転職

• Reading: てんしょく
• Romaji: tenshoku
• Kanji breakdown: 転 (change/roll) + 職 (job/profession) → changing one's profession
• Pronunciation: /ten.ɕo.ku/

Meaning

Changing jobs or making a career switch — leaving one company to work at another.

転職 was once stigmatized in Japan's lifetime employment culture, where changing companies was seen as disloyal or unstable. However, attitudes have shifted dramatically, especially among younger generations. Job-hopping is now increasingly normalized, with major 転職 platforms like doda, Bizreach, and Recruit Agent becoming widely used. The growing acceptance of 転職 reflects broader changes in Japanese work culture away from the traditional single-company career path.

Examples

1. 転職サイトに登録したら、スカウトがめっちゃ来る。 I signed up on a job change site and I'm getting tons of recruiter messages.
2. 30代で転職するなら今がラストチャンスかも。 If you're gonna switch jobs in your 30s, now might be your last chance.
3. 転職して年収100万上がったって友達が言ってた。 My friend said they got a million-yen salary bump after switching jobs.

Usage Guide

Context: career discussions, casual conversation, workplace

Tone: practical, sometimes exciting or anxious

Do Say

• 転職考えてるんだけど、今の市場ってどうなの？ (I'm thinking about changing jobs — how's the market right now?)
• 転職エージェント使ったほうが効率いいよ。 (Using a job change agent is more efficient.)

Don't Say

• 上司の前で転職の話はしない (Don't talk about changing jobs in front of your boss — obvious but important)

Common Mistakes

• Assuming 転職 is still stigmatized — while some traditional companies frown on it, the stigma has largely disappeared among younger generations

Origin & History

A compound of 転 (to change/roll) and 職 (job/profession). While the word itself is standard Japanese, its cultural acceptability has transformed dramatically since the 2000s as lifetime employment declined.

Cultural Context

Era: Traditional term, cultural shift from 2000s onward

Generation: All working-age adults, especially 20s-40s

Social background: Universal

Regional notes: Used across all of Japan. 転職 platforms like doda and Bizreach are now as mainstream as 就活 (new graduate job hunting) sites.