How to Choose the Right IT Company With No Experience

If you’re aiming to become an IT engineer without any prior experience, you’re not alone in wondering, “How do I know which company to choose?”

Even when you find job listings that say “no experience required,” it’s natural to worry about ending up at a company with little to no training or an environment where you’ll struggle to build real skills.

This article covers five key criteria for choosing the right company without making costly mistakes, along with a concrete action plan to guide you from job search to offer.

1. Why You Can Realistically Become an IT Engineer Without Experience: Understanding the Market Tailwinds

The reason career-changers with no technical background can realistically break into IT engineering comes down to a nationwide shortage of IT talent in Japan.

Understanding the current state of the market will give you greater confidence when evaluating companies.

The Government Has Warned of a Shortage of Up to 790,000 IT Workers by 2030

According to a survey on IT talent supply and demand conducted by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the shortage of IT professionals is projected to worsen significantly in the coming years. If the market grows at an average annual rate of 2.7%, the shortfall will reach approximately 450,000 workers by 2030.

In a scenario where growth reaches 4.4%, the gap climbs to as many as 790,000 workers. Even under the most conservative assumption of 1.0% growth, a shortfall of 160,000 workers is expected — meaning no scenario projects a surplus of IT talent.

This shortage is not a temporary blip. It is a structural outcome of an increasingly digital society, and it is pushing companies to actively hire candidates without prior experience.

In cutting-edge fields such as AI, IoT, and big data, the shortfall is projected to reach approximately 124,000 workers by 2030. Starting your career in this space now gives you a significant long-term advantage.

Source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry — “Survey on IT Talent Supply and Demand (Overview)”

The Rise of “Character-First” Hiring Is Driving Broader Opportunities for Career Changers

As the IT talent shortage deepens, hiring strategies across the industry are shifting.

According to Mynavi’s “Mid-Career Hiring Survey 2025,” 43.7% of companies reported hiring candidates who did not meet technical requirements based primarily on positive personal attributes — such as a strong character or a good cultural fit.

Where technical proficiency was once a prerequisite, more companies today prioritize a candidate’s eagerness to learn and openness to feedback.

That said, there is an important caveat. The same survey found that approximately 40% of companies have experienced early attrition among candidates hired for their personal qualities.

The top reason for leaving was a mismatch between the actual job and expectations (24.5%). The easier it becomes to get hired, the more important it is for candidates to carefully evaluate the companies they apply to.

Source: Mynavi — “Mid-Career Hiring Survey 2025”

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2. Three Common Mistakes Inexperienced IT Engineers Make When Choosing a Company

Relying solely on the wording in a job listing can lead to a situation where you join a company and quickly realize it’s nothing like what you expected.

Get familiar with the most common pitfalls before you start applying.

Judging a Company by “No Experience Required” Alone Can Land You in a Role With No Real Training

“No experience required” simply means you’re eligible to apply — it does not guarantee structured training after you join.

Some companies offer only one to two weeks of onboarding in practice, and others that list “OJT” in their postings may place you on a client site almost immediately with minimal preparation.

Don’t Take “Training Provided” at Face Value

In environments like these, it is difficult to develop a systematic understanding of your field. You may find yourself going through the motions of daily tasks without ever grasping how the underlying systems actually work.

Even when a listing says “training provided,” always confirm the duration, content, and mentorship structure during your interview.

Entering a Deep Subcontracting Chain as an IT Engineer Limits Your Skill Growth

Japan’s IT development industry operates on a deeply layered subcontracting structure.

Work flows from a client down through primary, secondary, and tertiary contractors. The further you are from the top of this chain, the more your day-to-day work tends to consist of testing, system monitoring, and routine data entry — rather than design and development.

The Risk of Losing Ground on Both Skills and Salary

At the fourth tier and beyond, this pattern becomes even more pronounced. Spending years without broadening your technical scope makes it harder to build a competitive résumé in the job market.

Additionally, having multiple intermediary companies in the chain tends to compress salaries below industry standards. Understanding where a company sits in the subcontracting hierarchy is a critical checkpoint for both career growth and compensation.

Watch Out for Companies Where Entry-Level Salaries Never Actually Rise

There are positions that start salaries for inexperienced hires in the ¥2 million range. The real problem, however, is that some companies have no structured path for salary growth even after employees develop their skills.

According to the National Tax Agency’s “Survey on Private-Sector Wage Conditions,” the average annual salary in the information and communications industry is ¥5.82 million.

Rather than focusing only on the starting salary, verify whether the company has a documented pay scale — such as a formal grade system or salary progression table — that shows where you could expect to be in three to five years.

Source: National Tax Agency — “Survey on Private-Sector Wage Conditions”

3. Five Criteria Every Inexperienced IT Engineer Should Evaluate When Choosing a Company

Here are five measurable criteria to assess before applying. Each includes practical guidance on how to verify the information so you can use this as a pre-application checklist.

Criterion 1 — Training Program: Is It at Least Two Months Long and Does It Include OJT?

The quality of onboarding you receive right after joining has a lasting impact on how quickly your skills develop. As a benchmark, look for a training period of at least two months — ideally three or more.

How to Assess the Quality of a Training Program

Duration alone does not tell the full story. Whether you are expected to work through manuals on your own or have a senior engineer walking alongside you through OJT makes a significant difference in the depth of skills you can realistically acquire.

It is also worth confirming whether the company offers hands-on development assignments and access to e-learning platforms.

Use Certification Support to Gauge a Company’s Commitment to Growth

Companies that subsidize exam fees or offer bonuses for passing certifications such as the IT Passport, Fundamental Information Technology Engineer Examination, or AWS certifications are signaling a genuine investment in employee development. Confirm this in the job listing or during your interview.

Criterion 2 — Turnover Rate: Look for Companies Where Less Than 30% of Employees Leave Within Three Years

Turnover rate is one of the most objective indicators of workplace health.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s data on separation rates among new graduates, top-tier companies keep their attrition in the single digits or below 10%, though the gap between individual companies in the IT sector is notably wide.

Three Benchmarks for Identifying Strong Companies

When evaluating a company, look at three figures together: a three-year turnover rate below 30%, an average employee tenure of ten years or more, and a paid leave utilization rate of at least 70%.

How to Find This Data

Beyond what companies disclose in job listings, you may find this information in Toyo Keizai’s company database or on employee review platforms such as OpenWork. If a company does not publish its turnover rate at all, treat that as a signal in itself.

Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare — “Separation Rates Among New Graduates”

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Criterion 3 — Position in the Supply Chain: Is the Company at the Third Tier or Above?

Where a company sits in the subcontracting hierarchy directly affects your skill development, salary, and day-to-day work environment. Treat “third tier or above” as the minimum threshold.

Three Risks of Joining a Fourth-Tier or Lower Contractor

At the fourth tier and beyond, work tends to become highly routine, leaving little room for skill growth. With multiple intermediary companies in the chain, salaries are often held below industry benchmarks.

There is also a risk that lines of authority become unclear — creating a situation that may border on illegal subcontracting arrangements.

How to Determine a Company’s Position in the Supply Chain

Check the company’s website and job listing for a list of major clients. Look for direct relationships with large vendors such as NTT Data, Fujitsu, or NEC, or evidence that the company operates its own proprietary services.

Warning Signs to Watch For

If no client names are listed, or the only names you see are other SES companies, the firm may be operating deep in the subcontracting chain. When a listing does not give you enough to go on, ask directly during your interview: “What tier is your primary project work typically at?”

Criterion 4 — Salary Trajectory: Does the Company Provide a Clear Roadmap for Pay Growth?

According to the National Tax Agency’s “Survey on Private-Sector Wage Conditions,” the average annual salary in the information and communications sector is ¥5.82 million. Use this figure as a reference point when comparing starting pay against projected earnings over time.

Use the Salary Progression Plan to Understand Your Long-Term Earning Potential

Even if your starting salary as an inexperienced hire is in the ¥3 million range, what matters is whether the company’s pay structure can realistically take you to ¥5 million within three to five years — and to ¥8 million or more if you reach a project lead or manager level.

In your interview, ask specifically about expected salary increases tied to skill advancement and how the company’s grading system works.

Red Flags to Watch For in Job Listings

Be cautious of listings that start salaries in the ¥2 million range with no clear explanation of how pay grows over time. Verify whether the company has a documented grade system and formal salary progression policy.

Source: National Tax Agency — “Survey on Private-Sector Wage Conditions”

Criterion 5 — Workforce Composition: Are There Enough Engineers in Their 30s and 40s?

The age distribution of a company’s employees is an often-overlooked indicator of organizational health.

If more than 80% of the workforce is in their 20s, it may signal that experienced engineers are not staying — or that conditions do not support long-term employment.

A Strong Presence of Mid-Career Engineers Signals Healthy Knowledge Transfer

A company where engineers in their 30s and 40s make up roughly 50% of the team is one where knowledge transfer is functioning well and long-term career planning is a realistic possibility.

The fact that experienced professionals have chosen to stay is itself evidence that the compensation, projects, and overall environment are genuinely attractive from the outside.

How and When to Confirm This

In addition to any average age information in the job listing, you can ask directly at a company information session or during an interview: “Could you share a breakdown of your engineers by age group?”

4. Company Selection Checklist for Inexperienced IT Engineers: Five Criteria at a Glance

The five criteria covered above are summarized below for quick reference. Use this table when reviewing job listings or preparing for interviews.

Criterion	OK (Safe to Proceed)	Caution (Verify Before Accepting)
Training Program	3+ months of training, OJT included, certification support available	2 weeks or less, self-study only, immediate client placement
Turnover Rate	Under 30% within 3 years, average tenure 10+ years, paid leave utilization 70%+	Turnover rate not disclosed, average tenure under 3 years
Supply Chain Position	Third tier or above, proprietary services, major vendors as direct clients	Fourth tier or below, no client names listed, only other SES firms listed
Salary Trajectory	Clear salary progression plan, documented grade system	Starting salary in the ¥2M range with no stated salary growth policy
Workforce Composition	Engineers in their 30s–40s make up roughly 50% of staff	Over 80% in their 20s, unusually low average age

5. Interview Questions Inexperienced IT Engineers Can Use to Evaluate a Company

Knowing the right criteria is only half the battle — if you don’t know what to ask in an interview, you won’t be able to gather the information you need. Here are specific questions organized by each criterion.

Questions to Ask About the Training Program

The way you phrase your questions about training will determine how much useful detail you can draw out.

Asking “Do you have a training program?” will almost always get you a simple “yes.” Instead, ask in specific, concrete terms like the following:

• “How long does the training period last, and could you walk me through the curriculum?”
• “Is the training self-directed, or does a senior engineer accompany new hires through OJT?”
• “Do you have any certification support programs, such as exam fee reimbursement or bonuses for passing?”

Questions to Ask About Supply Chain Position and Project Work

Supply chain position is difficult to determine from a job listing alone. Confirming the specifics directly — and asking follow-up questions about the nature of the work — will give you a much clearer picture of what your day-to-day would look like.

• “What tier is your primary project work typically at in the subcontracting chain?”
• “Does the company develop and operate any of its own products or services?”
• “What kinds of projects are inexperienced hires typically assigned to at first?”

Questions to Ask About Career Path and Salary Growth

Your future earnings and career direction are things you should always clarify before accepting an offer. If you get a vague answer, follow up with requests for specific numbers to get a clearer sense of the reality.

• “For someone who joins without prior experience, what would a realistic salary range look like after three to five years?”
• “How is the grade system and salary progression structured?”
• “Are there engineers who joined without experience and have gone on to become project leads or managers?”

Questions to Avoid in Your Interview

Even when the information matters to you, how you ask can affect the impression you make. In particular, approach the following questions carefully — especially in a first-round interview.

• “How many hours of overtime should I expect per month?” (In early interviews, this can come across as prioritizing working conditions over the role itself.)
• “Can I actually take paid time off here?” (Same concern — better to raise this in a second-round interview or through a recruiter.)
• “What is your turnover rate?” (Asking directly is less effective than researching through employee review sites or company databases, where you’re more likely to get honest figures.)

6. Types of IT Companies Inexperienced Engineers Should Understand Before Choosing

The type of company you join will significantly shape the pace of your skill development and the direction of your career. Choosing a company type that aligns with your goals is directly tied to how quickly you grow after joining.

Product-Driven Companies Offer an Ideal Learning Environment — but Competition Is Fierce

Companies with their own products give you exposure to the full development lifecycle — from requirements gathering and system design through implementation and ongoing operations.

Because you work directly with customer challenges, these environments are well-suited for building both technical depth and business acumen simultaneously.

The Bar for Hiring Inexperienced Candidates Is Notably Higher

Product companies tend to have fewer open positions and set a higher bar for hiring candidates without experience. Building a portfolio and earning relevant certifications ahead of time is especially important for clearing initial screening.

SIers and IT Consultancies Offer Fast Skill Growth Through Early Exposure to Upstream Work

Primary and secondary-tier System Integrators (SIers) and IT consulting firms allow you to engage with upstream processes — such as requirements definition and high-level system design — relatively early in your career.

Upstream experience translates directly into market value, meaning that a few years of this work can significantly strengthen your position as a candidate.

Larger SIers Tend to Offer More Robust Training and Project Stability

Major SIers such as NTT Data, Fujitsu, and NEC generally have well-developed training programs and access to a stable pipeline of projects.

However, joining these firms directly as an inexperienced hire is often difficult. For many candidates, a mid-tier or independent SIer serves as a practical first step before moving up.

If You Choose an SES Company as an Inexperienced Engineer, Evaluate It by Career Support and Project Quality

SES (System Engineering Service) companies place engineers at client sites to provide technical support. SES itself is not inherently limiting as a career path — a reputable SES firm can offer exposure to a wide variety of environments and help you broaden your technical range.

Key Checkpoints for Identifying a Quality SES Company

When evaluating an SES firm, confirm three things: whether engineer career paths are formally documented, whether the company has genuine control over where engineers are placed, and whether preferences for project assignments are taken seriously.

Established SES firms such as Fuji Soft, INTLOOP, and Persol & ServerWorks go beyond simply dispatching workers — they treat engineer development as a core part of their business.

Fourth-Tier and Lower SES Companies Carry Significant Risks for Inexperienced Candidates

Particular caution is warranted with SES companies operating at the fourth tier or beyond. These environments combine three compounding risks: stagnant skill development, below-market compensation, and ambiguous lines of authority.

If a listing provides no information about clients or placement sites, or if the described duties are limited to testing, monitoring, and help desk work, think carefully before applying.

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7. Three Steps to Successfully Choose a Company as an Inexperienced IT Engineer

With the evaluation criteria in place, the next step is understanding how to act on them. Knowledge without action produces no results — here is how to move forward in three concrete steps.

Step 1 — Narrow Down Your Target Role Before Searching for Openings

“IT engineer” is an umbrella term that covers many distinct roles.

Systems engineers, programmers, infrastructure engineers, cloud engineers, and data scientists all work with different technologies and handle different types of responsibilities.

Get a Rough Sense of What Each Role Involves

Systems engineers work with clients to clarify requirements and produce system design documents. Programmers write the code based on those designs.

Infrastructure and cloud engineers build and operate servers, networks, and cloud environments. Data scientists build analytical models and apply machine learning to extract insights from data.

Deciding on a Role First Makes Your Job Search More Efficient

Choosing a role that fits your interests and strengths before you start searching will help you filter listings more effectively and bring consistency to your motivation statements in interviews. Going in with nothing more than a vague desire to “work in IT” makes it harder to set a clear direction for your job search.

Step 2 — Demonstrate Motivation and Ability Through Certifications and a Portfolio Before You Apply

Without hands-on work experience, certifications and tangible output are the only tools you have to represent yourself.

To demonstrate both a habit of learning and a baseline of technical knowledge, start with certification study as your first concrete action.

Recommended Certifications and Output by Target Field

Regardless of which role you are targeting, the IT Passport and Fundamental Information Technology Engineer Examination are the foundational starting points. From there, the path diverges depending on your field.

Field-Specific Certifications and Portfolio Recommendations

For infrastructure roles, CCNA (networking) and LinuC (Linux) are valuable certifications to pursue. For cloud roles, the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner is the ideal entry point.

For development roles, publish a web application you built yourself on GitHub. A commit history that shows consistent, self-directed progress sends a clear message to interviewers that you can take initiative independently.

▼Related Reading

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Step 3 — Use an IT-Specialized Recruiter to Access Unlisted Positions and Inside Information

Working with a recruiter who specializes in the IT industry improves the quality of your company selection process.

The three core advantages are access to unlisted positions that don’t appear on public job boards, access to inside information on turnover rates and workplace culture, and support with your résumé and interview preparation.

Two Things to Confirm When Choosing a Recruiter

When evaluating recruiters, ask two things: how many openings they have that are genuinely open to candidates without experience, and how well the recruiter understands the technical side of IT work.

A recruiter with real knowledge of the industry will be able to give you accurate guidance on supply chain position and technical domains — which reduces the risk of making a poor company choice.

▼Related Reading

Ready to put your company evaluation criteria into action? This step-by-step guide covers everything from preparing your application to navigating the full recruitment process in Japan.

■ Work With a Specialist to Find the Right IT Company for You

The right recruiter makes all the difference when you’re navigating Japan’s IT job market without experience. BLOOMTECH Career for Global specializes in matching engineers with companies that offer genuine training, fair compensation, and real career growth — with bilingual support available to engineers living in Japan with Japanese language proficiency of N2 or above.

▼Contact BLOOMTECH Career for Global here

8. Conclusion: When Changing Careers to IT Engineering Without Experience, Your Company Selection Criteria Determine Your Outcome

The key to successfully transitioning into IT engineering without prior experience is having a clear framework for evaluating companies.

When you assess job listings through the lens of five criteria — training program, turnover rate, supply chain position, salary trajectory, and workforce composition — the distinction between companies worth joining and those to avoid becomes much clearer.

Which company you choose will have a lasting impact on how your skills develop, what you earn, and where your career ultimately goes. Consulting with a recruiter who has deep knowledge of the IT industry structure is a recommended way to gain an objective view of your market value and build your career on a solid foundation.