Hello, I am Clara Josephine from Indonesia. I am currently working as a credit analyst for Resona Bank in Tokyo. I love everything about gift-wrapping and gift-giving because I love to see the smile on people’s faces when I give them the gift. Note that small and weird hobbies could be a ticket for you to land on your dream job, so keep those passions burning!

Since I was in high school I have always wanted tostudy abroad because I wanted to avoid the orientation system that emphasizes seniors and juniors’ culture in the local university in my country. I found out about the business accounting program in APU and the program was aligned with what I had imagined of what I wanted to study. On top of that, the orientation system in APU shows a lot of inclusivity and informative information for what an adolescent should learn when they are about to enter adulthood.

The most memorable or proudest thing during college

APU had this on-campus internship program. At that time, there was an opportunity to intern at Kosé, a renowned make-up brand from Japan. They selected 12 people and divided us into 4 teams. For 2 months we were assigned to come up with an idea for business development of how Kosé can be further expanded in Africa and later presented the result to a group of managers in the headquarter office. Guess what? My group’s idea was chosen to be the idea that they are going to implement in the business!

I really value this experience as it has provided me a hands-on experience to get to know more of how it feels like to work for a Japanese company.  Japanese companies tend to be stereotyped as being really inflexible but through this internship, I was able to break that image. I also learned the art of distribution of roles. Since APU really is a diverse university that encourages multicultural learning, from the first semester we were taught to always divide roles when we did group work (e.g, timekeeper, who talks first in the first 15 minutes, etc.). At first, I thought this system was too bothersome but as I joined this internship program, I really value the art of dividing roles as it helps us to be more systematic and efficient. 

I was also active in other organizational activities like TED-X APU, which really taught me time efficiency, teamwork, and also working with people from different backgrounds which broaden my perspectives regarding different values that people hold. All of these activities ended up becoming one of those useful experiences that honed my interpersonal skills and helped me adapt to the working environment in Japan.

What you wish you had done during college and why?

If I could turn back time, I would take more Japanese language classes. During my university years, I had only taken Japanese classes until the intermediate level because I was too afraid that the Japanese classes would cause my GPA to drop. Besides, I am not someone who likes classes that scheduled a mini test every week. However, I really regret the old me who didn't dare to take risks. Only at the end of my third year, I knew about a three month intensive Japanese Language course which uses the Kumon self-learning method that you can take as an extra course outside your required credits.  This course gives you Japanese worksheets according to the level you are in. The system is 勉強放題 (benkyou houdai) which translates to “All you can study”, it encourages you to study independently at your own pace. The Kumon course also provides each student with one supporter, who will help you with speaking practice, answer your questions, keep you motivated, and remind you of the goals you have set. If I had known about the Kumon course earlier, I would definitely enjoy studying Japanese more and could have improved my Japanese skills. 

Additionally, I would have also indulged myself in joining more business case competitions because from these kinds of events you will be able to implement what you learn in class into practice, challenge yourself in doing group work, and network with people. You will also realize how little you know about your own area of expertise but from those connections that you build, you will acquire new perspectives, knowledge, and of course friends!

Do not underestimate the power of hobbies and passion

Research, research, and research. Research what you want to do, research what you like from a company, and most importantly when you do research do not only see the short-term vision of how the company will help you grow in 1-2 years. Try to picture yourself in a long-term objective of what your goal in life is, what do you want to do, or what kind of person you want to be like 10 years from now. Furthermore, do not see how big the company is, but rather look at the culture of the company whether or not it fits your values. 

Not only researching the companies but you need to also do research about yourself. Most importantly, never underestimate your hobby. Talking about what you are passionate about will give recruiters a picture of what kind of person you really are. For instance, when I was interviewed by Resona, I was asked to introduce myself. I didn't want to just say the boring “I am Clara Josephine from Indonesia, a student of Ritsumeikan APU,” kind of thing, so instead I just talked about gift wrapping. I explained that I like to give other people presents and since I want to make it as neat as I can I focused a lot on the art of gift-wrapping. It sounds ordinary, but I like gift-wrapping because I got to bring smiles on people’s faces. It might sound random at first, but apparently, this experience was aligned with Resona’s value on “りそな喜びはお客様の喜び” - Resona’s happiness is the happiness of its customers. So you will never know, small passion and weird hobbies could actually be a ticket for you to land on your dream job!

Japanese Language skill is not the number one skill you need to survive in Japan

Indeed, the Japanese Language is one of the skills that we need to have in Japan but I don't think that is the number one skill you need. Instead of Japanese language skills, I think manners or interpersonal skills are more important because Japanese people value people who are eager to learn and determined. You can improve Japanese by studying, but manners and/or interpersonal skills are not something that you can easily improve, it is something you learn by doing and experiences.