This page is a compiled list of common questions from recruiters with the corresponding answers meant to reduce communication time or to filter out unsuitable roles (salary too low, Japanese requirements too high, etc)
This page is intended only for recruiters – I would like to provide honest answers to manage expectations.
If the role(s) sound like a good match after looking through this page, let’s set up a video call.
Salary
| Current salary | – 11.4m yen – No bonuses – 5000 yen monthly “self-improvement” stipend |
| Desired salary | I would entertain a salary of 13m or above. The reasoning behind this is that my current position is very comfortable and has: – Full work from home (I choose to go to the office once a week) – Flex time – Great coworkers – Great environment Taking a new role is risky. I could confirm WFH and flex time before joining, but learning whether or not there are great coworkers or a great environment is not often possible. |
| Am I worth 13m? | In a Team Lead role I think I provide excellent value. When in leadership roles, turnover ends up being very very low and folks seem to be rather happy with me. I do my best to make sure voices are heard and that everyone is getting the help they need. As a developer, I may not be worth 13m unless it’s a Vue role or something involving UI/UX In an Engineering Manager role, I am probably worth 13m. There are areas where I would like to gain more experience (hiring, evaluations) |
Location/Eligibility
| Current location | I live on the Den-en-toshi Line. It’s about a 30 minute train ride from my place to Shibuya. |
| Work eligibility | I have Permanent Residency |
Japanese ability
I have passed technical interviews in Japanese before but was rejected later in the process from HR or management due to inadequate Japanese ability. If Japanese is a requirement, it would be best to check Japanese ability before doing any sort of coding exercises.
| Description | Intermediate Japanese ability I can read maybe 400-500 kanji My Japanese level is conversational I have worked in 100% Japanese environments as a developer, but often rely on Google Translate |
| JLPT | Level 3 (old system) I have not taken a test in the new system, but I could ccertainly pass N3. I don’t know if I could pass N2 |
Desired company
| Size | I’ve worked in companies ranging from 3 people to 15000 people. Different sizes have different positive aspects. I am not after any particular size, but would like to aim for companies with more than 20 employees. |
| Type | I’ve worked in a couple agencies and a couple tech companies. I have not worked in consulting or finance. Ideally I would like to work for a tech company. I strongly desire to work for companies that are developing their own services/products. |
| Demographics | I don’t have any particular preference. |
| Language | I prefer the ability to work primarily in English. For developer roles, I’ve worked 100% in Japanese, but it leaves me exhausted each day. For a Team Lead/Engineering Manager roles I would need to use English as the primary language. |
| WFH policy | I would not consider positions that require 3 or more days in the office per week unless the salary is 14m+ The best-case scenario is that the company has a physical office and allows the employees the option to work where they wish. (In both my current and previous companies office attendance is optional, and I would go about 5 times a month) |
| Company mission | Bonus points if the company is dedicated to reducing waste. |
| Not interested in the following companies | – Woven Planet – Rakuten – Money Forward – Fast Retailing – Givery |
Programming languages
| Back end or front end? | Stronger with front end. Really strong with pixel-perfect designs, organization of frontend content, responsive design, UI/UX concepts, performance, browser compatibility My backend skills are limited to common patterns. |
| Strongest languages? | Javascript is decent. I have lots of experience specifically with Vue (by extension, I think I’d be strong with Svelte, Angular(?) and AngularJS) Python skills are decent Historically had a fair amount of experience with PHP and Ruby but haven’t used them recently Pretty decent with CSS *Realistically I could probably start contributing quickly in almost any language except the functional ones |
Misc
Please excuse this section for being sassy
| How should I contact you? | LinkedIn messages, email, or anything EXCEPT an unannounced phone call. I really dislike unplanned phone calls because they are generally a scam, someone telling me that I filled out paperwork incorrectly, or general bad news. I am open for video chats on weekdays before noon. Send an invite to my email address and we’ll go from there. |
| Would you accept a lower salary in exchange for ________? | I would accept a lower salary for less working hours or for benefits that exceed the lost amount of salary. |
| Would you be willing to relocate? | I would consider relocation to somewhere in America. |
| How old are you? | I’m 42 years old. |