Job fairs in Japan

In Tokyo, there is probably at least one job fair every other week. You can see adverts for job fairs on trains a lot. I guess because a lot of people think about changing jobs while on the train in the morning.

When I was job hunting I participated in several job fairs. Most of them are aimed at Japanese clients but sometimes there are job fairs especially for foreign job seekers as well, e.g. the Job Haku from Pasona. It will be held again this month.

At a job fair you will find several booths of several companies, where these companies try to promote themselves. As a job-seeker you can visit booths of companies that interest you and talk to the person in charge of recruiting. If they like you, you can give them your CV and contact information so they can contact you if they would like to invite you for an interview. Therefore it is a good idea to bring several printouts of your CV with you when you visit a job fair. If you have them, bring copies in Japanese and English.

There are basically two different kinds of job fairs in Tokyo. One aimed at new graduates and the other aimed at people that want to change jobs. Make sure not to visit the wrong one. The fairs for new graduates will usually say shinsotsu (新卒) or something to that effect, and those for job changes will say something with tenshoku (転職).

The dress code differs from fair to fair but in general, I would advise wearing a suit.

Even if the dress code says "casual," it is always better to wear a suit.

I would also recommend checking the participating companies and their job offers beforehand so that you know where to go and can ask more informed questions.

Besides the company booths, most job fairs also offer seminars where they provide advice for job interviews, how to write a good CV and similar topics. Job fairs are, in general, free of admission for job seekers. Sometimes you even get a Quo card or something similar when you attend.

My personal experience with job fairs is rather negative. For me, it seems these are just big events to promote companies. My visits to job fairs have led to several interviews but during the interviews, I mostly got the feeling the company is not really interested in hiring me. The seminars usually provide pretty general information that you can find with a simple Google search so they are not really worth attending. But if you are interested in some of the companies that have booths it might be a good way to talk to the person in charge and maybe learn more about the company and their hiring policy.

Have you visited a job fair in Japan? What experiences did you have?