I am Indonesian and I studied about Japan for four years at an Indonesian college. During those years, I studied in Wakayama, Japan, for one year as an exchange student. This experience motivated me to keep going with Japanese studies, and I came to Japan in 2020 for a master’s programme. I learned practical Japanese after coming to Japan because I only used Japanese for research back in Indonesia.

Before officially starting my master’s programme, I had a year to prepare for the entrance exam and research. This preparation term was actually shortened to half a year because of COVID-19, and after that, I entered the Graduate School of Language and Culture (now called the Graduate School of Humanities) at Osaka University. There, I studied Japanese language and culture for two years.

While doing my master’s programme, I started thinking about whether I should proceed to the Ph.D. or start working when I graduate. In the end, I decided to start working because my studies did not go as well as I expected. This was mostly because I could not communicate much with my professor due to their health condition and COVID-19. Because it took me quite a long time to make this decision, I started looking for a job about one year before my graduation, which was later than most people.

During job-hunting, I applied to five or six companies and chose ORICO in the end. This was because I had a relatively firm idea of what their work was like since they had branches in Indonesia. Another reason was that the policy of the company resonated with me personally.

I did a lot of part-time jobs and volunteer work related to education. For example, I helped children from abroad who live in the neighbourhood study for Japanese schools. There was also a job of supporting foreign technical intern trainees with their daily lives while they were being prepared to officially start their internships. I also remember teaching Indonesian to Japanese people who were going to Indonesian high schools for an international exchange project. I specifically chose jobs that can bridge gaps between different languages and nationalities, because I wanted to do something only I could do as an Indonesian.

I was also a managing member of PPI, a community of Indonesian students who live in Osaka and Nara. I was in charge of a division that broadcasts the organization’s activities on social media. To give some examples, we provided information to help people with their lives in Japan and advertised study sessions for students who are going to apply to colleges.

I recommend actually talking to the employees of the company you are interested in. Because the information you can get on media like company websites is limited, it is good to fill the gap between your expectations and reality by hearing from actual employees, preferably also people from abroad. When I was looking for a job, my company did not have events specifically for foreign students. Now, though, I am actually making proposals to the company to create opportunities like that.

Also, when I was looking for a job, I was always uncertain whether I should prioritize job hunting or academic research. Because of this, I could not go to as many recruitment events as I would have liked. Now that I look back to it, I think my position then as a student with a scholarship was very privileged. I should have appreciated it more and done my best to focus on both job-hunting and research.

Another important thing is to be genuine about your own feelings about what kind of company you want to work in and to communicate your true self to the company without fabrication.

You have to write a lot of things in Japanese during job-hunting, like entry sheets and self-promotions. So, the ability to write clear and well-structured Japanese is important. When you actually start working, you also need the skill of speaking in formal Japanese representing your company. For example, when explaining things to customers, you need a different kind of speech from everyday conversations with your friends.

My current job is to listen to and support customers who are having trouble paying for their credit cards. I would explain the current situation of their payment, hear out why they are having difficulty, and propose a solution according to the regulations of our company. Sometimes, I have to touch on delicate subjects like the customer’s family situation. I also have to come up with different proposals depending on the type of contract, like whether it is about a credit card or a car. The key is to make flexible proposals fit for each of the customers.

Compared to what I imagined before actually starting to work, the job is very different. In ORICO, we have a relatively long training period of half a year. During this period, we experience working in many different divisions. After that, we submit a request for the division we prefer and are posted based on the request. Until I went through this training period, I did not actually have an idea of what it is like to work in this company.

A challenge I often face is the fact that I am from abroad. Even when I am saying nothing wrong, some customers tell me to switch with Japanese staff and that they do not understand me because I am not Japanese. It makes me wonder if I, as a non-Japanese person, am really fit for this job. At first, I did not know what to do and felt very bad that my colleagues had to help me. Now, though, I do not think too much about the harsh words I get and am able to face customers with composure. I will always do my best to communicate with them, regardless of whether I am Japanese or not.

Employees work in a teams of ten to twenty people. We come to the office every day because our work is not remote. The proportion of genders is relatively well-balanced, with both men and women taking up administrative positions. In general, I think the work environment is comfortable for all kinds of people.

The education procedure for employees is generous as well. There is plenty of training and assistance from colleagues, so people like me who do not know much about finance at first can also work with ease. The atmosphere is friendly, we are able to talk to each other freely, and colleagues will always support you if you are in trouble. Recently, there has also been a lot of improvement in the customer harassment issue. We are all informed and directed to keep a record of conversations with customers and follow certain procedures if there is customer harassment.

We also have an International Business Department and an International Business Administration Department. We can apply for them from our third year, and I would like to give it a try. However, since actively accepting foreign employees is a relatively new attempt for the company, some systems are not well facilitated yet. In that sense, I think my experience here is unique from any others.