As per the title, I am currently job hunting and my main language is C#, however if doesn’t appear that C# or .NET is all that popular here in Japan. I guess I’m reaching out for any potential leads.
I’ve started to learn some more Python recently to make myself more attractive.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
My impression is that C# is not so popular among startup companies here, which are the ones who are also most aggressively hiring international developers. Other industries, such as finance or enterprise development may be using it, but the opportunities are harder to find.
While having experience with the technology a company uses can give you an edge, other companies don’t place so much importance on your exact tech stack. Learning a new language is one way to broaden your horizons, but another strategy could be to look for ways to leverage your existing C# knowledge. For instance, many employers will value contributions to open source projects, even if they’re with a different tech than they use, as they’re a sign that you can write enough code to be valued by someone.
Thank you for the reply and advice.
I’m also starting to feel the same way about C# here, so I’ve started to improve on my Python skills and dabbling in some frontend frameworks to get a basic understanding beyond what I already know.
Regarding the open source contribution: I am involved in a couple of side project/startups but unfortunately I can’t really put the code on Github for all to see, which is frustrating because I think it would be good way to show off my skills.
I am also discovering that despite having 6.5 years of experience, a lot of companies seem to like Leetcode style questions. Don’t really want to get into a debate on the pros and cons of that, however I’ve been practicing those as well and brushing up on CS fundamentals.
PS: SOME recruitment companies here seem like dispatch companies (派遣社員) in disguise 
Is this an accurate appraisal?
From a recruitment perspective, I think contributions to existing open source projects are more valuable than putting up some side project. If an open source project is popular, employers will assume there are some sort of gatekeepers vetting any contributions you make.
Most of my contributions have come as part of my job. I’m using a library, and I discover something that isn’t documented well, or a bug, or something like that. If it’s going to be a hassle to get permission to make a contribution on company time, you could always bookmark it for something to come back to on personal time. Now, perhaps in the Microsoft ecosystem, doing things that way isn’t so popular, which is another argument to use something like Python (or Ruby in my case).
In Japan, it’s my understanding that dispatch companies fall under the umbrella of recruiting, which is a licensed industry. Some recruiting companies will do both placement and dispatch, while others focus on one area.
I think with .NET going open source there are huge opportunities to get involved in contributing now. But I agree, I don’t think the culture, as you suggested, is as evolved as other languages/frameworks etc.
Thank you for all the valuable advice.