Of Job Hunting

Well it's a new week and a new blog post. I apologize for the delay. Things have been a little busy around here. Tests all the time, some nonsense with my home university, and other such things. But this blog is not about that, so onto a little news and then a light-hearted topic (cause it's been way too long since we've had one of those).

News:
1. North Korea is still being crazy. Nothing's solved yet. The US and South Korea are still holding drills. China is still "managing" the situation, and Japan is monitoring it.
2. Tokyo's been having earthquakes, but not Kansai. So it's a little sad. No worries though, seems like everything's fine.

And now for the main topic of this blog: Job Hunting.　I admit, it's still not the most light-hearted topic, but it is interesting, and it is phenomenally important, especially for those of you considering working in Japan.

For those of you familiar with Japanese, the word for job hunting is 就職活動 (shuushoku katsudou), or 就活 (shuukatsu) for short. I've been talking to a lot of the Japanese students here, and this job-hunting process seems to be pretty involved, even when it is compared to other countries. For example, the Japanese job-hunting process begins around November of your junior year. At this time, you gather information and decide on the companies that you are interested in, and then you give your resume to them. Typically, the apply to 50-60 companies. You then attend numerous company presentations and job fairs to show that you are interested. During these times, you must be infinitely punctual and wear nice clothing (suits, ties, etc.) So far, nothing is really different.

But here's where things change. You will be asked by the company to attend a series of interviews. You start out talking to the lowest people in the company and advance your way to the highest tiers of the organization. You will have anywhere from 5-10 interviews per company, which means you can easily attend 100 interviews during your job hunting process. As you advance through the system of interviews, eventually you will attend something called a "pressure interview." Basically, this is you and a selection of the highest individuals in the company; they will question the choices you've made in your life and how you plan to continue. From what I understand, this is the most intense part of the process, since you are essentially being interviewed by the CEO of the company for an hour. If you manage to pass this, congratulations.

Interestingly enough, just for kicks and giggles I've included a stereotypical question. Let's say you have the following situation. You are driving a car when you see your best friend, a beautiful woman, and an elderly person who needs to go the hospital at a bus stop. What do you do? Only 2 people can be in the car at the same time.

Let's think about this for a minute. You could take the elderly person to the hospital yourself and leave the other two at the bus stop. This is a fair answer. However, the answer that companies often look for is the following: You give your car to your best friend. He then takes the person to the hospital for you. You wait at the bus stop with the young woman, and then you get your car back from your friend later. Why? This shows that you are thinking of the group, and that you can cooperate with others. By willing to lend your car to your best friend, it shows that you trust him, and that you can form that kind of relationship, a valuable asset in any company. You also get the person to the hospital in time, definitely a bonus.

So, let's say you've decided on the company, and then for the next several months (particularly January-March) you attend job interviews. Different companies conduct their interviews during different times. For example, large corporations may conduct them earlier, foreign companies conduct a little later, and other small companies may be later than that. It all depends on what field you want to go into. On April 1, or around there, companies release their choices. If you receive offers, you then choose your company. If not, you continue job hunting.

Assuming you were given offers, and after you have made your choice, you will attend numerous company bonding experiences with the intention of making you a loyal company employee. Your boss will take you out drinking for example, he will inquire about your family, and you will grow closer. In exchange, you work hard for the company. Although companies are moving away from this idea, the idea of human relationships within the company is still very strong. By destroying any of those relationships, or by failing to form them at all, you will jeapordize not only your position in the company but also the company's standing in the economy.

When you first join a company, you will often be moved to a distant branch office for a year or two to gain experience. After the company has decided that you are of some use, they will move you back to a more prominent branch.

If you have any other questions or comments, feel free to post below.

Michelle