Japan does practically everything different from the rest of the world. Resumes for jobseekers are no exception. In contrast to the West where you are pretty much free to do what you want with your resume, Japanese resumes all follow the same template and rules. You can even buy resume templates at convenience stores and ¥100 shops!
One huge difference you might notice is that Japanse resumes don’t include things like your language skills or hobbies like Western CVs.
Japanese resumes are basically just a timeline of your life with dates attached to the places where you studied or worked. The things you actually worked on and skills you’ve acquired go on another document called the 職務履歴書 (shokumu rirekisho) along with the more familiar cover letter called 志望動機 (shibou douki).
In this Kanji Cheat Sheet, we will focus on the education section of your resume with Japanese education fields and degree names. It’s the first section you have to fill out on your resume!
Basic vocabulary for institutions
The standard Japanese resume for a freshly graduated Japanese national usually starts from high-school, sometimes even from elementary school, mainly because school reputation prevails here in Japan.
However, unless you attended school in Japan, you probably want to leave out your whole secondary education history as it won’t matter much to a Japanese recruiter. One line mentioning that you graduated from high school should be enough to start your resume.
| English | Japanese | Romaji |
| University | 大学 | daigaku |
| Grad School | 大学院 | daigaku-in |
| Vocational School | 専門学校 | Senmon gakkou |
Read the full article on GaijinPot Study!
