Shokumu Keirekisho vs Rirekisho: What's the Difference?

Two documents, not one

If you have applied for a job in Japan, you have probably hit the moment where the posting says 履歴書・職務経歴書をご提出ください and you assumed one CV would cover it. It will not. Japanese hiring runs on two separate documents that do two separate jobs, and sending only one — or sending the same content twice in different layouts — is one of the fastest ways to be screened out before anyone reads about your actual skills.

Here is what each document is, when you need it, and how to write both well.

The rirekisho (履歴書): your official profile

A rirekisho is a standardised personal record. Think of it less as a marketing document and more as a form — the Japanese equivalent of an official application sheet. It confirms who you are, where you studied, where you have worked and what qualifications you hold, all in a layout the recruiter has seen a thousand times before.

It normally contains:

• Name, furigana, date of birth, address, phone number and email

• A photo, 3 cm × 4 cm, taken within the last three months

• Education history (学歴), usually from high school graduation onward

• Employment history (職歴) — company names and join/leave dates only

• Licences and qualifications (免許・資格)

• Motivation and self-PR (志望動機・自己PR)

The format has changed, and it matters.

The old JIS résumé template was withdrawn in July 2020. In April 2021 the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare published a recommended format built around fair hiring: the gender field became optional, and commute time, number of dependants, marital status and spousal support obligations were removed entirely. If you downloaded a template years ago, replace it. Turning up with the withdrawn layout quietly signals that you are working from outdated advice.

The key point about a rirekisho is this: it lists your career. It does not explain it.

The shokumu keirekisho (職務経歴書): your career story

The shokumu keirekisho is where you actually make your case. There is no official template — and that is the point. You choose the structure, the emphasis and the length, and a hiring manager reads those choices as evidence of how clearly you think.

A conventional one contains:

• 職務要約 (career summary) — three to five lines at the very top summarising your whole career

• 職務経歴 (detailed work history) — per employer: what the business does, its size, your department, your responsibilities and your results

• 活かせる経験・知識・スキル — the experience and skills relevant to this specific role

• 資格 (qualifications), including language tests

• 自己PR — a short closing argument

Length: A4, one to two pages for most candidates, three at the very most for a long career. Longer is not better. A hiring manager screening forty applications will read your summary and your most recent role carefully, and skim the rest.

This is also the document where numbers belong. “Responsible for improving the onboarding flow” tells a recruiter nothing. “Redesigned onboarding for a SaaS product with 12,000 users; cut first-week churn from 18% to 11% over two quarters” tells them exactly what you might do for them.

Rirekisho vs shokumu keirekisho at a glance

Which one do you actually need?

• New graduates (新卒): rirekisho only, plus whatever entry sheet the company uses. You have no work history to detail yet.

• Mid-career applicants (中途採用): both, almost always. Assume both are expected even when only the rirekisho is named in the posting.

• Applying through an agent: both — and expect the agent to send your shokumu keirekisho back for revisions. That is normal, and it is free coaching.

• Part-time work (アルバイト): usually rirekisho only.

Three ways to structure a shokumu keirekisho

Because there is no fixed template, choose the structure that shows your history in its best light.

Reverse chronological (逆編年体式)

Most recent role first. This is the default for most applicants, because your latest work is usually your strongest and it is what the recruiter cares about most. If you are unsure, start here.

Chronological (編年体式)

Oldest role first. Good when your career shows a clear upward arc and you want the reader to follow the progression from junior to senior.

Functional, by skill area (キャリア式)

Organised by area of expertise rather than by date. Useful if you have changed employers often or covered the same specialism across several companies. Be aware that Japanese recruiters still expect to find dates somewhere, so include a compact timeline alongside it.

Five mistakes foreign applicants make

1. Submitting an English-style CV instead. A two-page achievements-first CV does not substitute for either document. Even at companies that call themselves international, HR often screens on the Japanese pair.

2. Writing JLPT informally. Use the official name: 日本語能力試験N2 合格, not “JLPT N2”. Qualifications go in their formal name, and the rule applies to every certification you list.

3. Leaving fields blank. An empty field on a rirekisho reads as carelessness rather than as “not applicable”. If something does not apply, write なし. When a section such as 学歴・職歴 ends, write 以上 on the next line.

4. Duplicating the rirekisho inside the shokumu keirekisho. If your second document just repeats company names and dates, you have wasted your one chance to argue for yourself.

5. Ignoring your visa situation. If you already hold a status of residence that covers the work, say so plainly — for example 在留資格「技術・人文知識・国際業務」 in the notes or qualifications area. It removes a question mark from the recruiter's mind. If you would need sponsorship, state that too; hiding it only wastes everyone's time later.

A checklist before you hit send

• Send both as PDF unless the employer specifies otherwise, named clearly, e.g. 履歴書_YourName.pdf

• One consistent style throughout — です・ます or である, never both

• One dating system throughout — all Western years or all Japanese era years

• Photo current, plain background, business attire

• Company name written correctly, with 株式会社 in the right position

• No correction tape and nothing crossed out — redo the page instead

• Read the shokumu keirekisho once more asking: would a stranger know in ten seconds why I fit this role?

Frequently asked questions

Can I type them, or do I have to write by hand?

Typed is fine and increasingly expected, especially for office and technical roles. Some traditional employers still ask for handwriting — if the posting says 手書き, follow it.

Do I need a hanko?

Not on either document. Personal seals are not part of the current recommended rirekisho format and most employers no longer look for one.

Should I write in Japanese if the role is English-speaking?

Write in the language of the process. If the posting and interviews are in English, an English CV plus a Japanese rirekisho is a reasonable pair — but ask the recruiter rather than guessing.

How far back should my work history go?

All of it on the rirekisho, as dates and company names. On the shokumu keirekisho, go deep on the last five to ten years and compress anything older into a line or two.

Can I reuse the same shokumu keirekisho for every application?

You can reuse the skeleton, but the 職務要約 and 活かせる経験・知識・スキル sections should be rewritten for each role. Those two sections are where a recruiter decides whether to keep reading.

The short version

The rirekisho proves you are who you say you are. The shokumu keirekisho proves you are worth an hour of someone's time. Write the first one accurately and the second one persuasively, and you are already ahead of most of the pile.

Ready to put these documents to work?

KakehashiX connects Japanese-speaking talent with over 20+ Japanese companies hiring. Register as a candidate to get your JLPT level verified, build a profile employers can actually search, and get matched with roles that fit the experience you just finished writing up.

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