Hi everyone,
I was wondering if I could ask for some thoughts on how you approach language evaluations with recruiters, especially if you're already working or living in Japan and trying to build professionally.
Around this time last year, I took a Japanese language evaluation through Pasona and was rated at a conversational level. Their scale goes from conversational to business, and back then I hadn't yet taken the JLPT.
Fast forward to now. I’ve been contacted again by the same recruiting firm, and in our catch-up, they very kindly reminded me that N2 certification is highly regarded by companies, especially when paired with real-world experience using Japanese in a professional context.
Since we last spoke, I’ve taken N3 and am currently waiting for my N2 results. I also shared with them that I’ve had about a year of experience using business Japanese in a customer service role. That said, I could sense that the recruiter felt that kind of experience might not directly apply to the administrative-focused role I’m now being considered for.
That led me to wonder:
1) Should I retake the evaluation test?
2) How do I prepare mentally and strategically for it?
3) What do they actually evaluate: is it grammar, fluency, keigo usage, or a mix of all three?
Somewhat related. I’ve noticed over time that many Japanese native speakers don’t necessarily expect non-natives to use full-on keigo (like gozaimasu or orimasu), especially in day-to-day tasks. I naturally default to polite Japanese (masu/desu form), and I’m reasonably comfortable with it. But keigo still feels very unnatural, especially when someone uses it fluently and fast in conversation, which happened to me during a past interview. I was completely thrown off and didn’t recover well.
Looking back, I had brushed it off as a one-off, but now I’m wondering if I should have prepared for that more.
So I guess my questions boil down to:
1) How do you mentally prepare for recruiter evaluations in Japanese?
2) Should I push myself to use keigo, even though it's not natural for me yet? Or is sticking to polished masu/desu still considered okay at the business-entry level?
3) Long-term, is it worth investing in mastering honorifics like gozaimasu/orimasu now, or can it be built slowly over time?
I know everyone’s journey is different, but I’d appreciate any insights, especially from those balancing the line between language growth and job-readiness, or who've been in Japan long enough to pick up the subtler expectations.
Thanks in advance!
by neworleans-