就職活動 job hunting

The tale of 　”job hunting” shall be started next semester (second semester of Master course 1st year).

I should explain briefly for those who doesn’t know the process of job hunting in Japan. Here in Japan, people start to look for job before they graduate from their university. Usually in their 6th semester for undergraduate students, and 2nd semester for graduate students.

It is started just after the summer break by attending so called “company explanation” in which they will gather as much as possible information regarding a company. The next step is to write and send “entry sheets” to companies you are interested to. The number of companies may vary greatly between people, from ten to several dozens, depends on your luck and interests.  For most companies, they will ask your motif of choosing their company and will make you write your achievements and your strong points.

If you’re lucky enough to pass the document screening, they will call you for written test(s) and/or interview(s). And if they found that you are good enough for them, usually by the following spring (the end of 6th or 2nd semester), you should already have found your future employer(got 内定) . So you can be relaxed and concentrate to you final year as a student, in which you are expected to work really hard for your thesis. And after graduating in March, from the 1st of April, congratulation! You are now a member of the working people!

Okay, i think that’s enough for the introduction. As you know, i’m now in my 1st semester as grad student. Means the fate i mentioned above is waiting for me around the corner. Those job hunting stuffs filled my head for the past few days. Not only i have to start looking for proper suits (for those who know me well, you know what i’m thinking of formal clothes don’t you?),  i have to start thinking what to write in those “entry sheets”, what kind of stance should i take, etc.

For know i’m deeply thinking of 2 options concerning the stance i should take.

The first is to take “foreign student position”. In which i can use the fact that i’m a foreigner thus different from the homogenous japanese society as my strong point. But by choosing this option, may limit the companies that available to me to foreign companies and some japanese companies. Because some japanese companies still holds their japanese values highly, and would prefer those who are able to understand  it perfectly. For some foreigners this is a very difficult task to accomplish.

The second is to try hard to be the same as my japanese fellows, and master the art of japanese work ethics and principles which are way too complicated (i won’t explain here, just do some googling and you’ll get to know it). It is not only that i’m afraid i cannot completely master it (okay, i might understand but i may not follow it perfectly), i know my japanese is still far from perfect.

pheww…  feel better after writing this post. i was in bad mood all day, because these things was filling my head and “a full, self service curry”  was filling my stomach.

*lesson of the day : don’t eat too much curry when you have problems to think. it will make you sick whole day

PS: Any opinion regarding the 2 options  is welcome.

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