*The above three figures are from Gaikokujin Koyo Jokyo no Todokede Jokyo Matome (Declaration and Summary of the Hiring Situation for Overseas Nationals) (Body) published by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (as of the end of October 2016)
General Affairs, Human Resources and Workers’ Affairs
All work that helps a company operate smoothly, such as salary management, general affairs, recruitment and hiring and human resources for work such as training.
Accounting and Finance
All work related to money, such as salary and wage payment, asset management and settlement of accounts.
Law, Patents and Reviews
Law refers to all work related to laws. Patents consist of applications and registration of new products and technologies. Reviews refer to legal checks of items such as contracts.
Logistics and Inventory Management
Work such as transportation and delivery of products, etc., receiving and submitting orders, procurement of materials and management of stock.
General Administrative, Secretarial and Reception Work
General administrative work includes answering phones, managing documents and general affairs. Secretarial work consists of assisting a senior member of the company. Reception work consists of greeting visitors and providing them with information.
Trade Affairs and Foreign Affairs
All work in which the employee works with the sales team to help import and export operations proceed smoothly.
Promotions and PR
You will share information and news with the world to improve the image or people’s recognition of the company’s products and services or of the company itself.
Planning and Product Development
You will ascertain customers’ needs and social trends, and plan and develop products accordingly. You will also formulate suitable sales strategies.
Business Planning
You will support the company president, directors and other top management by sharing specialist knowledge about how to run a company.
Market Research and Marketing
You will investigate market trends and carry out general analysis that ties together work such as the formulation of sales strategies for products and services, and the development of new products.
New Sales (Corporate)
You will visit companies to pitch your company’s products and services and gain contracts. You will gain new customers through introductions by existing customers and by making sales visits in the area you are in charge of.
New Sales (Consumer)
You will visit people’s houses to sell products. This work mainly consists of door-to-door sales and cold visits (pitching without an appointment), although it may involve phone-based or appointment-based sales.
Business Promotion and Sales Promotion
Business promotion consists of creating information and systems for increasing profits and instructing others about these. Sales promotion consists of devising effective methods for selling products.
Existing Sales (Consumer)
Sales to frequent customers with whom your company already has an account, such as sales of securities or insurance. This work requires a sincere, ‘human’ approach rather than sales techniques.
Existing Sales (Corporate)
Sales work in which you will visit client companies with whom your company trades on an ongoing basis and find out about their needs. You will need to negotiate sincerely about tough requirements and build a trust relationship.
Foreign Exchange Dealer/Trader
A foreign exchange dealer buys and sells currency such as yen, dollars and euros at the exchange rate. A trader receives sale and purchase orders from clients and liaises with dealers.
Financing/Asset Manager
A financing manager arranges financing of assets owned by your company, such as banking, securities, life insurance and damage insurance, with financial institutions. An asset manager invests in assets, stocks and bonds for profit.
Securities Analyst
A specialist who analyses trends in share prices and the future of industries and companies. In addition to a knowledge of the securities market, you will need a wide knowledge of economics, industry and sociology.
Actuary
A specialist mathematician for fields such as insurance, pensions and finance. You will set figures such as insurance premiums based on mathematical reasoning.
Financial Advisor
A specialist who gives practical advice to individual clients about matters such as asset management, land use, inheritance issues and general financial affairs. Works in such places as financial institutions.
Shop Manager
You will oversee general matters from the opening of the shop to management of human resources, inventory and sales, and ensure that the shop runs smoothly. An ability to manage people is particularly important, as people are the backbone of a shop’s operations.
Sales and Customer Service Staff
You will serve customers in a department store, supermarket, high-volume store or one of various specialty shops. You will provide service and recommend products in a way that suits the needs of the shop.
Buyer
You will buy products for your shop, or the ingredients or materials necessary to make products. Many people are selected as buyers after working as a sales manager at a shop or as a shop manager.
Supervisor
You will oversee, manage and supervise operations at a supermarket, convenience store, restaurant, fast food restaurant, etc. You will give advice and training on shop or restaurant operations.
Programmer
You will create computer programs. After gaining experience in this job, you can eventually become a systems engineer.
Sales Engineer
You will visit customers and provide technical explanations and services related to computer hardware and software, and products and systems from your company such as OA devices.
Systems Engineer
Technical work related to computers. You will design information systems and software according to your customer’s needs and requests.
System Maintenance and Operations
System maintenance consists of inspection and procurement of computer systems. System operations is an operator role in which you will ensure that systems operate smoothly.
Network Engineer
A computer-related role specializing in networks. This role is in the spotlight at the moment as companies are using networks in more and more advanced ways.
Customer Support
You will answer inquiries from users about products and services. This is mainly done by phone, although it is increasing done by e-mail or via a website.
Editing and Production
You will produce content such as websites, magazines and books. Your work will vary widely from proposing plans to coordinating personnel such as writers, designers and photographers and managing coverage and costs.
Designer
You will carry out design work for productions such as ads, magazines, books, websites and other content. This field also includes fashion design in the apparel industry and architectural design and layouts in the construction industry.
Journalist or Writer
A journalist writes articles for newspapers or magazines belonging to their company. A writer’s job is basically the same, but many writers work freelance.
Game Editor
There are a wide range of jobs related to games, from producers who propose plans to designers, programmers and music supervisors.
MR
Medical representative. You will visit hospitals and clinics to explain about the effects of your company’s medications and treatment devices and how to use them.
Business Consultant
You will provide advice to company managers on matters such as personnel training and cost reduction. In order to give in-depth advice on business matters, it is essential to have a wide range of knowledge on matters such as management and accounting.
Nutritionist
You will carry out work such as calculating calories in meals, creating menus, carrying out sanitation management and training cooking staff in government institutions such as public health centres or in facilities such as schools, hospitals or company cafeterias.
Lecturer/Instructor
You will instruct people at facilities such as cram schools, various kinds of schools or gyms. This also includes customer service employees who explain computer products.
Translation
You will translate texts written in your second language to your native language. Much of this work includes practical translation such as translating business documents. There are various working formats such as working in a company or freelancing.
Interpreting
You will verbally translate between your native language and second language. This can take the form of simultaneous interpreting, where you start interpreting as soon as the speaker starts speaking, or consecutive interpreting, where you listen to the whole of what the speaker says before starting interpreting. There are various working formats such as working in a company or freelancing.
Basic Research
Research that opens up new fields of knowledge. While this work does not directly lead to product development or business, companies invest in this research with the hope of future benefits.
Quality Control, Production Management and Maintenance
Quality control consists of inspecting products and managing production processes. Production control consists of controlling production plans. Maintenance consists of inspections and maintenance of production lines.
Construction Management (Technology and Research)
Management of civil engineering work. Can be called ‘site supervision’. The nature of your work will differ depending on the scale of the project, which can consist of an individual residence or large-scale construction.
Machinery and Electronic Device Design
Engineering consisting of design for electronic device and machinery manufacturers. This work requires specialist knowledge in one of various fields ranging from precision devices to automobiles.
Production and Manufacturing Technology
A technical role in which you will plan and design mass production lines for products in factories, set equipment, determine specifications, install the lines and perform post-operation maintenance.
Construction and Civil Engineering Design, Surveying and Quantity Surveying
Construction and civil engineering design can be further classified into residential projects and other construction and civil engineering. Surveying consists of assessing the topography of a site. Quantity surveying consists of work such as cost estimation.
©Mynavi Corporation, 2018. From [仕事とキャリアを考える本 2018]
