Hi, I'm Anian.
I engineer careers.
I'm a software engineer turned entrepreneur. I spent my career navigating Japan's tech industry, working my way up from a junior role to leading AI projects at Hitachi.
But my journey didn't start with success. It started with a stack of rejection letters and a deep confusion about why my skills weren't translating into offers.
The "Invisible" Barrier
I remember sitting in my bedroom in Bangladesh, refreshing my email. Nothing.
I had a strong GitHub portfolio. I had valid English proficiency. I even had basic Japanese. But every application to a Tokyo tech company went into a black hole.
I eventually found a mentor—a senior engineer in Tokyo—who took one look at my resume and laughed (kindly).
"Anian, this is a great Western CV. But in Japan, this looks like chaos. Where is your photo? Where is your rirekisho layout? You aren't being rejected for your code. You're being rejected because you can't follow the format."
That was the lightbulb moment. The format is the filter.
I spent the next two weeks obsessively reformatting my entire professional identity into the rigid, standardized Japanese Rirekisho and Shokumukeirekisho formats.
I re-applied to the same types of companies. This time, I got 3 interviews in the first week. By the end of the month, I had an offer that relocated me to Tokyo.
Why Skill Wasn't Enough
There was an elephant in the room that no one talked about. I wasn't just applying as a foreigner; I was applying with a Bangladeshi passport.
The Reality Check:
At the time, my passport was ranked the 7th weakest in the world. Statistically, it ranked lower than even North Korea.
For a Japanese employer, hiring me wasn't just about code. It was a visa risk. It was extra paperwork. It was uncertainty.
I realized that "good enough" wasn't going to cut it. When your passport is a red flag, your application needs to be flawless. You can't give them a single reason to say no.
A sloppy resume? A typo? A non-standard format? For a candidate from the US or UK, those might be overlooked. For me, they were instant rejections.
This is why I obsess over formatting. CVJapan doesn't just make your resume look nice; it removes the friction. It signals to the recruiter: "I respect your culture, I understand your rules, and I am a safe bet."
Let's make it happen.
I spent years decoding the system so you don't have to. Whether you use my guide or figure it out on your own, I'm rooting for you. But if you want a head start, I've put everything I know into this platform.
Japan is currently facing a shortage of 790,000 IT professionals.The opportunity is yours for the taking →