Ask-A-Recruiter: Showcasing International Experience

Contributed by Caroline Ceniza-Levine of SixFigureStart

I recently returned to the States after 7 years of living and working as an in-house attorney in Japan. (I am fluent in Japanese.) U.S. employers seem to be thrown off by the fact that my resume/experience is very Japan-heavy. How should I address a language expertise/long experience in a country other than the States if I don’t want to be limited by that in the job search?

This question is really about framing what you have done in the context of what you want to do. A specific skill or experience does not necessarily limit you. It may give the recruiter a predisposition, but that is up to you to change. The questioner is responsible for translating her Japan experience to whatever she wants to do. She cannot assume that the recruiter should understand the value of the experience in and of itself or that the recruiter will know how to translate the experience to the job at hand.

The questioner needs to actively and deliberately market herself. Know what jobs, companies and industries you want, and craft a pitch about why your Japan experience (and the rest of you) is an asset. Then, talk to people in those jobs, companies and industries till they see you as a peer, an industry insider. Your Japan experience will be, at worst, just another interesting detail and, at best, value-added evidence of why they absolutely need you.

Finally, tactical advice aside, I also see lack of confidence in the subtext of this question. To me, substantive international experience and fluency in a language as demanding as Japanese is an enormous selling point whatever the job in question. The way this question unfolds, the questioner is almost apologetic about it. It appears in parentheses like a whisper, when I would be screaming it from the rafters like that scene from Network – I speak Japanese…and I’m not going to take it anymore! Therefore, before pursuing the tactical marketing advice above, I recommend that the questioner get excited about her Japanese language skill and experience. The excitement must precede the sell.

Not getting the results that you want? Troubleshoot your search with personalized, 1:1 coaching from SixFigureStart. Contact Caroline Ceniza-Levine at 212-501-2234 or caroline@sixfigurestart.com for a complimentary coaching consultation.