Pick a 履歴書 (rirekisho) for who you are and a 職務経歴書 (shokumu keirekisho) for what you did. In Japan the “right template” is that pair, sized to your career, not a decorative theme.
A Western resume lets you hide gaps with design. A Japanese application does the opposite. The 履歴書 is a fixed JIS form. The 職務経歴書 is free-form, and that is where role-fit actually lives.
Which document do you lead with?
Lead with both unless the posting says otherwise. Most employers want the pair. Some startups and foreign-affiliated firms accept a 職務経歴書 only. If the posting names 履歴書, send the form. Guessing is how people send a designed English CV to a company that asked for a one-page 履歴書 with a 40 × 30 mm photo.
| Where you are | 履歴書 | 職務経歴書 |
|---|---|---|
| New graduate / little work history | Required. Keep it complete and short. | One page is enough. School projects and internships can carry it. |
| Mid-career, same field | Required. | Two pages, maybe three. Role-by-role outcomes, not a job-title list. |
| Career change | Required. | Two pages that explain the transfer. Do not pretend the old job was the new one. |
The 履歴書 does not change shape for an engineer versus a marketer. The 職務経歴書 does. That is the document you should spend the extra hour on.
What should a 職務経歴書 actually look like?
It should read as a work history a hiring manager can scan in two minutes. Company, period, role, then what you shipped, in that order. Put tools and stack next to the work they supported, not in a floating skills cloud at the top.
A new graduate’s 職務経歴書 can stay close to one page. A ten-year career that still fits on one page usually means you deleted the evidence.
Write dates the same way you wrote them on the 履歴書. Mix 西暦 (Western years) on one document and 和暦 (era years) on the other and you look like two different people.
Do I pick a different 履歴書 for each industry?
No. The 履歴書 is a standard form. Industry fit shows up in 志望動機 (why this company) and 自己PR (what you are good at), which you rewrite per posting, and in the 職務経歴書, which you tune for the role.
What you should not do is download a “creative” 履歴書 with a colored sidebar. Japanese first screening is looking for the fields they already know how to read. A missing photo box or a rearranged history table is not personality. It is a reason to stop.
Photo on the 履歴書 stays 40 × 30 mm, portrait, taken within 3 months, even if you are applying to a design studio.
How do I choose inside NihonResume?
Open templates and start from the document type the posting named. If you already have an English or home-country CV, convert it instead of retyping dates. Then ask NihonResume AI to rewrite 志望動機 for that company. Do not ask it to invent a second career.
If you are mid-career, check that the 職務経歴書 is the longer document. If you are a new graduate, check that you did not pad it with slogans to look senior.
Common questions
Can one template cover both documents?
No. They are different forms with different jobs. NihonResume keeps them as two documents on purpose.
What if the company only asked for a 職務経歴書?
Send that. Keep a 履歴書 ready anyway. The next posting will ask for it.
Should engineers use an English CV as the 職務経歴書?
Only if the posting is in English and the company said so. A Japanese-language role still wants a Japanese 職務経歴書. You can keep an English CV as a leave-behind after the first screen.
Start from a template, or read how to write a 履歴書 if the form itself is still the confusing part.