There are many kinds of part-time jobs in Japan. Many Japanese university students work part-time jobs because many of them live alone and they have to make money for their everyday life.

Unfortunately, however, some jobs in Japan are so bad for students that they are often called “black kigyou”. Naturally, that the most important thing for students is not the job but their education, so they should get a good one.

I worked at a cram school for 6 months last year and it was a kind of “black kigyou”. This project will help students of universities who are starting their very first part time job. As such, I will mention some helpful information in deciding a part-time job based on my experiences.

What you should focus on when you chose a job

When you decide your part-time job, understanding your needs and lifestyle will help you get the best job to you.

First, if your focus is just making money and you want to earn it a lot, you had better get a job whose payment is high. Some friends of mine work at Hamazushi which is located in Asahimachi. Its pays 930 yen per hour and this is relatively good in Japan, so it is a good job if you want to make much money. However, some jobs pay well, because they make you work very hard or are strict, so you should pay attention to that.

Second, it is also important to think about whether you can work when you want to or not. If you are a member of a club of your university, you have to think about the days you can work because you cannot work when there is the club activity. In some part-time jobs, you can work as much as you like and also can change your shifts freely when you have something you have to do at that time. In contrast, the other jobs are very bad for you in deciding shifts. Your boss might say something like “You must work on this day. There is no one else who can work on the day, so I need you to come in”.

How do you find out if a potential employer is a “black kigyou”?

The easiest way to find a “black kigyou” is to ask your friends who work at the company. Then, you can decide if the job is good for you or not. I think, however, that this method is not enough to figure out whether the job will be good for you. When you hear that a job is good based on hearing the story from your friends, you should search for more information about the job on the internet or from the advertisement.

If you end up at a bad job…

I mentioned some ways to avoid a “black kigyou”, but if you get a bad job, what should you do?

The most important thing is to tell your boss that you quit the job. Generally speaking, you have to inform that you want to quit the job more than 2 months before the month in which you want to quit. You can legally quit the job if you do that. If your boss say “You mustn’t quit” or things like that, it is probably a “black kigyou” because companies in Japan don’t have right to force employees to keep working. It is important to inform that you want to quit the job as soon as you have decided to quit.

If you cannot quit the job because of the boss’s judgment, you can take a counsel with Hello Work. (Asahikawa has that.). They can give you some helpful advice.

my friends and my experiences

As I mentioned above, I worked at a cram school for 6 months and it was bad for me for some reasons. First, my boss was so crazy! One day he said to me “Quit your club and focus on the work! Club activities are just your hobby, right?” I didn’t understand his idea and that made up my mind to quit the job. Second, I had to go to far places like Takikawa by train. It was like a long journey and it made me very tired. Working at that cram school wasn’t suitable to busy students.

In addition, I had a small interview with Taiga, who is a GEL students and worked at UNIQLO in Asahimachi. He also said it was a “black kigyou”. He said that the worst thing about the workplace was that there are very few employees. In particular, there are just 3 employees who could work the cash register including him. This is how he had to work much more than other employees. For this reason, the number of employees is also important thing to consider in choosing a part-time job.

My advice

I think that the environment of the workplace is the most important when you do a part-time job because if you just focus on the payment, you cannot spend a good school life. There are many part-time jobs in Japan, so you will definitely have difficulty in choosing a good one. However, don’t be afraid. If you carefully think about your needs and which job is the most suitable to you, you will absolutely get a great one. Part-time jobs are very important part of your school life. Find the best one!

In my last post, I explained how to apply to and get your passport. In this post, I explain how to apply for TOEFL (basically, you need your passport to apply).

Next, let’s look at how to make an application for TOEFL. First of all, go to the web site of TOEFL (https://www.ets.org/jp/toefl). Then, create your TOEFL account and access to your account page. There is “Test Registration and Orders” at left side on your page. Click it and apply for a test following the instruction. You have to pay for the test fee by a credit card. If you don’t have one, ask one of your friends or professors who has a credit card to pay for the fee.

To make it easier for you to understand, I will also explain these procedures in Japanese.

改めて、日本語に説明いたします。

次に、TOEFLの申し込み方法を確認しましょう。まず始めに、TOEFLの公式ウェブサイト(https://www.ets.org/jp/toefl)にアクセスし、持っていない人はアカウントを作成してください。アカウントページにアクセスすると、左側に“Test Registration and Orders”というリンクがあります。それをクリックし、指示に従って申請手続きを行ってください。その際、クレジットカードで受験料を支払う必要があります。もし持っていない場合は、友人や先生に代わりに支払ってもらうなどの工夫が必要です。

This post is a place for 2期生 who have been in the program for just two months to give advice about what they think future GEL students should do.

Should they get part time jobs? Should they study hard? What classes do you recommend?