Craiglist Tokyo and IFTTT: How to Find Jobs in Japan for Foreigners

Applying for jobs in Japan is not necessarily easy. But there are ways to go about it which can definitely simplify the process. When you use Craiglist and IFTTT, you can be made aware of jobs in Tokyo before anyone else. Here is how you can apply to jobs on Craiglist and other helpful tips.

Look for Work in Japan from Your Own Country

You can find a job in Japan… even if you’re not in Japan. That’s because you can apply for them through Craiglist online. There, you will find many job offers regarding translation, from Japanese to English, and also other jobs in Japan for foreigners, such as teaching languages in Tokyo and other parts of the country. And if you use IFTTT, it will become even simpler because you won’t have to do anything anymore; just wait till the mobile app finds the jobs you are looking for on Craiglist. Then, you’ll only need to apply for them! We’ll explain later how IFTTT works.

What is Craiglist and How to Use it

If you have never used Craiglist, at first you may find it a bit confusing as it features so many categories of browsing, which are completely different. For example: Not only can you find jobs on Craiglist, but you can also acquire everything you need to fill your new apartment, from a toaster to a couch. What you need to look for, when moving into a new place in Japan, are Sayonara sales. That’s when expats have to leave their flat in a hurry, and they want to get rid of all their belongings they won’t bring with them.

Not only will you find great deals, but you’ll even find some things for free! What you have to know is that in Japan, getting rid of your large appliances (washing machines, fridge, etc.) costs money. Therefore, if you are willing to go and pick them up, you’ll often get them for free, as you are actually making its owner a favour of sorts. This deal is called sodaigomi. Most foreigners who depart prefer to favour others like them, so by going through Craiglist you’ll certainly be able to find these offers, plus the job you are looking for.

Pros and Cons of Using Craiglist

When you go on Craiglist hunting stuff, you can sometimes be disappointed. The quantity of offers may vary greatly from one week to another, so you may not always find what you are looking for. The idea is to keep going back regularly, so you’ll be the first one to respond to an ad. That is how you find jobs on Craiglist. But be careful of scams as there are quite a few on this website.

For employers, using Craiglist is great since they don’t have to pay for it and they can post as many offers as they want, without any restriction. However, the fact that there is no cost also implies that all these offers are not verified and certified. Therefore, you can find a lot of false ads. Scammers and timewasters can really clog the system and there is often no way to tell what is true to what isn’t.

Craiglist vs Other Options

If you are a translator and you already have too much work, you may want to find someone else to work with you, to augment your capacities. You can also post ads inside Craiglist where you will offer jobs to other foreign translators. But if you feel like you don’t want to be mixed with scammers, you may want to try other options.

Gajinpot is one of these options. However, it is the complete opposite of Craiglist. Posting an ad on their website will cost you anywhere between a few hundred dollars and thousands. Therefore, the revenues you may gain from a job can quickly disappear simply by posting this ad. That is why Craiglist remains the best option in most cases.

How to Make the Most of Craiglist with IF THIS THEN THAT

The biggest problem you’ll have with Craiglist is sifting through the ads to find the ones you are looking for. This process may take-up a lot of your time, which would be better spent translating or contacting people. Thankfully, IFTTT can really help you with that. This app links websites and mobile applications together. For example, you can attach your Facebook to your Twitter so that whatever you post on one of these platforms will automatically find its way on the other one.

If you use Craiglist with IFTTT, you will be able to create what they call “recipes” which will notify you for specific searches. For example, you can search for translating jobs and then select tabs appropriate to that search. Once you are done, you just copy the URLS from Craiglist and paste them on your IFTTT. It will then handle the manual work of sifting through the ads for you!