Job Discussion Forums

jjskizo421 · Joined: 15 Mar 2006 Posts: 5 Location: San Diego, CA

k, so I know the look in Japan seems to be 'professor chic', it's obviously a very conservative place. My question is...how far can you push the boundries? I'm a mail, and my ears are stretched a bit (means there are earings, and they are thicker than regular ear holes), is that going to be a complete deal-breaker to a potential employer (the bigger chains like GEOS, AEON, NOVA) Is it like military where your hair has to be super short? I know these are somewhat shallow questions, but I haven't seen much talk of them, and was wandering if you have any experiences with this. thanks in advance.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Keep the jewelry and piercings to a minimum during the interview for certain. After that, you might still have to minimize what you are used to because Japan is a conservative culture. Businessmen, for example, wear long-sleeved shirts and dark suits year-round, and you often see people in suits or at least dress clothes and ties on hiking paths.

FWIW, I used to work with a 40-ish American with a pierced earring in one ear. No big deal. Subtle is probably the best.

As far as hair style goes, look at the pictures you see on the posters or web site ads and go by them as a GENERAL rule of thumb. Then have a look around once you're here. Personally, I have not changed my hairstyle since I arrived, but I see lots of men with shaved heads or nearly so. Is that the fashion these days, here or back home, or is it just a means to save money on haircuts and shampoo?

abufletcher · Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 7:08 pm Post subject:

If you're talking about the the newly fashionable type where a ring is actually inserted into the lob to form an African-esque hole, well that's going to be WAY outside the boundaries.

Pretty much anything that screams "hip and punk" (or that you bought or saw someone wearing at HotTopic Very Happy

) is going to be a liability. As for "professor-chic," think more along the lines of "employee at Fry's" for your average eikaiwa teacher. It's a uniform: slacks, long-sleeve shirt, and tie. Dapperness is definitely extra.

angrysoba · Joined: 20 Jan 2006 Posts: 446 Location: Kansai, Japan

canuck · Joined: 11 May 2003 Posts: 1921 Location: Japan