| COUNTRY |
| India |
| EDUCATION |
| Bachelor in Electrical Engineering, Savitribai Phule Pune University |
| COMPANY |
| Japanese company that designs, manufactures, and sells electrical measuring instruments. They are known for their innovative technologies and contributions to various industries, including energy, automotive, and aerospace. |
| SUMMARY |
| Follow his journey from childhood curiosity in gadgets to landing a prestigious job in Japan’s tech sector. Through FAST OFFER International, he overcame language barriers, interview nerves, and self-doubt to secure an engineering role at a Japanese company in the semiconductor industry. Drawing on Kaizen and 5S philosophies, he applied Japanese engineering principles even before relocating. Now, with new confidence and cultural curiosity, he’s ready to thrive professionally and personally in Japan. |
How My Tech Fascination Aligned with Japan
Since I was young, I’ve always been curious about electronic gadgets like chargers, smartphones, toys. I often wondered about how its electrical motors worked. Then, one day, I read this article in our science class about how Japan used magnetic levitation for their high speed bullet trains. That got me excited! I watched a bunch of videos about it. That made me curious about Japan. I wondered how a whole country consistently produced such good products.
My strong curiosity over technology, love for learning new things, theoretical knowledge and sharing that knowledge lead me to my dream to be a professor. However, I think, the best professors have plenty of real life experience to complement their theoretical experise. So, before I become a professor, I started working in India as an engineer.
As an engineer in India though, the excellence and potential of Japanese engineering followed me. The company I worked for subscribed to Japanese philosophies: Kaizen for continuous improvement and 5S that kept factories properly functioning. In my job as an electronic hardware designer in India, I also wound up using Japanese technology. The Japanese products were particularly a cut above the rest.
What is the 5S Practiced By Engineers in Japanese and Indian Companies?
5S is a system developed in Japan that ensures smooth operations that means: Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain. In the electronic design department I worked at, while developing products, we have to keep track of multiple components. We’d have about 200 different components. Now when a particular component needs to be replaced for one reason or another, it’s easy enough to find thanks to 5S that help us keep organized. Otherwise, imagine sifting through one bit of 200 different tiny objects!
Witnessing how the Japanese 5S system affected our work place fed curiousity. Would a Japanese company hire an Indian engineer like me?
Signing Up for FAST OFFER International’s Free Japanese Classes
When I found out about FAST OFFER International and how it can help me experience Japanese work ethic and engineering excellence, I couldn’t resist it. I started my journey through free N5 classes in 2023. To helped me get used to Japanese, I even watched a bunch of J-dramas. Learning the alphabet, especially kanji, was challenging at first but I never gave up. I even failed my JLPT N4 exam, but I didn’t let that deter me. It motivated me to try harder. Instead, I got my NATQ4 certificate. Even now, I continue to learn Business Japanese.
My Biggest Hurdle Was My Confidence
Honestly, I might have found a company six months earlier if only I didn’t doubt myself. Due to my lack of confidence in my Japanese, instead of trying to move forward to the job hunting process with FAST OFFER International, I took an entry level job in India.
At that time, I thought that it was too big a gamble to not focus on my new job. Lacking confidence, I didn’t attend the mock interview practice with FAST OFFER International. I ended up watching peers I was studying Japanese with, and peers who started later than me, get jobs in Japan.
Amidst all that, my teachers and friends motivated me to overcome my self-doubt. I failed clearing the screening process twice, but thanks to clear direction, I was able to improve until I could proceed to the job hunting process.
Even when I was selected for the interviews, I was still so nervous. I felt like my Japanese was severely lacking. Learning Japanese must be the hardest thing I’ve ever learned. Some may perceive my degree as difficult, but learning Japanese from scratch was harder. But the process taught me so much about myself. It taught me to persevere and be patient with myself. I also realized that I needed to put more faith in what my brain could do. Going through all of that has actually instilled a new sort of confidence, a belief that with hard work I can overcome difficulties.
Job Hunting for Japanese Companies Hiring Indian Engineers with FAST OFFER International
The process with FAST OFFER International was fairly simple. During the mock interview, they didn’t even ask me my JLPT level. Instead, they asked me how long I’ve been studying and observed how well I expressed my career goals in Japan in Japanese.
Once I was officially job hunting, I was assigned a Japanese mentor who’s had tons of experience now that he’s a retiree. I scheduled practice sessions with him at ungodly hours in Japan to meet my availability in India. I also had a career advisor who helped me through process, found me interested companies, and was there when I eventually went to Japan.
There was no compulsion to try for companies I wasn’t interested in. I actually declined my first interview opportunity. This lead to eventually getting the chance to interview for four companies in Japan. Of the four companies, I got to the second and final round for two companies. All of a sudden, I had two job offers from Japanese companies to choose from!
I Underestimated My Edge as a Bilingual Electrical Engineer
We were made to understand pretty early on that electrical and mechanical engineers had an edge in the Japanese job market. However, I may have underestimated just how keen Japanese companies were in finding Indian electrical engineer talents.
My Experience with the Japanese Job Interview
Wanting to surpass the language barrier, one of the Japanese companies I was applying with tapped in a University senior of mine working at the company to be part of the interview panel. Because of this, during the technical portion of the interview, we got to talk comfortably and in detail in English.
A lot of things went wrong, too, though. While we were talking, my phone rang! I was horrified. It wasn’t a call, but an alarm that overrode silent mode! In my frazzled state I tried pressing my phone inside my pocket to get it to stop, but it wouldn’t. Burning with embarassment, I had to fumble it out to shut it down in front of my interviewers.
I left that interview feeling dejected. For my phone to ring at that moment felt like the nail on the coffin. Imagine my surprise, when an hour later, when my career advisor delivered good news!
“Are you kidding me?” I had exclaimed. Why would they choose me? I thought.
Choosing the Perfect Industry for Me With the Help of Others
I chose the reputable company that offered a position designing and developing electronic equipment in the semiconductor industry. It’s very similar to the work I was doing in India. I’ve also experienced using their products myself during my previous job, and can say that their position as a top brand in the space is well deserved. AND yes, it was the offer from the company whose interview I botched!
If there’s another thing I learned is that perhaps I’m too hard on myself. Being hard on myself has been helpful in pushing me forward, but too much and it can also hold me back. I was focusing on my weaknesses but disregarded my strengths. I had just enough Japanese, a senior within the company, experience, and being in the right, extremely-in demand industry. I didn’t look outside of myself. I could have easily saw how easily my peers with electrical and mechatronics degrees also got a job in Japan.
I wasn’t alone. FAST OFFER International was there to support my dream: from my career advisor to my career mentor, their dedication helping me succeed made such a big difference. I wouldn’t have been able to clear those interviews on my first go if it wasn’t for them.
My Future Working as an Indian Engineer at a Japanese Company
I’m excited to start working with my company. After passing, I had a lunch with them at the company after. It felt like a sneak peak of my future, getting to work with different nationalities, offering their own unique perspectives and mindsets.
There’s also a lot about Japanese culture I want to explore. Aside from the Japanese food, technology, and infrastructure that’s one everybody’s wishlist, I also want to know about how they practice Shinto Buddhism. I’m a buddhist myself, so I want to know where our beliefs and practices converge and overlap though we’re from completely different countries.
Because of the whole journey I’ve been through, of how I grew as a person, I feel confident about my future. I know that there will be challenges, but no matter what they are, I’ll be up to the task.
FAST OFFER CAREER GUIDE: What are Japanese Company Hiring Indian Engineers Looking For?
If you’re an Indian keen to make a life in Japan to reach your personal and career goals, then it’s essential to understand what Japanese companies are looking for. When looking for possible applicants and screening talents during interviews, these are the questions Japanese employers have in their minds:
Should we interview this talent?
- Are their background and interests relevant to the company? Japanese companies will look at your degree, major, extracurriculars, internships, and final year project to determine if your projects and research interests align with theirs. Although graduating from certain reputable universities may grab their attention, they’ll ultimately be open to most profiles if a candidate’s activities fit what they’re looking for.
- Do they have the minimum skills required for the job? Surprisingly, this is not the most important item in this list. Aside from passing the company’s aptitude tests, Japanese companies don’t actually expect you to know absolutely everything. Some companies will give job offers with the condition that you learn about specific skills before your join date, some companies intentionally fold in training, but for most companies, what they’re most looking for is your potential to learn more of those needed skills.
Can they align with the company?
- Is their communication skills good enough? Communication is so important to Japanese companies as they put a premium on teamwork. Indians who can speak Japanese and English have a leg up in the competition, as they have the potential to help the company expand its reach. To gauge this, Japanese companies will not be focusing on the certifications you have, but on your ability to comprehend and express clearly and concisely. In addition, for some degrees, such as Mechanical and Electrical engineering, some companies will be more lenient with your Japanese skill level.
- Do they share the company values? Japanese companies look for talent who can fully embody the company’s values and goals. Having shared values helps empower both the employer and the employee to passionately go through thick and thin together. This ensures that the future employee will find their work meaningful and worth doing well. It’s important that you fully understand the company’s values and only pursue the ones you can genuinely connect with.
How will they do in the long run?
- Does their personality fit the company culture? From the personality test and the interviews, Japanese employers will try to imagine how well you can fit in with the rest of your officemates. For example, if you’re intensely introverted while the company’s rambunctious and extroverted, they might see that their company environment is not for you. This is in no fault of yours or the company’s, but it’s so important to get right. Make sure you present yourself authentically so both you and the company can make the right call. Ending up in a company where you can’t fit in will only cause you difficulty in the long run.
- Can they imagine their long-term career in Japan? Japanese companies invest and take care of their employees with the hopes of a long and fruitful relationship. When interviewing, Japanese employers will try to gauge how long you want to work in Japan and how well you will probably adapt to life as an expat in Japan. They want to hear from you about how you want to participate and grow with the company.
You can learn more about Understanding Japanese Companies’ Mindset at Job Interviews here.
