Hello, my name’s Nevin. I came over from India in 2018 and it’s been a wonderful 1.5 years so far. I graduated from Kerala University SCT College, and I’m currently working for Fast Retailing as a Software Engineer. You can probably find me roaming around Tokyo, checking out new places or trying out the delicious beef they serve here in Japan. 

​Initially, I decided to come to Japan, like many of us out there. As a kid, I grew up watching and learning about Japanese culture. I think that the food, work ethic, and quality of life are among the best in the world, which added to my reasons for moving here. So I decided to take a leap of faith and I made it here.

Best Thing I Did During College 

During my time as a college student, I also did various extracurricular activities such as Fashion Show, being part of the basketball team and also the marketing head of my college festival.  Getting out and putting myself out there in all sorts of fields gave me the advantage to connect with people much better. Having these solo and team experiences in high pressure and high adrenaline situations can give you a different perspective, which can be quite similar to the situations at work.

​Every piece of work out there is merely a solution to a problem that can be achieved in multiple ways. The effectiveness of these ways depends on how you implement these experiences in your field of work.

What I wish I did If I could go back 

I was not the best student from an academic perspective.  You can say that I am an average student with average marks that somehow managed to do all the extra-curricular activities and get my bachelor’s degree. However, looking back with all these memories, here are some things I wish I could’ve done more as a student.

 First,  I wish I had sought out a proper mentor to point me in a direction wherever I had questions. Second, I regretted not doing an internship. If I had an internship I could have stood out more from the rest of the crowd and learned real skills that make a change. Last but not least I should have done certifications for various skill sets that align with my future goals so that it. This would have helped me accelerate towards reaching my future goals.

Create Connections 

Make good connections with people, especially those in the industry that you want to work in. I would say, having a good resume and skillset is only 50% of the work. The other 50% is connections and maintaining good relationships. Attending international conferences, tech meetups and getting certifications also helps you stand out. 

Properly Understand the Job You’re Applying For

When writing your resume, you can always try to tailor it to match the job that you are applying for. For example, based on the experiences that you have, don’t try to force and jot everything down on your resume, but only put the relevant experiences that match the job you are applying for. When applying for jobs, it is also good to try and think from the perspective of HR (Human Resources). This is because the line of hiring starts with HR. For example, if they are looking for people to fill up a mid-career position, and you previously worked only for a short period of time, they will filter you out, because they might see you as a candidate that is not loyal. So try to find friends working in HR, and ask them what they are filtering on. You can also google and search what HRs filters on. 

Language Capability

Knowing Japanese goes a long way here, as you can connect with the customers in ways others can’t. It definitely gives you an advantage. Knowing English and Japanese is quite the combination here at the moment. JLPT certification isn’t mandatory, but conversational skills can help you all the same.

Having a Good Sense of Empathy

Also, understanding the customers and giving them solutions in a way that they haven’t thought about makes you stand out. Japanese are very polite, and they might not say if you do something wrong. They would ‘assume’ that you know it or/are expected to know it. To get to that level, having a good sense of empathy and thinking from others’ perspectives can come in handy. Applying these principles in your work/job can help get you to where you want!

Focus on Several Skills

It’s important to know that not only the primary skills will get you the job. In my case, if I were to look for an engineering job, of course, engineering skills are one of the skills that you need. However, you also need other skills such as different sets of soft skills and negotiating skills. After you identify this variety of skills that you have, try your best to compile it in one interview, and try to stand out during your actual job interviews. 

High Motivation! 

The first and foremost skill or may I say the requirement is to have the hunger and rage inside you to find a job that you want. You will need to spend countless hours sending out resumes and attending interviews, handling rejections. Yet one needs to be consistent and push through it. Because somewhere out there, there’s another person doing the same thing that may be better and you need to beat them.