How to Write a Tech Resume for Japan - A Guide

Writing a resume for an IT job in Japan

Having a great resume can be a key factor in successfully landing a job in Japan.

I’ve read thousands of resumes written by IT people from all over the world over the past 25 years. I’ve edited and formatted countless CVs before submitting them to my clients as an agent and I’ve been the first person to review incoming applications as an in-house recruiter.

There are no strict or formal rules for writing a resume for a tech job in Japan but there are differences here from other job markets such as the US, Europe, or India. Creating a resume that meets local expectations can increase your chance of getting an interview – the whole point of your resume in the first place.

Before starting – I’m talking about a Western-style resume or CV here, not the traditional Japanese ‘rirekisho’ format. (You can find English language guides to rirekisho online, such as this one).

Suppose you’re applying to a global company, to a recruiting agency that focuses on the gaishikei (international company) market, or for a job in a Japanese company that works in English, such as Rakuten or Mercari. In that case, you’ll need a Western-style resume in English.

Read on to discover how to write a tech resume for Japan, ensuring your application stands out in this competitive market.

My resume ‘philosophy’

Before we get into things like the best format to use or how to write about your experience, I want to take a moment to outline my ‘philosophy’ about resumes.

The purpose of your resume is to get you 1st interviews. That’s it. You should think of your resume as a marketing tool. It’s not a formal record of everything you’ve ever done in your career to date.

And the audience for your resume is not you, but your reader – whether that’s an agent like me, an internal recruiter, or a hiring manager.

Too often I see resumes that read like legal documents or something written as MBA coursework. Work Experience sections are full of cut/paste job descriptions with long lists of tasks. Summary sections are full of buzzword salad. There’s a belief that a resume should sound ‘fancy’. You can have the best skills and experience in the world but a resume like this will work against you.

As a recruiter, I’m looking for:

A simple, easy-to-read layout – first impressions do count. If the reviewer has to review 80 applications and yours is easy to read, it helps create a positive impression.
Concise, easy-to-understand content – that tells me what you did that’s relevant to the role you’re applying for and why you are potentially a better match than someone else.

“But how will my resume stand out?”, I hear you ask. Apply for roles where the requirements match your skills and experience, communicate this effectively with the content of your resume, and show that you are a top performer.

Let’s look at the resume layout next, and then the content.

The Layout (first impressions count)

Format

Use a basic, single-column, full-width format for the document. This is easy to read (recruiters are used to it) and the easiest format to import into a recruiting database or applicant tracking system (ATS).

Avoid a fashionable two-column format. While these may look good, remember: your audience is not you. Two-column resumes are often harder to read in volume (there’s little consistency in how different sections should be arranged across columns) and can fall apart if your resume is longer than one page (you often end up with a blank column taking up a third of the page or filling in blank space with useless filler content).

Also, two-column resumes can be more difficult to import into the hiring company’s ATS, which means that important information can be lost or the reviewer needs to spend time entering it manually, which isn’t good.

The only people I recommend using a two-column resume are new university grads & bootcamp grads. For these people, a one-page, two-column resume can work well.

Length

“How many pages should my resume be for Japan?” is the resume question I’m most often asked by job hunters. For most tech people, I recommend 2 pages, perhaps 3 if you have significant experience (more on this later when we discuss content).

I typically receive one-page resumes from North American candidates. These are often too short to highlight enough skills and experience in detail. Everything is crammed into one page with little whitespace and a small font. There’s no need for this in Japan.

On the other extreme, it’s not unusual for candidates from countries such as India, where detail and thoroughness are prized, to send me resumes of 6, 8 or 10 pages (I’ve received 18-page resumes in the past). This is just way too long for the Japanese market and will not be read.

If you’re a project manager or in another role where you might need to provide more details about individual projects, it’s okay to include a separate “Project Details” page (or similar) at the end of the resume.

As we’ll discuss below, writing concise, relevant information will help you fit into a two-page format in most cases.

Fonts

Keep it simple. A Sans Serif font like Arial or Calibri looks good and is easy to read.

Stick to a single font throughout your resume. Avoid using different fonts for headings, sub-headings and text. It looks unprofessional.

Send me a resume with Arial 11 for text, Arial 13 for headings, and Arial 16 for your name at the top, and you’re my new best friend.

Use of Colour

People sometimes use colour in their resumes to stand out, but too much colour can be distracting from the content.

If you want some colour, I suggest a single accent colour (such as dark blue) for section headings. Don’t use too many colours – you might think it looks good but it doesn’t.

Whitespace

Allowing whitespace between sections can make your resume more readable. This is good.

Tables

If you want to indent information or create columns, use Tab Stops instead of tables.

While tables may look okay on screen, they don’t import well into recruiting systems, can become messy across multiple pages, and make editing more difficult (if, for example, I need to correct something before submitting to a client).

Section Structure

Keeping to the theme of simplicity, I like to stick to a pretty basic resume structure, as follows:

Name & Contact Details

Summary or Profile

Skills or Technical Skills

Professional Experience

Certification

Education

Languages

While some resume guides advise listing Skills at the end of the resume, I prefer to see an overview of core skills toward the top so that I can quickly grasp the person’s skill set. It’s also common advice to not have a Summary or Profile section at the start of your resume but I find them valuable (I’ll explain why below).

Let’s explore the content of each section in turn.

The Content

Name & Contact Details

Your name (centred), with your contact details directly below in a smaller font. Add a link to your Github, LinkedIn, and/or portfolio, as appropriate. Add your location (city or city/country if you’re outside Japan).

If you require a visa to work in Japan and already have one, mention it here – eligibility to work in Japan is one of the first things I check for non-Japanese nationals. Visa processing can take months and not every company is willing to sponsor visas.

For hyperlinks, there’s no need to write the full URL. Writing “LinkedIn” as a clickable link is clean and simple.

Avoid placing contact details in the document header, as they may not be imported properly into an ATS.

Summary or Profile

There are differing opinions on whether or not you need a Summary section on your resume, but I believe a well written one can be invaluable.

Why? It’s the only section where you can make a direct pitch to the reader, highlighting your relevance and interest in the role you’ve applied for.

If you’re applying from overseas, it’s the ideal place to emphasise specific interest in Japan, helping you stand out from others who are applying for “any job, anywhere”.

Keep it brief – two or three sentences are enough. For example:

A front-end engineer with 5+ years of experience in TypeScript, JavaScript, React and Vue.js. Skilled in creating responsive and user-friendly web applications optimised for performance. With a strong interest in Japanese culture, I have been learning Japanese for 2 years and am seeking an opportunity to relocate to Japan long-term.

Technical Skills or Skills

I like to keep this section easy to read and easy to import into an ATS. For example:

(Use a left tab to align the skills – it’s much easier to read)

Some key points on Skills:

Focus on skills relevant to the job you’re applying for and that you are proficient in. There’s no need to list every technology you’ve ever touched, especially if it won’t stand up to interview scrutiny.
Remove legacy technology (unless relevant to the role) as listing old tech can create bias.
Avoid self-evaluations, such as “Expert” or “Advanced” or “4 out of 5” (stars or progress bars) after your skills. Most people are not competent at self-assessment, and it can come across as overconfidence or underconfidence. If you want to highlight core skills versus skills you’re developing, you can separate them with headings such as “Proficient” and “Currently learning”.
There’s also no need to include logos of technologies you work with. While it might be visually appealing, it’s not searchable and won’t import into an ATS. Stick to text.

If you want to highlight skill topics or non-technical skills, use a simple 2-column or 3-column matrix, for example:

Professional Experience

This is the heart of your resume and your opportunity to showcase your skills and impact. What you write here is key to landing an interview.

Here are my tips on writing about your work experience.

Reverse Chronological Order: List your roles starting with your most recent job first.
Role Header: Use a simple format for the header for each role – Company Name, Location, Employment Dates on one line, and Job Title on the next.
Combine Roles: If you have multiple positions at the same company, list them under the same company header. Avoid repeating the company name for each position as it may give the impression that these are different jobs when being scanned by a reader.
Tasks/Responsibilities: Provide a brief list of tasks and responsibilities, along with your accomplishments. Whenever possible, include metrics (percentages or numbers) to emphasise your impact.
Bullet Points: Use bullet points, not paragraphs of text. They are easier to read and more likely to be actually read.
How Many Bullet Points?: The number of bullet points depends on the role, the duration of the position, and how recent it was. I suggest 4-6 bullets per role. I’ve received resumes with 30 bullet points for one role and fallen asleep by point 22. We’re not listing every little thing you ever did in the job. Stick to key points.
Avoid Job Descriptions: Don’t just paste the job description of your role. Job descriptions are often boring, may not be an accurate reflection of what you did, and don’t highlight your individual contributions.
Focus On Recent Experience: You generally rely on your most recent experience, typically the past 3-5 years, to land your next job. There’s no need for 10 bullet points for a role from 2015. For jobs held over 10 years ago, often just the job title (or the job title with a one-bullet overview) is enough. Older jobs on your resume can show career progression but they shouldn’t be the focus.
Show Tech Use: Readers want to see what tech you’ve used and where as this gives context to your skills. Include key tech in individual bullet points or show the tech stack as a final bullet point.
Projects: If your job involves project-based work and you have many projects, consider collating them into a “Project Details” addendum at the end of the resume and just give an overview in the work experience section. If there are only 1 or 2 projects, you can keep them in your work experience.
Project Details: You don’t need to go into great detail about projects. I’ve received resumes along the lines of “If the user pushed the red button, the monthly sales report would be printed. If the user pushed the blue button, the inventory report would be printed”. Keep your descriptions at a high level.
Project Dates: Show start and end dates for projects, not just the duration. This allows the reader to understand when in your career you did the project. If you’re a PM, show the budget and resources managed, so that the reader can understand the project scale.

Certification

In Japan, experience generally holds more value than certification, but certification can be a great way to show your commitment to personal development and staying up-to-date.

List recent technical and language certifications. No need to include license numbers or portal login information. If the employer wants to verify your certification, they’ll ask.

If your only certification is for something outdated like Windows XP, remove this section altogether. There’s nothing sadder on a resume than lists of out-of-date certifications and courses. Keep it relevant.

Education

Education can be important in Japan, as a university degree is often the key requirement to obtaining a working visa for non-Japanese nationals.

Keep this section straightforward and focus on higher education or professional courses only. There’s no need to include your primary or secondary school details.

Languages

Languages are one of the top skills I check for as a recruiter. Include your English & Japanese language skills, along with your native language if it’s different from these.

There no ‘formal’ standard for expressing language levels on resumes in Japan. You may occasionally see the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) A1-C2 levels on job descriptions, but it’s not very common.

More often, we use a variation of:

Basic or Beginner – Conversational or Intermediate – Business or Advanced – Fluent – Native

Also, you can specify separate speaking/reading/writing levels if they differ.

For example:

There’s no ‘None’ on this scale. If you’re using this guide, I assume you have some English skills. If you don’t know any Japanese, try at least to reach a Basic level. Conversational is typically around JLPT N3 level. Advanced or Business would typically be at N2-level Japanese or a TOEIC of 800+. Fluent would be N1-level or a TOEIC of 900+. Native is the mother tongue you grew up with.

Business-level is tricky as it very much depends on the business at hand. The level of Japanese required to send emails to colleagues or speak at internal meetings is generally lower than that expected of someone who will visit a client to discuss new project requirements in Japanese.

Sometimes, I’ll highlight a candidate’s language skills by highlighting how they use them at work, especially if they are a key requirement for my client. For example:

What you don’t need on your resume

Buzzwords – remove generic terms such as “fast learner”, “team player” or “strong communication skills”. They add no value.
Your photo, age, gender or marital status – these can lead to bias in the hiring process.
Your full postal address – remove this for privacy reasons. Just include your city or prefecture if you’re in Japan or your city and country if you’re overseas.
References – if a recruiter or hiring company want to do a reference check, they’ll ask you later.
Your passport number – this is too much personal information.
The names of your parents – this is not necessary in Japan.
A declaration at the end stating that your resume is true to the best of your knowledge – this is also not necessary in Japan.

File Type

Stick to a Microsoft Word document or a PDF and you can’t go far wrong. And no resumes in Excel – these are pretty close to a crime against humanity.

Recruiting agencies often need to edit resumes to remove personal information, add logos and recruitment license info, and so on, so send them an MS Doc. For applications directly to companies, send a PDF.

Final thoughts

That’s it! Skip the fancy designs. Keep your resume simple, concise and accurate. Show how your skills and experience add value to potential employers. You’re good to go.

Here’s a downloadable template to get you started.

Want a free review of your resume with specific feedback for the Japan job market? Get in touch with me here.

How to Write a Tech Resume for Japan – A Guide