How to work for a company which can't sponsor work visas?

[kangaeru]

Hi all,

This post is somewhat lengthy, but I hope you will take the time to read it. Thank you very much in advance to those of you who go through all of it!

I'm a senior college student looking to move to Tokyo after I graduate to work for a market-research firm called Japan Market Intelligence, henceforth "JMI", (http://www.jmintelligence.co.jp), currently a small but very promising company operating out of Shinjuku Tokyo. I have corresponded with a representative of this company through e-mail and over the phone, and they have explained to me that because their business is relativey small (35 people) and new (4 years old), they are unable as of yet to sponsor foreign work visas.

Furthermore, after investigating the different types of work visas that are available, I see that all non-english teaching visas require a graduate degree or 3-5 years of field experience for a candidate to be eligable. Because I'm an undergrad without a deep professional portfolio, I do not satisfy these requirements.

To make matters more complicated, even if I do apply for a work visa, it will have to be with a company which will allow me to actually WORK for JMI. The best option on the table right now as I see it is request sponsorship from ITX Investment Group, the south-east Asian arm of Olympus Investments, which has invested several million dollars in JMI and is aiming to bring them public within the next 2-3 years. Getting a job with a venture capital firm is hard enough, but getting them to sponsor a work visa for a company they're investing in seems a great reach, realistically.

The other option I'm considering is teaching English for a year through Nova because they can most likely place me in Tokyo, allowing me to easily interview with ITX and JMI. Living in Japan for a year is also the time I estimate it would take for my Japanese to become business-level binlingual-- I'm going to be graduating with a specially designed International Marketing degree with a minor in Japanese. I have followed the same language cirriculum as a major, eschewing some of (but not all) the cultural classes required to receive major credit. In the event that things with JMI do not materialize, after one year I should be able to seek jobs which require english/japanese bi-lingual ability.

My questions for my fellow gaijin are:

Is there a better way to teach English in Japan than through JET or Nova? Being located in Tokyo is important to me so that I have easy access to companies for interviews.

I have heard that it is possible to secure an English teaching job through a private company like Nova, and then to quit and work for the company of my choice. However, it is doubtful Nova will want to renew my working visa after the year-long contract is up, and I would need to find a company which wanted to sponsor a new working visa during that time. I would also most likely need to leave the country while this process is ongoing and return when its finished.

Would a company like ITX bite on the visa sponsorship scheme previously mentioned? Should I submit a resume in Japanese or English if I go this route?

While I do not have an IT degree, I do have advanced knowledge of TCP/IP networking and computer troubleshooting abilities on Windows 2k/XP platforms. I have worked Tech Support positions before, most notably at ESPN's corporate headquarters and I can get glowing recommendations from my past supervisors. Should I possibly go through an IT company initially instead of teaching English?

Is there any better way that I've not thought of which would allow me to work for JMI?

Thank you again for reading this post--I would greatly appreciate any comments or insights.

Brenton

[FG Lurker]

I have corresponded with a representative of this company through e-mail and over the phone, and they have explained to me that because their business is relativey small (35 people) and new (4 years old), they are unable as of yet to sponsor foreign work visas.

Unless they have had some sort of problem with immigration in the past it is highly unlikely that this is true.

It sounds like an "out" to me -- a convenient way for them to get you to go away.

-----
Actually, let me rephrase that: There is no way in hell that this is true. I have worked for smaller (and newer) companies than that, and it is even possible for an individual (ie sole proprietor) to sponsor. Take their kind hint...

[kamome]

Maybe they're not telling him to go away. It could just be that the people in that company are completely clueless about how to sponsor a visa and are operating under the false assumption that the size of their company is determinative.

[FG Lurker]

Maybe they're not telling him to go away. It could just be that the people in that company are completely clueless about how to sponsor a visa and are operating under the false assumption that the size of their company is determinative.

If no one can be bothered to make a quick call to immigration to find out I would say that it is a very clear sign that they aren't interested in hiring him. The information can probably even be found on the web in both English and Japanese.

[amdg]

[Taro Toporific]

It sounds like an "out" to me -- a convenient way for them to get you to go away.

There's no way of telling whether the company is totally clueless, or more likely they just a bunch of timid, cover-their-asses, managers who learned that sponsoring a foreign employee puts them on the line for all sorts of liabilities. In addition, the paperwork for hiring the first foreigner at a Japanese company will appear to be a pain in the ass to a manager with poor familiarity with the Japanese legal/ bureaucratic system. In addition, it's a pain to prepare English copies of the contracts and whatever for the gaijin (Japanese people are stunningly ignorant of all things remotely legal).

For example, the majority of companies in the Hitachi Group refuse to guarantee/sponsor foreign employees and individual managers have to personally guarantee a gaijin they want to hire. Needless to say, if a gaijin applies at one of these Hitachi companies, most personnel managers will say, "you need to get your own visa," even though there are many foreigners working at Hitachi (most under spouse visas).

Bottom Line: You need to go Japanese Immigration website[color="Red"]*[/color] or better yet call/ go to your Japanese consulate/embassy and get all the information/steps for a Japanese company hiring a gaijin (ideally both in Japanese and English).

[color="Red"]*[/color] http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/

[Greji]

There's no way of telling whether the company is totally clueless, or more likely they just a bunch of timid, cover-their-asses, managers who learned that sponsoring a foreign employee puts them on the line for all sorts of liabilities. In addition, the paperwork for hiring the first foreigner at a Japanese company will appear to be a pain in the ass to a manager with poor familiarity with Japanese legal/ bureaucratic system and the need to prepare English copies of the contracts and whatever for the gaijin (Japanese people are stunningly ignorant of all things remotely legal).

What you say may well be true Taro, but there is also the old "If I ain't done it before, it can't be done" syndrome that you find in a lot of J-companies. If he contacts immigrations as you say, and gets what they need to do before hand, it could work wonders. Just saying "Hey, you gotta sponsor me" will scare the shit out of most mid-managers, but if you say "if you do this, that and that, I can get my visa ", everything might pop out peachy keen. But then again, it could also be as was pointed out, a case of that old "don't let the door hit you in the oshiri" thing!

[gomichild]

It is a lot of work to sponsor someone for a visa - but I'm doubtful that they would use it as an excuse not to hire you. Maybe they have had bad experience in the past.

As Taro suggested go to the embassy and get as much information as you can. Also get information about self-sponsoring - they may be willing to help you with the documents required for that and it's another option to explore.

[GomiGirl]

Brenton,

What is your nationality? What is your age?

There are also visas that allow you to be an intern, cultural visa, student visa etc etc. There are different types of visas. Self-sponsorship is one - if you can be considered a consultant etc. You need to prove that you can support yourself by showing contracts from 2+ companies that will pay you over ¥250,000 a month in total. Or that you work for different English schools and have privates on the side.

[kangaeru]

Gomigirl: I am 22 years old and American.

In reponse to those of you who comment that JMI does not want to hire me, consider this:

I first discovered JMI about a year ago and sent them an e-mail inquiring about internship opportunities. Below is part of the reply I got from the company rep I have been speaking with regarding the visa:

"As for interning at JMI, unfortunately, we do not have a program as such
with Universities. However, we do interview and hire full time project
assistants upto Senior Consultants on a regular basis.
This being said, it would be difficult for us sponsor your visa as you
do not currently live in Japan.

Never the less, if you do come to Japan in the future, there would be a
possibility of setting up an interview and exploring employment
opportunities at that time."


I e-mailed them a year later, this past January, asking them if they would allow me to interview with them as I will be graduating soon. Below is their reply concerning visa issues:

"Dear Brenton,

Great to hear from you and see that your Japan vision is coming together.

Let's start by getting your resume over to our HR person **** ****.

Then we can discuss possible interviews (maybe a phone interview might
be better) and other options. Again, I would like to reiterate that it
considering you for a position at JMI could be a challange if your not
already in Japan. However, let's take it one step at a time."

I then had a follow-up conversation a week later with this rep over the phone which lasted 30 minutes. The conversation went very well, and he told me that if I was able to get to Japan JMI would be very interested in interviewing me.

I think that if they wanted to politely deny me, they could have already done so by now...they've had many opportunities to do so. I think they might already have a large number of foreign visa workers on their payroll--maybe this is a factor?

Please let me know what you all think.

[Mulboyne]

I think that if they wanted to politely deny me, they could have already done so by now...they've had many opportunities to do so. I think they might already have a large number of foreign visa workers on their payroll--maybe this is a factor?

There aren't any formal quota restrictions for companies. If they already have a large number of foreign work visa employees and somehow had a problem with a recent application, then surely they would have said so rather than put forward the idea that they are too small and too new.

I think the others in this thread have already found the answer: the company hasn't sponsored a visa before and assumes it would be time-consuming, complicated and perhaps impossible to do so. You won't do yourself any favours by telling them they are wrong and asking them to get on with it. You can help by figuring out the process yourself and the getting back to them with a constructive plan of how you can do this together. If you take charge then they don't have the responsibility to get it right. If you are willing to pay, there are agents or immigration lawyers who'll do the whole thing for you for a price. You and the company will still have to provide them with all the information they need, however. If JMI stonewall this approach then I would keep good relations with them but look for a job elsewhere.

Teaching English for a year is one option but if you have particular career targets already in mind then I would go for them rather than getting sidetracked. Being in Japan probably seems like you are making progress with a Japan-based career but if you aren't doing what you want then you are going sideways at best. If JMI doesn't work then target other employers and go to Japan with a job you want, even if it means delaying touchdown at Narita for a few months.

[Western All Stars]

Your problem is you're 22 and just out of college. Most managers in your OWN country are really hesitant to hire someone that. I'm afraid you're going to have a tough time convincing people oversees it's worth the hassle and risk.

[edit: fixed da gammar :P ]

[FG Lurker]

You're problem is you're 22 and just out of college. Most managers in your OWN country are really hesitant to hire someone that. I'm afraid you're going to have a tough time convinving people oversees it's worth the hassle and risk.

I'm hoping that English is not your first language.

[omae mona]

I'm hoping that English is not your first language.

Oh, come on. That was at least in the 60th percentile of grammatical correctness on the FG Posting scale, and that's excluding posts by Takechanpoo. In fact, I'd say he's overqualified to be an eikaiwa sensei.

[FG Lurker]

Oh, come on. That was at least in the 60th percentile of grammatical correctness on the FG Posting scale, and that's excluding posts by Takechanpoo.

When I first read the post I double-checked to make sure he wasn't Takechanpoo. A TP sock puppet perhaps?

[quote="omae mona"]In fact, I'd say he's overqualified to be an eikaiwa sensei. ]
That's not too hard to pull off considering the requirements of some schools... (Pulse? Check. You're hired!)