Looking for Creative jobs in Japan? Talk to Reyna
The recruiter you work with matters.
You want someone who listens, gives honest advice, and represents you well to the companies you want to join.
But, if you are in a creative, design, or frontend role, your work is cannot be explained on a resume.
You want someone who understands the market.
You want someone who understands the world you work in.
You want someone who understands you.
That is where Reyna Mali Marquez comes in.
Reyna is a Senior Consultant at Build+ on the Developers + Creatives team.
She works with jobseekers across mobile engineering, front-end development, UI/UX design, creative direction, visual design, 3D design, and game design roles.
I sat down with Reyna to talk about the types of roles she works on, the clients she supports, and what makes creative recruitment different in Japan.
There’s alot to cover, so let’s get started
To start, can you introduce yourself?
My name is Reyna Marquez, and I’m a Senior Consultant at Build+.
I’m part of the Developers + Creatives team, and I focus on mobile engineering roles and design positions.
That includes creative direction, UI/UX, graphic and visual design, 3D design, gaming design, and other creative roles.
It is a broad area to cover, but the common thread is that I work with people who build, design, and shape digital products.
What kinds of roles have you had the most success with?
I’ve had a lot of success with high-level design leadership positions.
The last three people I helped were Design Managers at leading consumer-based IT companies in Japan.
Those roles are not easy to work on.
They are specific, senior, and hard to find the right person for.
But I’ve worked on similar roles before, so I’ve built a strong network of design professionals.
When a new role comes in, I already have people in mind and I reach out to them directly.
I’ve also worked successfully on front-end development roles.
There is demand for strong front-end developers in Japan; that market moves quickly.
Sometimes success comes down to timing, but you have to put in the work to understand what both the company and jobseeker are looking for.
What kinds of companies do you usually work with?
The clients I work with are product-based companies.
They are building digital, mobile, or web-based products.
That includes both B2C and B2B companies.
They range from medium to large startups to larger corporate companies and enterprise-level businesses.
I also work with smaller niche startups, including areas like IoT.
The main connection is that they are product-focused companies where design, engineering, user experience, and business impact are connected.
What makes recruiting for creative and design roles different?
Creative and design roles are personal.
Of course, skills matter.
Your portfolio matters.
Your experience matters.
But with creative roles, there is a way of thinking, communicating, and approaching problems that companies are trying to understand.
I have always been close to art and creativity.
I am an artist first.
I do freelance art and graphic design work, and I have a lot of friends who are designers in fashion, UI/UX, game design, and other arts.
I understand the designer mindset.
I feel most comfortable in the art world.
That background helps me when I talk to designers and creative professionals because I understand the language, the terms, and the feeling of the work.
I do not want to say, “I automatically get everything,” because every person and every role is different. But I do think my background helps me connect with creatives in a more natural way.
How did you come to Japan?
I came to Japan about 10 years ago.
Like many foreigners in Japan, I started out teaching English.
After that, I did a lot of different jobs. I had odd jobs, freelance projects, and I was working as an artist and graphic designer.
Eventually, I got into recruitment because I wanted to build a more stable life for myself financially.
I was struggling, and I heard that recruitment could be a way to increase my income and build business skills.
That is the honest reason I entered the industry.
But recruitment became more than that.
How did you join Build+?
I was reached out to by Build+ because they were looking for someone to work on the creatives team.
At the time, I already knew a little bit about the company.
I knew someone who worked here, and when I looked online, the company felt different from other recruitment agencies.
A lot of recruitment companies can look very corporate or transactional. Like people in suits who are just trying to get a commission.
That was not the feeling I got from Build+.
It felt more real and more authentic.
That mattered to me because I need to feel aligned with the people and environment around me.
I could see myself growing here long term.
I’ve now been at Build+ for almost four years.
What made you stay in recruitment?
Recruitment was very hard for me at first.
There were times when I wondered if it was really for me.
I made mistakes, and I had to learn through those mistakes.
The first one or two years in recruitment can be a real grind for a lot of people.
What helped me was learning how to value myself as a consultant.
One thing I learned at Build+ is that we are not just messengers.
We are not just passing information from a client to a candidate or from a candidate to a client.
We are consultants.
That means we need to listen, understand the situation, and give advice based on what we know.
When I started to believe that what I had to offer had value, that changed everything for me.
I like that this job lets me meet interesting people.
I get to talk to designers, engineers, leaders, and people from many different backgrounds.
I get to understand what people are thinking, what is changing in the market, and what is happening in society.
I’m interested in people and psychology, so that part of the job is genuinely interesting to me.
International technology companies may offer salaries above these ranges, particularly for engineers with specialized skills or leadership experience.
However, higher salaries generally come with greater expectations around technical ownership, mentoring, architecture, stakeholder management, and business impact.
What is the hardest part of recruitment?
Managing expectations is always hard.
That is true for both jobseekers and clients.
People are human.
A job change is not a small thing.
It affects your life, your income, your family, your identity, and your future.
As recruiters, we can become too used to talking about offers, resignations, layoffs, interviews, and salaries.
But we should never forget that we are dealing with people’s lives.
That is why communication matters so much.
You have to keep checking in with people throughout the process.
You have to understand different cultural backgrounds, different communication styles, and different expectations.
You also have to read people quickly, because hiring processes move fast and a lot can change.
The hardest moments are usually when you are in the middle.
The candidate may wonder if you are really on their side.
The client may wonder the same thing.
But the truth is, I am on everyone’s side and nobody’s side at the same time.
My job is to help both sides understand each other and see whether there is a real match.
If both sides want it to work, I can help facilitate that.
But ultimately, you have to choose the company, and the company has to choose you.
Can you share an example of a difficult situation?
There was a process where we thought the final interview had happened, but then the client said they wanted one more interview because they needed to be sure.
I knew the person I was working with would not take that well.
Honestly, I didn’t take it well either.
But I spoke with the client to understand their side.
Then I spoke with the candidate.
I thought they would drop the process.
We talked and decided that this is also a chance make a decision. To know for sure whether this is really a good fit.
They were interested in the product, the company, and the level of the role.
They knew it would be challenging, but were prepared to take it on.
That kind of situation is hard because you have to represent both sides honestly.
I told the client that we were not happy about the extra interview and the company made sure to arrange the next conversation with someone who would be easy to talk to.
Those moments are uncomfortable, but they are where a recruiter adds value.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
For me, the most rewarding part is knowing that I did not avoid the hard conversations.
Even when conversations are uncomfortable, I still have them with jobseekers and clients.
When we can work through those moments and find a way forward, that feels rewarding.
I am happy when a candidate gets a new job.
It means they have a new opportunity, a new direction, and a new way to support themselves, their family, and their career.
As an immigrant in Japan, I sometimes think about whether I am contributing to the society I live in.
When I help people build their careers here, I feel like the answer is yes.
How would you describe your approach?
I try to be authentic and honest.
I believe strongly in Build+’s value of doing what is in the best interest of the customer.
For me, that means jobseekers and clients.
You may not always have perfect information, but you can still communicate honestly and with good intentions.
Rapport matters.
We are meeting people online, as strangers, and asking them to trust us with big career decisions.
That trust has to be earned.
I am introverted, but I do well in one-on-one conversations or small groups.
When I am speaking with people, I try to understand what they really want, what they are worried about, and what kind of opportunity would genuinely make their life better.
Outside of work, what should people know about you?
My dog is my daughter.
She is a Chihuahua.
We call her Japan-mexi-pino because she is one-third Japanese, one-third Mexican, and one-third Filipino.
She has attitude, sass, and class.
Basically, she is me in a small dog.
I love art, creativity, and design.
I love anything that sparkles.
For food, I do not have one absolute favorite.
I love Mexican food, Japanese food, Indian food, Ethiopian food…honestly, if it is good, I will probably eat it.
What advice do you have for creatives, designers, and engineers looking for a job in Japan?
If you are struggling with your job search, know that you are not alone.
The market is competitive, and it is discouraging when you are applying and not getting interviews.
But there are opportunities out there.
Including opportunities that recruiters do not even know about.
Go to conventions.
Go to networking nights.
Join meetups.
Make friends, make connections, and tell everyone that you are looking.
People want to help.
Some of the best roles come through word of mouth.
And most importantly;
Your authenticity is your power.
