| COUNTRY |
| India |
| EDUCATION |
| Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering with Honors in Product Design and Development, Sanjivani College of Engineering, Savitribai Phule Pune University |
| COMPANY |
| A Japan-based engineering and construction company specializing in heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, and building facilities systems. |
| SUMMARY |
| A mechanical engineering student shares her journey from learning Japanese as a personal challenge to getting selected for interviews with Japanese engineering companies. Inspired by Japan’s technology, Kaizen mindset, and work culture, she balanced engineering studies with Japanese language learning. In this story, she discusses overcoming interview rejections, traveling to Japan for face-to-face job interviews, and ultimately earning an opportunity to pursue an engineering career in Japan. |
Why I Want to Work in Japan as a Mechanical Engineer
When I was 10, I learned how to ride a bicycle. Little did I know that that small experience would spark my curiosity about engineering. Later on, I learned to drive a car as a teen, and I became even more fascinated by how engineers design machines and how those machines function. That curiosity is what led me to choose mechanical engineering as my major.
Curiosity about JDM and drifting culture as a mechanical engineer
Right now, I am in my final year of mechanical engineering. After going through careful preparation and job interviews, I’m looking forward to starting a career in Japan! Why Japan? One reason I chose Japan as a place to start my career as a mechanical engineer is its rich automotive culture.
I’m especially fascinated by the JDM (Japan Domestic Market) scene, where enthusiasts creatively modify high-quality Japanese cars. Most of my exposure to this culture so far has been through Instagram and YouTube, but I would love the opportunity to experience it in person.
I’m also very interested in Japan’s drifting culture and would love to watch it live. In addition, I hope to visit places like Daikoku Parking Area, where car enthusiasts regularly gather. It would be amazing to see one of my dream cars in real life, which is the supercar killer Nissan GT-R!
Applying the Kaizen mindset as a mechanical engineer
Another reason why I want to start my career in Japan is because of the Kaizen mindset, which means continuous improvement in everyday work. From my point of view, it is important not just to repeat the same work every day, but to actively understand it, enjoy it, and look for ways to improve it. This approach strongly influenced my thinking and motivated me to work hard and perform well in my Japanese engineering company interview.
How Learning Japanese Led Me to a Japanese Engineering Company Interview
Challenging myself to learn Japanese
In my first year, we were given the opportunity to learn a foreign language, with options including German and Japanese. After researching further, I found that Japanese is considered one of the most challenging languages in the world. That immediately caught my attention. I saw it as a challenge and decided to push myself by choosing Japanese.
What started as an attempt to test myself and step out of my comfort zone gradually turned into a genuine interest. As I continued learning, I developed a strong appreciation for the language and eventually fell in love with the Japanese culture as well.
My number one tip for learning Japanese? Love the language
Don’t learn Japanese just because of Japan’s technology or high-paying jobs. That is a completely different motivation. If you truly want to go to Japan, focus first on learning and loving the language itself. Try to approach it with genuine interest, not just future goals. If you only think about outcomes while learning, it becomes difficult to stay consistent. But if you enjoy the language and then set goals around it, that is a much stronger and more meaningful path for beginners, in my opinion.
In my first year, I started learning Japanese with this mindset, and it worked! But I was fortunate to have enthusiastic and kind teachers. With their guidance, I cleared the JLPT N5 level on my first attempt. It took me around three months of consistent learning, and that achievement really boosted my motivation to continue.
I continued my Japanese education with AtoJ Hirameki thanks to their partnership with my college.
JLPT N4 is where things got challenging
When I enrolled in AtoJ Hirameki’s class, it was part of the program to start at JLPT N5. And so, I repeated the same level. I find it very useful! It helped me master the basics of Japanese even more.
After clearing N5, I was bumped to the N4 class. This phase was honestly one of the most challenging parts of my Japanese learning journey. While N5 felt like an introduction to the language, N4 felt very different. N5 is like an introduction to the language, while N4 is where you’re sitting with the language.
At the beginning of N4, I often felt confused and overwhelmed. There were moments where I kept thinking, “I’m not getting this,” and it became quite discouraging. However, one of my teachers reassured me that it’s okay not to understand everything at once. They advised me to focus on whatever I could grasp and not stress over the parts I didn’t understand, as that is a normal part of the learning process. With that mindset, I continued learning and eventually completed N4 in about six months. I passed it on my first attempt, which gave me a lot of confidence to keep going in my Japanese journey.
My first attempt at a Japanese Engineering Company Interview
While learning Japanese at AtoJ Hirameki, I was connected to the FAST OFFER international program. I was assigned a career advisor, and after doing training with them, I got my first invitation for a Japanese engineering company interview. It was a remote online interview that I took from India.
Unfortunately, at this time, I couldn’t make it. However, my career advisor continued to support me. I did more training and mock interviews. Instead of feeling discouraged, I treated feedback as an opportunity to improve myself. I worked on both my communication and confidence. When I got selected by my dream company, it felt very rewarding because I could clearly see my own growth. I had identified the areas I needed to improve and successfully worked on them.
Two Big Lessons I Learned from My First Japanese Engineering Company Interview
- Failure is important. I believe failure is important because it helps you understand what you need to improve. In my first interview, I received feedback about my facial expressions and overall presentation. In another interview, I was told that I needed to show stronger enthusiasm and make the company believe that I genuinely wanted to work there.
- Maintaining a positive mindset. Because of this experience, I always try to maintain a positive mindset. Whenever someone points out a weakness, I think carefully about it instead of immediately accepting or rejecting their opinion. I try to judge it from my own perspective as well and ask myself whether improving that area will truly help me grow. For me, self-improvement is not just about changing because someone else says so. It is about understanding whether those changes make you stronger, more confident, and more positive as a person.
Going to Japan for a Japanese Engineering Company Interview
One day, I received news that I’m invited to go to Japan to attend several Japanese engineering company interviews. I was so excited not just because of the interviews, but also to see my brother, who lives in Japan!
When I got there, I began preparations once again so I could be extra confident to do face-to-face interviews.
Difference Between Online vs. Face-To-Face Interviews
From my experience, offline interviews are much more personal than online interviews, especially when it comes to Japanese companies. Here’s why:
- More connection with the interviewer. For online interviews, I feel there is less connection because you are sitting at home in your comfort zone. Since the interaction happens only through a screen, it can be difficult to fully engage with the atmosphere of the interview or respond naturally.
- Face-to-face interviews allow you to be fully present. You can immediately understand expressions, react naturally, and engage with the interviewers in real time. I also realized how important facial expressions and reactions are during interviews. Being able to respond naturally, smile at the right moments, and react immediately helps create a better connection with the interviewers. In my opinion, real-time interaction is one of the biggest advantages of face-to-face interviews in Japan.
Getting a job offer from my in-person Japanese engineering company interview
It was my mentor who informed me that I had been selected, and I was incredibly happy! I was told that interviews for this particular company were very difficult, that they expected near N1-level Japanese communication skills, and that strong technical knowledge was essential. Hearing all of this made me nervous, and I kept thinking that the interview would be extremely challenging. However, when the first day of interviews began, my experience was very different from what I had imagined. It did not feel like a formal interview; it felt more like a genuine conversation.
Instead of asking tricky questions, the interviewers seemed genuinely interested in understanding me as a person. They asked many personality-based questions, such as how I would handle different opinions within a team if I were placed in a leadership role. The discussion focused a lot on communication, teamwork, and my way of thinking.
On the second day, I was interviewed by senior managers. That was the moment when I truly became nervous. Unlike the first day, the atmosphere felt more formal, and I was also dealing with jet lag at the time. Even though the managers were serious, I could tell they were sincerely trying to understand my knowledge, experiences, personality, and future goals. A few hours after the interviews ended, my mentor informed me that I had been selected. I was the only candidate chosen for the company, and I felt incredibly happy and proud because I had received an offer from my dream company.
The company tour made me even more excited to work in Japan
A manager from the company came to pick me up, and we had lunch together before visiting the company. During the visit, I was introduced to different departments, including the design and sales departments, which gave me a better understanding of the company’s work environment and operations.
I also had the opportunity to speak with one of the designers who was working on the role that I may take on in the future. We discussed the type of work involved, the skills I would be expected to learn, and the responsibilities of the position. Fortunately, I realized that some of the work he was doing was similar to projects I had already completed during college. I showed him my previous work, and he was pleasantly surprised that I already had experience with those concepts even before receiving formal company training. Overall, it was a very valuable and memorable experience for me. I felt grateful to receive such an opportunity and to visit the company in person.
In My Journey, Learning Japanese with Consistency is Key
Many people start learning with the mindset of “Let’s just try and see if it works.” In my opinion, language learning requires a much stronger commitment than that. Learning a language is very different from learning a technical skill or software that you can pause and restart anytime.
When you begin learning a language, you need to continue practicing it consistently. There will definitely be challenges along the way. Sometimes the lessons become difficult, and sometimes people feel discouraged if they do not pass an exam.
However, instead of giving up, it is important to accept those challenges and continue improving step by step. For me, consistency is the most important part of language learning. You cannot study for an exam, pass it, and then completely stop practicing.
Even after passing levels like JLPT N5, N4, or N3, you still need to continue reviewing vocabulary, grammar, and kanji regularly. For example, even after passing N3, you should continue writing and practicing kanji every day. If you stop practicing for a long time, it becomes easy to forget what you learned. That is why consistency matters so much in language learning. In the end, I believe that patience, consistency, and genuine interest in the language are the keys to long-term success.
FAST OFFER CAREER GUIDE: 5 Tips to Pass a Japanese Engineering Company Interview
Japan offers many career opportunities for foreign engineers in industries such as automotive, robotics, electronics, infrastructure, and software development. However, interviews at Japanese engineering companies can differ from interviews in other countries. Technical ability matters, but employers also evaluate communication style, teamwork, and cultural compatibility. Here are five important tips to help pass an engineering company interview.
Research the Company and Its Engineering Projects
Japanese interviewers expect candidates to understand the company’s business, products, and long-term goals. Before the interview, do company research and make sure to learn the following:
- Main products and technologies
- Recent engineering projects
- Company values
- Research and development initiatives
For example, if you apply to an automotive manufacturer, understand their work in EV technology, automation, or sustainability.
Practice Explaining Technical Skills Clearly
Many Japanese engineering interviews include technical discussions. Most of our successful candidates went through a second interview where they were asked about their technical skills. Be ready to explain your final year project, internship experience, programming or software skills, research topics, design challenges you solved, and team collaboration experience.
Avoid overly complicated explanations. Simple and organized communication is highly valued in Japanese workplaces. If Japanese language ability is limited, concise English explanations are usually more effective than difficult Japanese with unclear meaning.
Demonstrate Teamwork and Adaptability
Japanese companies place strong importance on teamwork and long-term cooperation. Interviewers often assess whether you can work smoothly within a group environment. Some of the common behavioral questions that our successful candidates were asked are:
- How do you work in a team?
- How do you handle mistakes or pressure?
- How do you deal with challenges at work?
In our experience, candidates who appear cooperative, respectful, and flexible often perform better than candidates who focus only on technical achievements.
Understand Japanese Interview Etiquette
Professional etiquette can strongly influence the impressions made in interviews in Japan. Make sure to dress well in business attire, join online interviews 5–10 minutes early, avoid interrupting interviewers, and to prepare a short self-introduction.
Prepare a Clear Career Motivation
Most Japanese companies often hire with a long-term mindset. Interviewers want to understand why you want to work in Japan, why you chose engineering in that industry, and your long-term career goals to gauge whether you plan to stay and grow with the company.
