Aspiring to work in Japan as a new career destination? What is the secret to securing a job offer while working full-time?
After graduating from the Computer Science Department of Dhaka International University, this science-oriented professional works full-time as an app development engineer in Bangladesh. While studying at the university, he became interested in Japan and decided to pursue a career there. Despite the instability caused by the pandemic, he was able to secure a job offer while working full-time.
What sparked your interest in Japan?
I became interested in Japan during my fourth year in the Computer Science department at Dhaka International University. I was impressed by the kindness and sincerity of the Japanese people, as well as their manners, such as punctuality. Furthermore, Japan has a good relationship with my country, Bangladesh, and I had a positive impression of it. I also believed that Japan, with its advanced science and technology, would be the best environment for me as an engineer to take on various challenges. Many Bangladeshis find employment in the United States or Canada, and in fact, some of my relatives live in Canada. However, I chose to pursue my dream of working in Japan for the reasons that I previously mentioned.
After that, with the goal of finding employment in Japan, I self-studied the Japanese language and culture while still in university. In December 2019, after graduating from university, I passed the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) at the N4 level.
Bangladesh as a First Job Destination
I initially chose to work in Bangladesh. After graduating from university, I began job hunting with both Japan and Bangladesh in mind. During the job-hunting process, I happened to receive an offer from a company in Bangladesh. Although it was not a Japanese company, the president had studied in Japan and established a company with connections to Japan. Therefore, there were many Japanese staff and clients. There are few Japanese people living in Bangladesh, and there are not many opportunities to interact with them within the country. Therefore, I joined this company where I could work in Bangladesh while maintaining a connection to Japan and worked there as an app development engineer for about three years.
Through working at that company, I learned a lot about the Japanese workplace environment, the way Japanese people think, manners, and more. Japanese people are truly passionate about their work. They kindly explained things to me multiple times when I didn’t understand and were always very polite. I believe this experience will definitely be useful for me in the future when I work in Japan.
Changing Jobs during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Full-Time Employment
Due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, I lost the chance to go to Japan. Furthermore, there are few hospitals and medications available in Bangladesh, which has resulted in the serious spread of infection and widespread social anxiety.
However, even in such circumstances, I did not lose my dream of working in Japan. While hoping to go to Japan once the pandemic is over, I continued to study Japanese on my own more than ever before.
It was not easy to study Japanese while working full-time. During my commute, it takes me two hours one way from home to the office. The bus I take to commute is always crowded, and I cannot even open a Japanese textbook. Despite such circumstances, when I interacted with Japanese people at work and encountered Japanese words I did not understand, I repeatedly asked for their meaning and gradually studied. I believe that the Japanese language skills I developed in this way helped me to overcome the language barrier in my job-hunting activities.
However, preparing for job hunting and interviews while working full-time was truly difficult due to a lack of time. I also struggled with adjusting to the time difference, preparing for interviews, and maintaining a daily routine. For example, if the interview was scheduled for 9:00 AM Japan time, it would be 6:00 AM in Bangladesh, and I would be at my busiest during that time.
In such circumstances, I was able to succeed thanks to the dedicated support of my mentor at Fast Offer. My mentor provided me with five practice interviews before the actual interview. As a result, I was able to prepare for the interview thoroughly and approach it with confidence. I can say that my interview went well thanks to my mentor’s guidance.
By chance, I received unexpected advice from a mentor and was offered a job. The reason was my YouTube channel where I create and upload videos of DIY projects, robot building, and machine making as a hobby. However, since the channel was purely for personal enjoyment, I had never shown it to anyone before. One day, I happened to show it to my mentor, and he was very surprised. He advised me to show the videos to the company I was interviewing with. The interviewers were also amazed when they saw my YouTube videos during the interview.
YouTube URL：DIY Tricks – YouTube
I went into the interview with confidence, but I still felt anxious until I received the pass or fail notice. Afterward, I received a notification of acceptance from the ASIA to JAPAN employer. Firstly, I reported the acceptance to my mentor, and then I told my younger brother with whom I live. I was grateful to my mentor for his support, and he was also very happy about my acceptance, which I appreciated.
Future Hopes & Vision
The company I have been offered a job at is an innovative enterprise that develops new products for consumers’ daily lives. In Bangladesh, there are not many opportunities for new innovations. However, at this Japanese company, I can bring my thoughts and ideas to life. This is what attracted me the most.
The thing I want to achieve the most at the company where I received a job offer is to create a new product on my own. After joining the company, I aim to become an established team member and eventually a team leader within three to four years.
I like to challenge myself with new things. In the future, I want to continue taking on many challenges in order to fulfill my dreams and step up to the next level.
