Nicholas (Indonesia)
Business Japanese Class, employed at a production firm (Engineer)
Q 1. When did you start job-hunting and when did you get your employment offer?
I started job-hunting around September 2018; the employment offer arrived by late November.
Q 2. How did you look for job offers?
I joined job fairs and registered on recruitment websites.
Q 3. How many companies did you apply to?
About 12 companies, and got favorable offers from three of them.
Q 4. Have you ever taken a written exam?
Yes, twice. The exams were about Japanese language and math. The Japanese part was about kanji and their readings, while the Math part was a problem of middle school level.
Q 5. What aspects did you use to pay attention to when going into interviews?
My clothes, my posture, how to sit properly, what questions I had been asked in previous interviews and the questions I had prepared in class. But what I was putting special care to was the knowledge of the company products lineup. I made a mistake once and because of it failed the interview.
Q 6. Can you give an example of your regular day when you were job-hunting?
In the busiest days, as soon as I finished classes, I would go into interviews then had part-time work till 10:30 in the evening.
Q 7. During your search for a job, what was difficult for you?
For me, it was difficult not to have the time to even sit down and eat lunch. When I was done with all the plans for a given day, I would rashly eat the convenience store packed lunch, then do my homework.
Q 8. How was the experience from your part-time job useful for job-hunting?
First of all, financially. When looking for a job, you have many expenses, and being able to afford them is of great help. Secondly, with formal language. At my part-time job, I was able to train in the use of keigo, and did not have any problem during my interviews.
Q 9. Among the topics you studied in the Business Japanese Class, what was the most useful in your search?
In my case, it was the interview questions we prepared in class. For the most part, I was asked questions in the same line during my interviews, to which I was ready to answer.
Q 10. Do you have any advice for other ARC students who are going to start their job-hunt?。
To take as many interviews and send out as many resumes as possible. By doing so, you might be rejected many times, but this way you also learn something useful for the next interview. And if you fail, try to ask why: this way you can find out more about your shortcomings.