Thinking about How Resumes Are Written

The main difference between the western-style resume and the Japanese resume, is that while both contain information about your career, the Western-style one tries to convey more through the choice of wording and description while in Japanese it would just relay information.

A company looking at a resume is looking for key data points in work history, skills and background though so in that sense they are both means to select the best candidates for the interview.

Here is a good youtube video on filling out a Japanese resume Click to watch

And a web page that explains it and gives a good template to practice on, if the company you are applying for accepts this format

Explanation of a resume and a template in word

Here is one explanation from an online job site Daijob.com

Daijob.com - Writing a Japanese resume

Resume Candidate #1
050-xxx-xxxx [e-mail]

Mission
10 years of experience working in Japan, and I would like to work in sales.

Work Experience
Nov 2013 – Present Galloway Japan Tokyo, Japan
Editor

Working as an Editor for an educational website. Main responsibilities include researching information on English language education materials, posting information on the website for members of the website’s community and talking to schools about advertising on the website. Successfully increased advertising revenue for the site by identifying schools that matched with the website’s members , and presented win-win solutions for both sides.

April, 2011– November, 2013 Jelly Bello Japan Kyoto, Japan
Senior Teacher

Worked as an English-language teacher, teaching adults and high-school students conversational English. Created lesson plans, monitored students’ progress against educational goals and evaluated other teachers. Assisted with planning for holiday-themed events and other campaigns to foster deeper understanding of foreign countries among students and increase their chances to utilize English.

April, 2009 – March, 2011 Kyoto High School for Girls Kyoto, Japan
Assistant English Teacher at a girls middle school in Kyoto, Japan

Came to Japan as an ALT working for the Kyoto Prefectural Board of Education and taught at a middle school. Assisted the English teacher with lessons and games to encourage English language practice among the students, while also acting as an advisor to the school’s English club. Participated in the planning of lessons and also assisted students with their grammar homework in order to improve their preparation for regular exams and quizzes.

Sept, 2006 – Dec, 2009 Centre for English Language Development Windsor, Canada
Tutor

Worked as a tutor for English as a Second Language students

Education
B.A., University of Ontario, 2006, Majored in English Literature

Hobbies & Interests
Interested in golf and soccer. Like to practice speaking and listening Japanese.

Languages
Native English Speaker, conversational Japanese
JPLT Level 3 test, summer 2014. Taking the JPLT Level 2 in summer 2016.