[Interview] Experience of finding a job using OPT in the United States

Hello!

This is an interview article after a long absence!

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CHIE: Today from LA office in the United States to Kento, who works at LA as a Go Ride account manager.Employment in the United States using OPTI'm going to interview mainly.

Kento:nice to meet you! Kento has been working in Go Ride's LA office since 2023 as an account manager. I was looking for a job a few months ago, so I hope I can talk about that time. Thank you!

CHIE: Thank you! Immediately, can you tell me about Kento's simple career when asking about employment in the United States this time?

Kento: It's OK!

Well, where should I talk lol?

Well, when I talked to Zakkuri, I graduated from a college in California in December 2023, and I wanted to spend a little more in the United States, so I searched for a place to work in the United States without returning to Japan, and finally Go Ride. I will join the company.

Are you too sloppy? smile

CHIE: I'm crazy, but somehow it was transmitted lol

So, did you start doing so -called job hunting after graduating from college?

KENTO: No precise, when I was in college ... I think I probably started looking for a job in October or November.

From a Japanese sense, it's really slow to start searching for a job two months before graduation. I don't know much about job hunting in Japan, but are you starting a year before graduation?

But in the United States, there are many differences, and many people are looking for a job in the semester before graduation, that is, the last semester.

Rather, I think that even if you find a job outside the last semester, you will not be able to get a company with the company.

CHIE: What do you say you can't get the other party?

Kento: I think this is a lot of examples, but when I have heard of it, I started job hunting two semesters before graduation, and that I had time to graduate, not my career. I've heard stories that I couldn't find a job on the neck.

CHIE: It's a big difference from the sense of employment in Japan!

Kento: Yes. Perhaps unlike Japan, the culture where the graduation time changes greatly from person to person. Even if you think normally and decide to hire a year ago, it will be troublesome for a company to say that the graduation time is out of time and you cannot work.

CHIE: Certainly, the system of American universities, which is said to be more difficult to get out of the area, seems to be affecting.

Then, I started a job hunting that started at the last minute, how did you go? In the first place, in the case of the United States, there are many things I want to ask, such as where to find a job, but ...

Kento: That's right. For the time being, I think it's the easiest to understand what OPT is.OPT is a system where you can work legally in the United States after graduating from an American universityis. The time to work is up to one year or three years, depending on the faculty you have enrolled.

CHIE: Yes, in my case, it's OPT that can work for up to three years!

Kento: That's good! To be honest, I think the last three and one year are quite big. It depends on where you work in a company in the United States.

There is no problem if you study abroad at university and learn native -level English, but most of them are looking for a job with English proficiency that is not native.

CHIE: That's right, I think there are surprisingly few people who can learn native -level English.

Kento: That's right. So at that point, I don't know how to call an American employment applicant, but I have a bigger handicap compared to local employment applicants.

And on top of that, local students who can work legally for years have a restriction that international students have to return to Japan in one year.From the perspective of American companies, you will be able to work for a long time and hire local students who have no problem in English.

CHIE: Certainly, it's a natural reality. In that sense, if you can work for one or three years, it seems that there will be a difference in the ease of finding work!

CHIE: Was it difficult to find a job using OPT, which can only work for a year?

Kento: That's right, in my case, I haven't done anything so much that I can call job hunting, but lol

In generalCareer forum in Los Angeles and BostonThere are many Japanese looking for a job, but in my case I didn't participate.

CHIE: Both are classic as a place for Japanese people to find a job in the United States. Japanese companies who can speak English and are looking for Japanese who are familiar with overseas cultureOn the contrary, there are US companies looking for human resources who can speak Japanese.

Kento: That's right! In my case, it was simply annoying, so I didn't participate in the career forum because I wanted to go in a way to contact the company.

CHIE: You were looking for a job by emailing the company directly. Did you actually send an email and get the other person?

Kento:In conclusion, I rarely deal with it.It was rare to receive a reply even if I sent my resume. In my case, I wasn't an undergraduate that could get the skills that could be used for my job right away, so I sent an email mainly for companies that are looking for human resources who can use Japanese.

CHIE: I see. Where did you find such a company? Is it Indeed?

Kento: Yes!IndeedI used it a lot. After that, Japanese companies will be the centerBibi -naviI forgot the name, but it is also a site where there are other job information.JapaneseI was just searching for a company that was looking for Japanese skills lol

CHIE: How many companies have demanded Japanese skills?

Kento: That's right, it's not a few,Looking at the recruitment of US companies, I often asked for past work backgrounds, qualifications and skills at the same time rather than Japanese language skills alone.So that part was a big wall. Basically, there are many so -called new graduates of OPT users, so I think that one is a common bottleneck. If you are a new graduate and have no native -level English proficiency, you may not be able to be a US company. Of course each person. 。

CHIE: I see! So what is your work experience important to find a job in the United States?

Kento: That's right. It will be partially repeated,English proficiency, working period to work in OPT, skills, working experience,It will be determined whether it will be adopted by these combinations. Regarding the period of working in OPT, if you are attractive as a human resource, a company may give a visa, so it is not said that US companies will not be hired in a year. However, my impression is that it is not easy to find a job at a US company in a one -year OPT if there are no other elements.

CHIE: I see, this time I was glad to hear more about the OPT situation.

Kento: Yes, I hope this story will be helpful for someone. This story is based on my experiences until I get tired, so don't take too much. Thank you for today!