Importance of Language Certificates? TOEIC, JLPT and such

Anchang-Style

Hey people,
having just a little question with regards to the importance of language certificates working abroad.
If you are not a native speaker how important is a TOEIC certificate? 
Maybe people who live and work in japan: was it mandatory to hold a JLPT N2?
Just asking in advance so i know, if i would apply abroad, what language certs to plan for (never done an english one but holding JLPT N3 at this point).

Greetz

Kwramm

Language certs are only somewhat important in countries where the studio language is usually not English, such as in China, Japan, etc. Maybe your Chinese / Japanese ain't good enough to write a resume in, but if you can talk to local staff it can be an advantage, depending on the job you're after.

Anchang-Style

Ok thanks. It's just, that a lot of other industries in English speaking countries ask for TOEIC certificates when you are from a non english country (germany in my case), even if you are able to write a decent application letter, CV and can conduct yourself perfectly fine in an interview. 

kanga

Depends on the job and the place that is hiring you. Most countries have a grasp of English as a working language. Are you looking at a specific company, or are just interested in a foreign one? Anyhow you could just jump in like I did. I had a job at Philips for a couple of years and then left to join a small studio. There I learnt Dutch. It took three months but it was worth it.

The better your folio is the more flexible the requirements I think.

Benvox2

I can chime in here in regards to Japan. It really depends on the company, some require a very high level of advanced Japanese, and some require none at all. Generally the larger more famous companies require it to some extent. 

Burpee

I heard recently that if you wanna work in the Quebec you need to have some kind of french language certificate even if most people speak fluent english there.

Jonas Ronnegard

For Japanese studios as said above it really depends on the company, some of the bigger companies have teams with almost only foreigners and they are no required to know japanese, but if you want to work for a company with few or no foreigners there is a very little chance to get let in if you don't know some japanese.

As for the JLPT, as long as you can manage an all japanese interview which you can have up to 3 times before actually being offered the job then it will be ok.
I worked for japanese companies with a lot of foreigners and no foreigners and no one ever asked me If I had taken the jlpt, actually many japanese doesn't even know of it's existence.

Bruno Afonseca

Burpee said:

I heard recently that if you wanna work in the Quebec you need to have some kind of french language certificate even if most people speak fluent english there.

In Québec, if you're coming with a work visa, you don't need to speak French at first. But if you want to extend your stay and become a permanent resident, then you do. Various studios offer classes and you can enroll in the commission scolaire courses. By doing the commission scolaire, all you need is to complete the course to earn a certificate. If you're doing it independently, you need to pass this test with at least B2 level: https://www.mcgill.ca/continuingstudies/programs-and-courses/languages/testing-and-certification/tefaq

Anchang-Style

Thanks everyone for the answers. Not looking into a specific company, was just feeling how much weight is put on these certificates.

Thanks everyone

Burpee

Bruno Afonseca said:

Burpee said:

I heard recently that if you wanna work in the Quebec you need to have some kind of french language certificate even if most people speak fluent english there.

In Québec, if you're coming with a work visa, you don't need to speak French at first. But if you want to extend your stay and become a permanent resident, then you do. Various studios offer classes and you can enroll in the commission scolaire courses. By doing the commission scolaire, all you need is to complete the course to earn a certificate. If you're doing it independently, you need to pass this test with at least B2 level: https://www.mcgill.ca/continuingstudies/programs-and-courses/languages/testing-and-certification/tefaq

Al'right, thanks for the precision !