Job Discussion Forums

[avahanian]

Hi all,

I know this might seem off topic but it's really not, I'm wondering if any of you out there have worked in Japan in Advertising or Marketing, an area where English-speakers could be of tremendous help?

The way I see it is, there's enormous demand for English-speakers to teach Japanese people English, so why not have English-speakers who could act as consultants for Japanese companies who want to reach out to English markets?

Do any of you have any advice on this? I would rather not teach English in Japan if I can help it (though I might be willing to teach Business English only if I can't do anything else)

Here are my qualifications, I have a university degree in Journalism/Public Relations and I also have a TEFL certificate from a UK school. I have also taught English in Spain so I do have the teaching experience. But my main work experience is in Marketing/PR.

So do you think it would be possible to do something in the area of Advertising/Marketing/Public Relations?

If not, would you recommend and is it possible to only teach Business English in Japan or act as a consultant for companies?

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks

best wishes

[Glenski]

Quite frankly, I think your chances are slim. First, the poor/weird English that dominates the advertising market in Japan is accepted by business people and locals. They are not out for perfect grammar in most cases. If it has an English word or phrase in it, that's good enough, it seems. I'm sure you have heard of logos or seen various items that display English that is not quite on the mark of accurate. The Japanese seem to like it that way, and just having English on their product makes it more international/fashionable/trendy. This major group is not going to change.

There are others that want accurate labels and such, and you can see them if you look for them. For some reason, beer containers come to mind as one example. How they (and others) manage to use good English is something I don't know. Maybe they have English-speaking foreign staff; maybe they have bilingual Japanese staff. But, for local ads and products, I would have to guess that the number of jobs is pretty scarce. Your best bet might be the larger companies (car companies, beer companies, electronics firms, etc.) or for non-Japanese companies with branches in Japan.

One more hurdle you will probably have to overcome is the language barrier. Speaking English is good in your favor, but unless you can also speak good Japanese, I would suspect that you will have a hard time in business meetings, let alone planning meetings and other discussions. Very few corporations in Japan have adopted English for the office.

Another hitch is that many ads posted for this type of job want Japanese, not foreigners. Look at these recent ones from www.jobsinjapan.com.

Advertising creative agency seeks Assistant Producer. Japanese with excellent English skills, preferably overseas experience. Position calls for planning, producing presentations (mostly Japanese), dealing with clients (Japanese & English), some translation & proofreading work. Experience appreciated, but confidence and motivation are essential.

Wanted Japanese male/female staff to work in international company .no experience is ok. You must be able to speak English. Office in Tokyo for accounts and for marketing.

Small beer and beverage trading and technical consulting company is looking for a young Japanese for administrative and sales support assistance in Yokohama. Full time employment contract, 210.000 Yen/ month+ bonuses+ extensive vacations

I'm not in that field, but these are my feelings. If anyone else has options or information to the contrary, be my guest.

[Sherri]

Have you checked the career forum on gaijinpot.com? There might be more specific advice for you there. I do agree with Glenski though, unless you can speak Japanese at near native level, you are unlikely to find a job in the field here. There are plenty of bi-lingual, bi-cultural people already here. Your best bet might be to get a job in your home country with a company with an office in Japan and get a transfer.
Best
Sherri

[shmooj]