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How to respond to a message in Japanese from a company?

Yaaay team December 26, 2023
Blurred view of a Japanese street with a stop sign written in Japanese on the ground. 
A message arrived from a company you applied for! Thrilled, you checked the message, but it was all in Japanese, and you could not understand what it said. 

In this article, we will explain what you should do in such a situation and what you should pay attention to in your communication.

Use translation tools!

Although Yaaay is an English-language recruiting platform, messages from Japanese companies may be sent to you in Japanese.

No job seeker would want to ignore a response from a company that is interested in them. They would want to move on to the next step in the hiring process! As a result, this situation can be stressful for people who are not confident in their Japanese language skills.

To start, you need to somehow understand the content of the message from the company.
If you do not understand Japanese, make use of the popular translation tools available in the world. If the translated content is not consistent or does not make sense, try having multiple translation tools translate the same sentence to help you understand it. If there are ambiguities in the content of the message, rather than the language itself, or if there are parts of the message that you would like to confirm, write them down. 

This will serve as a reminder when you have a chance to ask questions in the message or at an interview.

Be honest

Most companies do not see any problems in using translation tools as a means of communicating more effectively. However, if you cannot communicate in Japanese without the help of translation tools, you should avoid using expressions that may mislead them into thinking that you are capable of communicating in Japanese on your own.

Companies want to know who you really are, which includes whether or not you are an honest person. For example, if a hiring manager responds to your translated messages complimenting your Japanese, you should not answer, "Thank you". 

Instead, you should say something like, "I am still learning Japanese. I wanted to convey what I wanted to say in correct Japanese, so I used a translation tool to create the message".

The hiring manager will surely appreciate the fact that you are still studying Japanese and that you are familiar with the translation tool.

Show your effort and motivation!

Everyone wants to look as good as possible in order to get the job they want. On the other hand, if you show more than you are actually capable of, it will inevitably be exposed at some point in the hiring process. At that point, you will be judged as a "dishonest person," which will not lead to a good outcome.

Even if you are not confident in your current Japanese language skills, if the hiring manager understands that you are studying hard and are willing to be proactive in your communication, you will make a good impression.

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