used if you have filled in an address in the 「連絡先住所」(contact address) field. Write the phone number used for the contact address. If you wrote 「同上」 for the contact address, you should also write 「同上」 here.

「学歴・職歴」(Education and work history)

This is the field where you write your education and work history.
If you have not graduated from high school in Japan, you can start from the time you enter university. If you would like to write about your high school graduation, write like this: Whitney High School (高校) 卒業 (アメリカ合衆国)

First, write only 「学歴」 in the top large column. (This is a sign that you are going to write about your educational history. When you start writing your work history, write 「職歴」.)

*Usually, part-time jobs are not included in your work history, when you apply for a full-time job. However, having experience working in Japan, even on a part-time job, is a big advantage for you and an important factor for companies to consider when hiring you. For this reason, the examples in this article show you how to write resumes that include part-time jobs in your work history.

– If you are a university student with no work experience.

For example, let’s say that you enrolled in 国際日本学部国際日本学科 (the Department of Global Japanese Studies) at 明治大学 (Meiji University) in 2020, and you are still a student. In that case, you would write as follows.

*1 It has been customary to write resumes using the Japanese calendar (e.g.,平成 or 令和), but more and more people and companies are now using the Western calendar (e.g., 2021) because it is difficult to understand. In order to avoid making mistakes, we recommend writing your resume using the Western calendar.

*2 「同大学」 means “the same university as written above”. In the case of a vocational (technical) college or a Japanese language school, write 「同校」.
「第2学年」 means you are in the second year of a course; 「第1学年」 for the first year of a course, 「第2学年」 for the second year, 「第3学年」 for the third year, and so on.

– If you are a university student with work experience.

For example, let’s say that you enrolled in 国際日本学部国際日本学科 (the Department of Global Japanese Studies) at 明治大学 (Meiji University) in 2020, and you are still a student. If you have experience working part-time at a Seven-Eleven convenience store in Japan, you would write as follows.

*1 It has been customary to write resumes using the Japanese calendar (e.g.,平成 or 令和), but more and more people and companies are now using the Western calendar (e.g., 2021) because it is difficult to understand. In order to avoid making mistakes, we recommend writing your resume using the Western calendar.

*2 「同大学」 means “the same university as written above”. In the case of a vocational (technical) college or a Japanese language school, write 「同校」.
「第2学年」 means you are in the second year of a course; 「第1学年」 for the first year of a course, 「第2学年」 for the second year, 「第3学年」 for the third year, and so on.

*3 If you are not applying for a part-time job, but for a full-time job (as a new graduate), write your expected graduation month in the place marked “*3”: 「明治大学国際日本学部国際日本学科  卒業見込み」
If you write this, open one line below and start writing your work history.

– If you are a university graduate with no work experience

For example, let’s say that you enrolled in 国際日本学部国際日本学科 (the Department of Global Japanese Studies) at 明治大学 (Meiji University) in 2016 and graduated in 2021. In that case, you would write as follows.

*1 It has been customary to write resumes using the Japanese calendar (e.g.,平成 or 令和), but more and more people and companies are now using the Western calendar (e.g., 2021) because it is difficult to understand. In order to avoid making mistakes, we recommend writing your resume using the Western calendar.

– If you are a university graduate with work experience (not working at the moment)

For example, let’s say that you enrolled in 国際日本学部国際日本学科 (the Department of Global Japanese Studies) at 明治大学 (Meiji University) in 2016 and graduated in 2021. If you have work experience, you would write as follows.

*1 It has been customary to write resumes using the Japanese calendar (e.g.,平成 or 令和), but more and more people and companies are now using the Western calendar (e.g., 2021) because it is difficult to understand. In order to avoid making mistakes, we recommend writing your resume using the Western calendar.

– If you are a university graduate with work experience (currently working)

For example, let’s say that you enrolled in 国際日本学部国際日本学科 (the Department of Global Japanese Studies) at 明治大学 (Meiji University) in 2016 and graduated in 2021. If you are still working full-time, you would write as follows.

*1 It has been customary to write resumes using the Japanese calendar (e.g.,平成 or 令和), but more and more people and companies are now using the Western calendar (e.g., 2021) because it is difficult to understand. In order to avoid making mistakes, we recommend writing your resume using the Western calendar.

*2 Describe the type of work you do at your current job. (Also, write for past full-time jobs.) Write a brief description of what department you work in and what kind of work you do. Just put 「を担当」 or 「に従事」 after a simple description of the work you are doing.
For example, 「海外営業に従事 (/を担当)」(= “Engaged in overseas sales”); 「翻訳業務に従事 (/を担当)」 (= “In charge of translation work”); 「レジ業務を担当」(= “Responsible for cashier duties”).

「免許・資格」(Licenses and certifications)

This is the field where you write about your licenses and certifications. Write them down if you have a Japanese driver’s license or Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). In addition, write anything else that may be relevant to the position you are applying.

For example, If you have N2 and a good score for TOEIC, write them as below:

・日本語能力検定　N2
・TOEIC 940点

「志望の動機 、特技、好きな学科、アピールポイントなど」

It says “why you apply”, “your special skills”, “your favorite subject” (you can ignore this one), and “your strengths”.

「志望の動機」(Why you want to apply)

Example:

• 「日本語の接客マナーを学びたいと思い、応募しました。得意の英語を活かし、海外からのお客様にも対応できることが強みです。」
  “I applied for this job because I wanted to learn Japanese customer service manners. My strength is that I can use my English to deal with customers from overseas.”
  (For convenience stores and restaurants)
  
• 「貴社の経営理念に共感し、私もテクノロジーの力で社会に貢献したいと考え、応募しました。」
  “I applied because I sympathize with your management philosophy, and I want to contribute to society through the power of technology.”
  (For general companies)
  
• 「以前、客として利用させていただいた際に、貴店のサービスやスタッフの方々の対応に感動しました。私も貴店で働きながら、サービスやおもてなしを学びたいと思い、応募しました。」
  “I was impressed by your service and staff when I used your store (restaurant) as a customer before. I wanted to learn about service and hospitality while working at your restaurant, so I applied.”
  (For individual stores, restaurants, and cafes)

「特技」(Your special skills)

As for special skills, write down what you are good at. It can be a sport or language that you are good at. For the languages you are good at, write all the languages you can use at the daily conversation level or higher. After each language, write how well you can use the language: 「日常会話レベル」 (daily conversation level), 「ビジネスレベル」(business level), or 「ネイティブレベル」(native speaker level).

Example:

・フランス語（ネイティブレベル）
・英語（ビジネスレベル）
・オランダ語（日常会話レベル）

「アピールポイント」(Your strengths)

If there is anything that would give you an advantage in applying for that position, write it down.

Example:

(If you are applying for a part-time job working in a restaurant kitchen)

「学生時代にベルギーでイタリア料理店のアルバイトをした経験があります。パスタや肉料理の担当をしていました。貴店でもその経験を活かして働きたいと思います。」

(“When I was a student, I had a part-time job at an Italian restaurant in Belgium. I was in charge of pasta and meat dishes. I would like to make use of that experience to work at your restaurant as well.”)

「通勤時間」(Commuting time)

Write down how long it will take you to get from your home to your place of work.

「扶養家族（配偶者を除く）」(If you need to support any dependents)

If you have any family members (children, parents, etc.) other than your husband or wife who depends on your income, write them down.

「配偶者」(Spouse)

If you are married and have a husband or wife, circle 「有」. If you do not have a spouse, circle 「無」.

「配偶者の扶養義務」(If you need to support your spouse financially)

If your spouse works full-time or has an annual income of more than 1.3 million yen (130万円), circle 「無」. Circle 「有」 if your spouse earns less than that or does not work.

「本人希望記入欄」(Requests for working conditions)

If you have any requests for working conditions, write them here. If you have nothing to write, then you should write 「貴社の規定に準じます」, which means “I will follow your company’s standards”.

Examples of requests

• 日本語でのコミュニケーションを学ぶため、ホールでの勤務を希望します。
  (“I would like to work as a server to learn how to communicate in Japanese.”)
  
• 月曜日と木曜日は大学の授業があるため、15時以降のシフトでお願いいたします。
  (“Due to university classes on Mondays and Thursdays, I will be available for shifts after 3 pm.”)
  
• 勤務可能日：月曜、火曜、木曜、土曜、日曜です。週4日の勤務を希望します。
  (“Available days: Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. I would like to work 4 days a week.”)
  
• バイクでの通勤を希望します。
  (“I would like to commute by motorcycle.”)

Glossary 

• ふりがな
  “ruby” (Hiragana or katakana over or beside kanji to indicate pronunciation)
  
• 入学（にゅうがく）
  “enter to school”, “enrollment”
  
• 卒業（そつぎょう）
  “graduation”
  
• 入社（にゅうしゃ）
  “joining/entering a company”
  
• 退社（たいしゃ）
  “leaving a company”
  
• 在学中（ざいがくちゅう）
  “currently studying (at …)”
  
• 現在に至る（げんざいにいたる）
  “to the present”
  
• 同上（どうじょう）
  “as written above”
  
• 同大学（どうだいがく）
  “same university as written above”
  
• 同校（どうこう）
  “same school as written above”
  
• 通勤（つうきん）
  “commuting to work”
  
• 通勤時間（つうきんじかん）
  “commuting time”
  
• 配偶者（はいぐうしゃ）
  “spouse”
  
• 扶養（ふよう）
  “supporting your dependents”
  
• 扶養家族
  “dependents”
  
• 証明写真（しょうめいしゃしん）
  “ID photo”
  
• 貴社の規定に準じます
  “I will follow your company’s standards.”

We understand that working or finding a job outside your home country is not easy. If you have any questions about resumes, we are more than happy to help you! Please feel free to ask anytime!

Related articles:

How to Find a Job in Japan (From the Perspective of a Former Recruiting Agent)