How International Experience Can Benefit Your Domestic Job Search

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I am especially interested in how to address a language expertise/long experience in a nation other than the States when you don't want to be limited by that in the job search (for me, I spent 7 years in Japan and am fluent in Japanese). Not much is going on concerning Japan these days - it is all about China - and folks appear to not know what to do with me as my resume/expertise is particularly Japan heavy.

I do not know how lately the questioner was in Japan, but the alot more current, the alot more weight the Japan experience will have. I also do not know how lengthy in proportion to other experiences the questioner was in Japan, but if the questioner has alot more years in Japan than elsewhere then the Japan experience will also carry even more weight. Lastly I don't know what the questioner does, so some sectors are far more amenable than other people to the rewards of international expertise and language abilities.

That mentioned, this question is actually about framing what you have carried out in the context of what you want to do. A distinct skill or experience does not necessarily limit you. It could give the recruiter a predisposition, but that is up to you to alter. The questioner is responsible for translating her Japan experience to whatever she wants to do. She cannot assume that the recruiter should certainly comprehend the value of the encounter in and of itself or that the recruiter will know how to translate the expertise 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 encounter (and the rest of you) is an asset. Then, speak to people in those jobs, businesses and industries till they see you as a peer, an market insider. Your Japan expertise will be at worst just a different fascinating detail and at most effective value-added evidence of why they definitely will need you.

Finally, tactical tips 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 huge selling point whatever the job in question. The way this question unfolds, the questioner is nearly 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! As a result, just before pursuing the tactical marketing and advertising suggestions above, I suggest that the questioner get excited about her Japanese language skill and expertise. The excitement need to precede the sell.