Dress Code - Suits??

[karekora]

Maybe you know, maybe you don't, but I'm going to Japan for 1 year in 4 months time. I'm thinking now about things I need to do, organise and buy. I haven't got a job yet, and I have no degree, but I'm happy with any decent-ish job. Part-time is better, but full-time will do. Hospitality, translating, shop assistant, maid, general dogsbody and tea-servant, anything to do with English.... You get the picture.

I'm aware that in Japan they judge you by your looks. You have to send in a photo of yourself with your CV. I know that in a job interview, you'll obviously have to wear a suit. BUT, what about your everyday life in that job? If I get a job translating or something along those lines (With no degree?!) will I have to be a suit-wearer? I hate wearing suits...

How about those photos you send with your CV?
Do you have to wear a suit in the photo??
Is it worth me buying 2 suits or just the 1?

Thanks Maybe the stupidest question ever??!! Sorry

[Caustic Saint]

I haven't got a job yet, and I have no degree, but I'm happy with any decent-ish job. Part-time is better, but full-time will do. Hospitality, translating, shop assistant, maid, general dogsbody and tea-servant, anything to do with English.... You get the picture.

I don't think you're likely to find any job where you're going to need a suit, unless your Japanese level is through the roof.

[djgizmoe]

Um, well as a teacher at uni, I'll often wear a suit (at least in Fall/Winter). Most of the Japanese professors do. Even at ECC, a collared shirt, dress slacks and a tie was pretty standard. These days I sometimes actually prefer wearing suit and tie (makes me more intimidating and let's me show of my ever-popular Ren & Stimpy tie collection), though most of my coworkers think I'm nuts.

[Taro Toporific]

How about those photos you send with your CV?
Do you have to wear a suit in the photo??
Is it worth me buying 2 suits or just the 1?

Just one SUMMER suit or super-light duty blue blazer and gray-black slacks will be fine. My 3-piece Harris tweed is waaaaay too hot even for Tokyo "winter."

On your resume photo, only a tie and white shirt will be fine. Don't wear a pink shirt and purple polka-dot tie unless you're like me and in publications/software/IT. Actually I haven't worn a suit in 2 years now, nobody cares in the computer biz.

The real problem you have ain't the suit---it's the lack of a degree. As a translator you need to have passed the official 1-kyu Japanese test and not having a degree is not a "door opener" to Japanese companies.

[Socratesabroad]

You'll need the suit, but for a lower-rung eikaiwa gig, not translating.

I hate to dissuade you, but Taro is right on the money. Even if you were to be half-Japanese with remarkable fluency in both languages, you would have a great deal of trouble (I'd say impossible, but there's always that 0.01% chance) getting a job at a translation agency or in any translation-related field. A degree, which some might view as superfluous or meaningless, is a sign of further academic study and indicates possession of specialized knowledge. That, combined with decent Japanese ability, was what allowed me to get my first real job in Japan (I know JET doesn't count) at a translation agency.

[Ol Dirty Gaijin]

It wont apply for all jobs.
For the software I'm in, the suit is only for first visits to big customers. After that or smaller companies the corporate polo. In the office, whatever, but play conservative first.

[kamome]

The real problem you have ain't the suit---it's the lack of a degree.

Amen. Why is it that so many people feel they can waltz into Japan and land themselves a job with zero qualifications? Is there some strange perception that being a foreigner is the only qualification one needs? That may have been true for English teachers at one time in the distant past, but the market here for all jobs is tight and you do need at least a degree from college to teach English here.

Of course, there is the added question of whether your part-time or full-time job will pay you enough to keep you fed, clothed, and sheltered in Japan with some savings left over so that you can fly home on occasion. Even that's not guaranteed.