A Career Guide to Sales, Marketing, PR, Buyer, and Merchandiser Roles in the U.S.

Many Japanese-English bilingual job seekers who are considering a career change or job search in the U.S. say that they are interested not only in IT or manufacturing, but also in business roles such as sales, marketing, and public relations.

However, when looking at job postings, it can be difficult to understand what each role actually does. Titles such as Sales, Sales Assistant, Marketing, Public Relations, Consultant, Buyer, and Merchandiser may appear often, but many job seekers wonder, “What kind of work is this?” or “Will my experience from Japan be valued in the U.S.?”

In Japanese company jobs and bilingual jobs in the U.S., employers often look for more than Japanese and English language skills. They may also expect sales ability, planning skills, marketing thinking, communication skills, and business understanding.

In this article, we will explain the job responsibilities, ideal candidate profiles, required skills, career paths, and next steps for business roles such as Sales, Marketing, Public Relations, Buyer, and Merchandiser, especially at Japanese companies in the U.S.

What Do Sales, Marketing, and PR Roles Do?

At Japanese companies in the U.S. and companies that conduct business between Japan and the U.S., Japanese-English bilingual professionals can play an important role in sales, promotion, purchasing, and business development.

Main Job Types and Responsibilities

Sales / Account Executive

Sales professionals follow up with existing customers, such as Japanese subsidiaries or U.S.-based companies, and also develop new business opportunities.

Their responsibilities may include proposing products or services, negotiating pricing, communicating with clients, and moving deals toward contracts.

Sales Assistant / Sales Operations

Sales assistants support the sales team from the back office.

Their work may include preparing quotations and purchase orders, managing orders, responding to customer inquiries, organizing sales data, and supporting communication between customers and internal teams.

Marketing / Public Relations

Marketing and PR roles focus on increasing awareness of a company, brand, product, or service.

Responsibilities may include market research, social media management, advertising support, press release distribution, event planning, campaign coordination, and brand communication.

Buyer / Merchandiser

Buyers and merchandisers select products to sell in stores or online, manage purchasing, pricing, inventory, and product display strategies.

They often work closely with vendors, sales teams, retail teams, and management to decide what products should be sold, how they should be presented, and how inventory should be managed.

Consultant

Consultants help clients solve business problems.

In Japanese business settings, this may include supporting Japanese companies entering the U.S. market, improving business processes, developing marketing strategies, or helping companies understand local market needs.

How Japanese and English Are Used at Japanese Companies

At Japanese companies in the U.S., employees often need to communicate with both Japanese-speaking and English-speaking stakeholders.

When working with Japanese clients or business partners, polite Japanese communication and quick responses may be important.

When negotiating with U.S. vendors, internal teams, or local customers, logical presentations and clear business communication in English may be required.

People who understand both Japanese and U.S. business cultures can help projects move smoothly and prevent misunderstandings.

Who Is a Good Fit for These Roles?

Sales, marketing, PR, buyer, and merchandiser roles are often a good fit for people who enjoy communication, products, services, customer needs, and market trends.

People Who Enjoy Talking with Others

Sales, PR, and consulting roles involve a lot of communication with customers, media contacts, vendors, and internal teams.

People who can listen carefully, understand needs, organize information, and make proposals may be a strong fit for these roles.

This can be especially valuable in both English-speaking and Japanese-speaking business environments.

People Who Can Bridge Japanese and English Communication

In roles that connect Japanese companies with U.S. customers or partners, language ability alone is not enough.

It is also important to understand cultural differences and adjust communication styles.

For example, you may need to explain Japanese-style quality and attention to detail in English, while also explaining the speed and directness of U.S. business culture in Japanese.

This ability can be highly valued in sales, marketing, PR, buyer, and merchandiser roles.

People Who Like Looking at Numbers and Market Trends

Marketing and merchandiser roles often involve reviewing numbers such as sales, website traffic, campaign results, customer behavior, and purchasing data.

People who enjoy looking at data, forming hypotheses, and thinking about market trends may be a good fit for planning and marketing-related roles.

People Interested in How Products and Services Are Sold

Buyer, merchandiser, and sales roles are closely connected to the journey from product planning to sales.

If you enjoy thinking about how products reach customers, what makes people buy, and how presentation or pricing affects sales, these roles may be a good match.

Required Skills and Experience

Typical Experience Employers Look For

Sales

Many sales roles prefer candidates with two or more years of sales or business development experience, whether B2B or B2C.

Corporate sales experience from Japan may also be valued, especially if you can explain your customers, sales results, and responsibilities clearly.

Marketing

Marketing roles often value experience in marketing operations, social media management, campaign planning, digital marketing, content creation, or web marketing.

Even if your experience is limited, practical examples such as campaign support, SNS operation, or event promotion can be helpful.

Public Relations

PR roles may value experience in media relations, event coordination, press release writing, brand communication, or corporate communication.

If you do not have direct PR experience, starting as a PR assistant or marketing assistant may be a realistic path.

Buyer / Merchandiser

Buyer and merchandiser roles often value experience in retail, wholesale, trading companies, purchasing, inventory management, sales planning, or product planning.

Understanding product flow, customer demand, and inventory control can be a major advantage.

Entry-Level Roles That May Be Easier to Start With

• Assistant roles such as Sales Assistant, Sales Coordinator, and Marketing Assistant may be easier to enter from administrative, customer service, or retail experience.
• Some jobs specifically require Japanese-English bilingual ability, so candidates who can communicate with customers in both languages may have opportunities even at the entry level.

English and Japanese Language Level

• Sales, marketing, and PR roles often require business-level English, especially for presentations, negotiations, emails, and meetings.
• For Japanese-speaking jobs in the U.S., native or business-level Japanese is often listed as a requirement.
• Japanese-English bilingual ability can be a strong advantage, especially when the role involves customers, vendors, headquarters, or internal teams in both countries.

Computer and Technical Skills

• Sales and assistant roles often require basic Microsoft Office skills, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook, as well as experience with CRM systems.
• Marketing roles may value social media operation, Google Analytics, digital advertising knowledge, content creation, and basic data analysis.
• Buyer and merchandiser roles may require Excel, inventory management, sales reporting, and product planning skills.

Can You Apply Without Direct Experience?

Yes. Even if you are new to the field or changing from another industry, there may still be opportunities.

The key is to choose an entry point that matches your background, instead of applying only for highly strategic or fully independent roles from the beginning.

Roles That May Be Easier to Enter from Another Field

Sales Assistant

Sales Assistant is one of the most accessible ways to enter office work in the U.S.

Customer service, retail, administrative, or coordination experience from Japan can often be useful in this type of role.

Inside Sales / Customer Support

Inside sales and customer support roles allow you to build product knowledge and customer communication skills.

You may handle inquiries, explain products, qualify leads, or support existing customers.

Marketing Assistant / Social Media Support

If you have experience managing personal or business social media, supporting events, creating simple content, or assisting with design or promotion, you may be able to apply for assistant-level marketing roles.

Japanese-style professionalism, accuracy, politeness, and attention to detail are often valued at Japanese companies in the U.S.

What to Highlight on Your Resume and in Interviews

In the U.S. job market, it is important to show specific results and clearly explain how you can contribute to the role.

1. Show Results with Numbers

• Sales roles: “Achieved 115% of sales target” or “Acquired X new customers per month”
• Assistant or administrative roles: “Reduced order processing time by 20%” or “Shortened customer response time to X hours”
• Marketing or PR roles: “Increased social media followers by X%” or “Attracted X attendees to an event”

Numbers make your achievements easier for hiring managers to understand.

2. Highlight Transferable Skills

Even if you are changing industries, many skills can still be useful.

Examples include:

• Problem-solving
• Customer relationship building
• Project coordination
• Communication
• Data organization
• Time management
• Cross-cultural communication

When possible, explain these skills with specific examples from your past work.

3. Prepare for Common Interview Questions

Common interview questions may include:

• “Why are you interested in our products or services?”
• “How would you handle a disagreement between a customer and an internal team?”
• “How have you supported customers or clients in the past?”
• “How do you manage multiple tasks or deadlines?”

Expressions to Avoid

Avoid relying only on general statements such as “I do not have experience, but I will work hard.”

Instead, use specific and active language.

For example, you can say, “I would like to use the customer negotiation skills I developed in my previous role to contribute quickly to sales support and client communication.”

This type of statement shows how your past experience connects to the job.

Career Paths in These Fields

Typical Career Steps

• Sales / Marketing Assistant
• Sales Representative / Marketing Coordinator / PR Assistant / Buyer Assistant
• Senior Sales / Marketing Specialist / PR Specialist / Merchandiser
• Manager, such as Sales Manager, Marketing Manager, PR Manager, or Buying Manager
• Senior Manager / Director / VP

In sales, many people start by managing customers and building stable sales results. After that, they may move into team leadership or sales management.

In marketing and PR, employees may grow into roles that lead projects, manage campaigns, and build brand strategy.

In buyer and merchandiser roles, people often move into positions responsible for product selection, pricing strategy, sales planning, and inventory strategy.

Skills That Can Lead to Higher Pay

• Strong sales results and experience managing important accounts
• Digital marketing, advertising, and data analysis skills
• Experience leading projects across both Japanese and U.S. markets
• Ability to communicate with customers, vendors, and headquarters in both Japanese and English
• Experience with CRM, analytics tools, or inventory systems

How HRAIT Can Support You

Sales, marketing, PR, buyer, and merchandiser roles cover many industries and job types. Because of this, many job seekers feel that even finding the right jobs can be difficult.

By registering with HRAIT, you can access support such as the following.

Find Jobs That Match Your Industry and Role Preferences

You can check job opportunities that match your experience and goals, including Japanese company jobs in the U.S., bilingual jobs, trading company jobs, retail jobs, sales roles, marketing roles, and buyer or merchandiser roles.

AI Job Matching with HRAIT IQ+

Based on your registered information, HRAIT IQ+ can help identify job opportunities with a higher match level across roles such as Sales, Marketing, PR, Buyer, and Merchandiser.

Organize Your Strengths with AI Sakura

By entering your work history into AI Sakura, you can organize strengths and personality points that may not be clear from your resume alone.

This can help you understand what to highlight for sales, marketing, and business roles.

Free Consultation with a Recruiter

You can also consult with a recruiter about specific career questions, such as:

• Will sales experience from Japan be valued in U.S. sales roles?
• Should I apply for marketing roles or PR roles?
• Which roles are realistic based on my English level?
• How should I explain my Japanese work experience in English?

Even if you are not planning to change jobs immediately, you can use HRAIT to check new job opportunities and organize realistic career options.

Summary

Even within sales-related roles, Sales and Sales Assistant positions require different skills and work styles.

Marketing, PR, Buyer, and Merchandiser roles are also business roles, but each has different responsibilities and strengths that employers look for.

Understanding how your experience can be used is the first step in planning your next career move.

Even if you are new to the field or changing from another industry, there may be opportunities if you choose the right entry point.

On your resume and in interviews, it is important to explain your strengths with specific examples that match the role.

If you want to build a career in sales, marketing, PR, buyer, or merchandiser roles in the U.S., start by registering with HRAIT for free and exploring job opportunities that match your experience and goals.

▼ For job search consultation and more details about HRAIT, please click here.

▶ Register with HRAIT and explore job opportunities

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Can I work in sales in the U.S. without sales experience?

If you have customer service, retail, or administrative experience, you may be able to apply for roles such as Sales Assistant or Sales Coordinator.

However, highly specialized sales roles, such as technical sales, may be more difficult to enter without related experience.

Q. In what types of sales roles is Japanese-English bilingual ability useful?

Bilingual ability can be useful in roles that involve communication with Japanese headquarters, Japanese clients, overseas vendors, or cross-border business partners.

At Japanese companies, bilingual professionals may also support customer communication, internal coordination, document preparation, and sales operations.

Q. Will my sales experience from Japan be valued in the U.S.?

Yes, it may be valued if you can explain your responsibilities and results clearly.

It is helpful to describe the size of the customers you handled, sales results, number of accounts, negotiation experience, and business achievements using specific numbers when possible.

Q. What can I do after registering with HRAIT?

You can use HRAIT IQ+ for AI job matching, AI Sakura to organize your strengths, and recruiter consultation to discuss your career options.

HRAIT can also help you understand which roles may fit your background and what you should highlight in your resume and interviews.

Q. Can I register even if I am not planning to change jobs immediately?

Yes. You can register to organize your future options, check new job opportunities, and understand what types of roles may match your experience.

Even if you are not ready to change jobs now, it can be helpful to start by learning what opportunities are available.