How to raise your annual salary in a Japanese company

Read this article to study Japanese and get JLPT N1

 

What you want to achieve by changing jobs is to increase your annual income.

Some people have increased their annual income by one million yen after changing jobs, but this increase is only possible in the case of headhunters or high-level job seekers such as department managers.

Unfortunately, changing jobs does not increase your annual income that much.

Not a small number of people have annual incomes that are lower than their current jobs, rather than higher.

This is the most common question asked by people who have changed jobs but still cannot increase their annual income.

 

I changed jobs, but my annual salary went down a little. Should I look for another company to evaluate me?

 

In this article, we will explain in detail why annual income does not increase that much even if you change jobs, and how it can be increased.

 

Changing jobs will not raise your annual income

 

As mentioned above, an annual income does not increase by changing jobs to that level.

The increase in annual income after changing jobs is as follows

 

105% to 110% of current annual income

In the case of inexperienced applicants, the percentage may drop to 70% to 80%.

 

So, why is it that even if you change jobs, your annual income doesn’t increase?

This is because the current annual income is based on trust, performance, and achievements accumulated over the years at the current company, and these are not necessarily applicable at the new company.

New hires need to learn the rules of how to work and how to build relationships with supervisors and clients from the ground up.

In other words, it is not possible to achieve the performance of the current annual income.

Therefore, the annual income will be the same or slightly lower than the current income.

 

If the new company you are joining is a subsidiary or affiliated company, your annual salary will increase.

 

The following is an explanation of the cases in which annual income increases.

 

①If you have experience or skills that no one else has

②When the market value is high

 

I will explain one by one.

 

①If you have experience or skills that no one else has

Those who have experienced things that cannot be experienced as a company employee have a higher likelihood of increasing their annual income.

For example, if you have experience in establishing a number of new businesses in your previous job, and have been able to nurture the businesses to a certain degree and make them profitable.

Experience in new business start-ups and project management is highly valued in the market.

 

②When the market value is high

In terms of engineers, this includes those with development experience using today’s trendy programming languages and those who have consistently achieved top-class business results.

 

What is the Japanese corporate culture’s way of thinking?

 

Japanese people do not think about raising their annual income by changing jobs.

We believe that annual income is not increased by changing jobs, but rather by joining a new company and working hard to make a difference.

In addition, if you give your motivation for applying for a job as “annual salary increase” during the interview, you will most likely not be hired in most cases.

If you were the hiring manager, what would you think?

As a basic premise, it costs money to hire a new employee.

It costs from 100,000 to 1,000,000 yen just to hire one person.

For example, you are working as an employed manager.

You are interviewing applicants who are not native speakers of your language.

We have a project that is short on staff and we need someone to work for us right now, but we don’t know if the applicant’s skills are a good match due to thier language…

Now, can you hire this applicant?

Even if you do hire, would you offer a higher salary to an applicant whose experience and skills could not be verified to perfection?

Don’t you want to see what it looks like at first?

You will probably think: “I’d like to see how it looks at first.

 

What if they don’t fit in well with the new environment?

What if they try to hire someone and they don’t have the experience/skills?

Don’t they quit after six months to a year of employment?

 

If you are unsure of the applicant’s ability to play an active role in the interview process, you will not hire him or her.

Or you want to lower the annual income of the candidate.

Companies spend a great deal of money to hire each and every employee.

As a manager, you must take responsibility if the hiring process does not go well.

Do you want to take that risk and hire the applicant?

The reason why your annual salary is lower is because there is no guarantee that you will be able to play an active role in your career.

But please do not be discouraged, as this is a very common occurrence.

It is difficult to know if a new hire will be successful or not until he or she joins the company and starts working.

This person is going to be a great actor! No one can predict like that.

It is not a matter of joining a company and working hard and producing results.

 

how to increase your annual income

 

Of course, it is possible to increase your annual income by changing jobs.

In the following cases, annual income can increase.

 

①Convince them how you can apply their past experiences to the company in the interview.

②Raise your market value at your current company

③Use a job change agent

Let’s look at each one in detail.

 

①Convince them how you can apply their past experiences to the company through the interview process.

During the interview, you will be asked how much salary you would like to earn if you change jobs.

In doing so, logically explain what kind of experience you have and how you can use that experience to contribute to the company.

Convince the interviewer that you are an immediate asset.

 

②Raise your market value at your current company

Improve your skills at your current company before changing jobs.

Take the necessary qualifications for your job, or input your knowledge by self-study or by attending a school.

Of course, the most important thing is to aim for N1 in Japanese language proficiency.

Every company will want to hire bilingual personnel.

 

③ Use a job change agent

The agent will provide the company with detailed information about the applicant’s experience and how he/she can contribute to the company.

If you feel that the annual salary offered is too low, they will negotiate with companies again based on your contribution level and future prospects.

 

Summary

 

We asked foreigners living in Japan how much they would like to increase their annual income when they change jobs.

When asked, most of them answered that they would like to increase their annual income by one million yen from their current level.

When you are asked about your desired annual income during an interview, please do not answer that your annual income will increase by 1 million yen.

You will be immediately rejected.

In fact, it is difficult to increase the annual income by 1 million, but there is room for consideration if the reasons and grounds for the annual income increase of 1 million are reasonable and valid.

When changing jobs, don’t just aim for an increase in annual income, think about what you want to do by changing jobs.

The higher your annual income, the harder it will be to make ends meet and the less time you will have for yourself and your family.

Even if your annual income does not increase, there are many things you should pay more attention to, such as more time on your own or a more comprehensive welfare program at your company.

Think seriously about what you want to accomplish by changing jobs.