A Lesser-Known Path for Non-Japanese Speakers to Find Work in Japan 🇯🇵

Is your spoken Japanese limited, your reading without online tools a non-starter, and are you looking to find work in Japan? Consider exploring the world of Project Management!

Consider exploring the world of Project Management! 📊🌐

Why?

📌 Demand is Constant: No matter the economic climate, projects need to be completed efficiently. Project Managers (PMs) are always sought after to bring order to chaos and ensure progress.

📌 English Speakers (often) Welcome: While speaking Japanese may widen your options (OK, by a lot), there is still an abundance of opportunities for English-only speakers in the field of project management.

📌 Project-Based Role: PM roles are often funded by project budgets, eliminating the need for headcount approval and HR involvement. This means less red tape and more flexibility for both employers and employees.

📌 Wide range of role capabilities: from operational project managers who track tasks and provide status updates, to project coordinators supporting senior PMs, to strategic project managers who build and pitch business cases to stakeholders. The project management field offers diverse roles catering to various skill sets and levels of experience.

📌 Versatile and Rewarding: Project management encompasses a wide range of responsibilities and skill levels. From running meetings and tracking deliverables to creating detailed work breakdown structures, there's something for everyone.

📌 Logical Frameworks to Follow & Learn: The frameworks, theory, and certification training in project management are user-friendly and highly applicable. Numerous project management systems and software are available to assist you in real-world project situations.

📌 Lucrative Compensation: As your experience and reputation grow, so does the earning potential. Project management, especially in finance and pharma, offers competitive compensation packages.

📌 Domain-Specific Knowledge just 'nice to have': Unlike some roles, project management does not demand deep industry or technical expertise. Your transferable skills and ability to manage projects effectively are paramount.

📌 Contracting and 'Haken' (dispatch staffing) Opportunities: While contract-based employment may not sound secure, it provides continuous opportunities to secure projects and build a strong professional network. Eventually, you may find yourself less reliant on contracting firms.

📌 A path to Consulting/big 4 Consulting: With proficiency and a blend of "Delivery" and "Sales" capabilities, you can explore consulting firms, expanding your career horizons and opening doors to new challenges.

📌 Transition to Product Management: As your knowledge of domains, products, and technologies expands, you can pivot into Product Management. This role holds high regard, often offers seishain (permanent employee) positions, and opens avenues to startups and equity opportunities.

📌 Japanese Language Advantage: Acquiring Japanese language skills broadens your job options five-fold, leading to even more well-paid opportunities in diverse industries.

Now this strategy doesn't address how you get a company to want to hire you from outside the country, with no permission to work in Japan (yet) and then, your Japanese not at a level you could use in your work shall we say. If you're in Japan and/or already have permission to work though, Project Management might be something to consider.

Where to start? Well, check out the Wikipedia article for Project Management as just one place to start. Read through it and imagine doing not all but parts of it? If it interests you, then start taking concepts out of it and running them through a variety of GenAI (try Poe.com or Perplexity.ai for variety to choose from), with a variety of prompts to explain it in the way that makes it easy for you to understand. See how you go with that, with your understanding of the key concepts, the language and acronyms and then, look at your existing work experience to see how much if any of it can be relevant to Projects and Project Management.

What else? How's your network in Japan? Build it in a targeted, focused way.

For sure join BusinessInJapan.com on LinkedIn (The BIJ Community is 86,000 strong, with about 1/3 based in Japan) and here's some advice on how to take it to the next level: "The mindset that will help you on LinkedIn more than any other I believe, is..."

ご成功を祈ります! | Go seikō o inorimasu! | Wishing you success!

Consider project management as a path to success and growth in Japan, leveraging your existing skills and paving the way for a rewarding career.

Fund your Japan journey, or your life, in Japan with an enjoyable career path. 🚀

#ProjectManagement #CareerOpportunities #Japan #JobSearch #ProfessionalGrowth #business #businessinjapan