How Japanese Game Anchors Sparked a Career Dream
When I was in school, I liked to watch videos related to Japanese game anchors on the channel BiliBili. Since the anchors were Japanese, the original soundtracks of the videos were also in Japanese. Although many of the videos had Chinese subtitles or pop-ups, I still wanted to be the first to know what the anchors were doing and expressing, so I got the idea of learning Japanese. I started learning Japanese on my own.
Although I was not a foreign language student at school, I met a Japanese tutor by chance because I took part in the school’s anime club, Japanese language club, and other club activities. Because I had studied some Japanese, I often communicated with the Japanese teacher. My teacher told me about Japan’s significant aging population problem and how that has made them open opportunities to interested foreigners.
Seeing my passion for Japanese culture, he suggested I try working in Japan. During that time, I also plenty of excellent students in my circles started working in Japan right after graduating. This made me hope to follow in their footsteps. Not knowing how to start, luckily, my teacher then introduced me to FAST OFFER who could jumpstart my journey.
After that, I saw a lot of stories on FAST OFFER’s WeChat about students who had successfully gone to Japan to work. Reading those stories gave me a boost of confidence. I thought, “If they can do it, maybe I can do it, too!” Reading about alumni from Wuhan University succeeding showed me what was possible for someone like me. I applied to FAST OFFER with the idea of “giving it a try”.
The Key Role of FAST OFFER International in Job Hunting Success
I logged in and registered with FAST OFFER around October 2022 because I had just started my junior year of college without a clue about job searching. After registering with FAST OFFER, I didn’t receive any message from FAST OFFER for about a year except for a “Registration Successful” e-mail. I thought there was no hope for a long time. I had expressed my disappointment to my Japanese teacher about failing at the preliminary screening because I did not have enough ability to excel in the field yet.
In August 2023, during the summer vacation right of my junior year of college, I was preparing for the fall recruitment when I was happily surprised by an e-mail invitation for an interview from FAST OFFER! I realized later that I had registered too early. Japanese companies were only beginning to recruit for my batch. Thus, my account had been tagged with a “Waiting for Interview” status.
The interviews with FAST OFFER International’s staff were casually conducted in Japanese and English. Although most of the questions and answers were in Japanese, I was asked a few questions in English. I wasn’t able to answer the questions in English very well, but the staff gave me a lot of affirmation and encouragement. After I passed the casual talk session, FAST OFFER was able to match me with a company.
Overcoming Interview Challenges with Dedication and Support
Although I had registered for a FAST OFFER, I wasn’t very optimistic about successfully finding work in Japan. It was important for me that I had tried out for something I really wanted, but I thought, there was only so much I could do. I was pleasantly surprised that one month after the casual talk session, I received an invitation to interview for a Japanese company. I quickly seized the opportunity.
Before the official interview, FAST OFFER provided an experienced and patient mentor to help upgrade my Japanese. Since I never had any systematic Japanese textbooks and had learned Japanese through internet bloggers, I didn’t know how to express myself with honorifics and other expressions used in interviews. My mentor had to put a lot of effort into correcting my Japanese expressions. I was supposed to have an hour of instruction, but we ended up spending more than 3 hours on corrections and advice.
It was a company that emphasized English communication, so I tried to prepare diligently for two weeks. At the interview, I was asked questions both in English and Japanese, but I couldn’t answer fluently. Sadly, thirty minutes after the formal interviews, I found out I was not selected. Although that upset me, I cheered up after finding out FAST OFFER International sets up interviews every month and thus I would get more opportunities. I took it as a learning opportunity.
The Interview That Opened Doors in Japan
Sure enough, I was selected by 2 companies for interviews in December 2023.
Before the official interview for one of the companies, I completed a standard online test. I think the tests from my home country are a bit harder. After passing the test, I started to prepare for the interview.
As part of my preparations, my mentor had me watch the company introduction video which would help a lot. I watched the video repeatedly in preparation and made a PowerPoint about it. That helped! During the interview, I met questions that were part of that video.
In the first interview, I was asked a question about the job-hopping rate of employees from different countries in Japanese companies. I thought it was a “landmine” question because I knew that Japanese companies look for fresh graduates who can be loyal to the company. They don’t want their employees to quit their jobs. Knowing this, I told them that I wanted to work for the company for a long time.
After the interview, I didn’t know what the result would be, but I had a feeling I succeeded. A week later, I was overjoyed to get the e-mail affirming my hunch: I passed the interview!
The second interview was not as difficult or stressful as the first one. This round was more about my technical skills. Luckily, a lot of those questions on C language, database, and so on, were things I had been exposed to in some of my projects and internships.
It was also a time when I could show the company that we have similar values. Japanese companies will explain their philosophy and core values on their home pages. For example, the company I will be joining expects candidates to have a challenging spirit, so I emphasized how I liked to explore new things and have a positive outlook in my answer during the interview.
At the end of the interview, one of the interviewers looked me in the eye sincerely and said, “Since you have these abilities and spirit, you should have no problem working for our company.”
After finishing the interview, I felt that I had finally made it. The positive feedback from the interviewer was so encouraging. Two days later, the staff of FAST OFFER International sent me an email saying, “おめでとう（Congratulations on your job offer!”. I was so happy!
Securing a Bright Future in Japan Against All Odds
I’m so grateful for how FAST OFFER created valuable opportunities for Chinese university graduates to find work in Japan’s large-scale enterprises all for free. Their “one-stop” service–from the introduction of companies, the interview preparation, to explaining what to expect after getting the job offer–was all very well organized. My experience with them has led me to recommend them to many of my friends and classmates. If you want to work in Japan but don’t know how to go about it, I recommend you sign up with FAST OFFER International!
Essential Tips for Aspiring Job Seekers in Japan
- Preparation is key! Take advantage of the materials that FAST OFFER International gives you for your interview preparations. Being led to the company’s introduction video made a big difference for me.
- Be patient! If you have applied with FAST OFFER International and have not received any message yet, please don’t worry! Sometimes, it depends on your graduation date and how that matches with companies’ schedules. Just wait patiently and the opportunities will surely come.
- Learn from your failures! If you fail an interview, it’s not the end. It’s important to always do your best, but sometimes, you’re just not ready yet. Your job is to become ready for the next opportunity that comes your way. Take those failures as lessons to get to your eventual success.
- Take note of cultural nuances! Under FAST OFFER International’s guidance, you will be taught about the culture and expectations of Japanese companies. This information will help you successfully navigate your interviews.
- Align yourself with the company! Get to know the company you will be interviewing for and find out why your technical skills and core values fit with theirs.
- Sign up with FAST OFFER International! Looking for a job in Japan can be quite complicated–but not with a trustworthy, patient, and experienced partner. It made all the difference for me.
