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Hello,
I'm Nguyen Le Thuy Duong

Web Director

HAKUHODO PRODUCT'S INC.

Bachelors of Business Administration, Accounting and Finance

Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University

2019

Japanese, English and Vietnamese

Hello,
I'm Nguyen Le Thuy Duong

Web Director

HAKUHODO PRODUCT'S INC.

Bachelors of Business Administration, Accounting and Finance

Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University

2019

Japanese, English and Vietnamese

About Nguyen Le Thuy Duong

Hi! My name is Duong, or you can call me Akane. Since high school, I have always wanted to study abroad to get immersed in diverse cultures, so I applied to several universities in different countries, Canada and Japan, to name a few. In the end, I decided to choose APU thanks to the high valued scholarship and the impressive diversity it has to offer. That is how I left my country to start a new chapter in Japan. 

What did you do during college?

I devoted most of my time during college for internships, as I believe that doing internships is the best way to get me a clear picture of who I want to be. I did 4 internships in total. The first one was working as a research intern in a bank in Vietnam. Although the job was fit for my major, Accounting & Finance, I realized that I didn’t enjoy working in the banking and finance industry. At that time, I had already finished my first year in college, so switching majors wasn’t one of my options. Instead, I started to throw myself into different fields through internships in Japan to discover my lifelong passion. I had golden opportunities to intern at Yoshinoya Holdings, a Japanese multinational fast-food chain, and Japan Airlines. Despite assigned different job tasks, I realized that the retail and service industries were not suitable for my personality. My last and most memorable internship was in E-commerce in a company called Diamond Heads. I did research about the Vietnamese market, planned and presented my own ideas, and received feedback. Been through a whole process, I see myself want to work and grow more professionally in marketing and advertising. Thus, I put my main focus on this specific field while doing job hunting. That was how I navigated myself on a career path. 

What you wish you had done during college and why?

I wish I could focus on improving my Japanese more, especially speaking skill. When you start work for a Japanese company, no matter how much you understand your supervisors and colleagues, if you can’t convey your ideas clearly in Japanese, people would assume that you don’t understand anything. I think foreign students have misconceptions about Japanese that JLPT N2/N1 equals to a good command of Japanese. However, it is the Japanese conversation skill that you need to sharpen before and even after job hunting. Being able to express your thoughts in Japanese not only helps you in business-related purposes but also creates better relationships with your managers and co-workers.

What career advice would you recommend for job hunters?

Determination is a key to success

Japan has more jobs to offer to compare to other countries. If you are focused and not too picky, landing a white-collar job in Japan is not a mission impossible. You need to fail several times before settling down to a job. In my case, although my job-hunting process had fewer obstacles than my peers, and I received the job acceptance quite early, I had also been through several failures during college. Start early, understand yourself, and be determined. 

Be confident, especially in your Japanese

No matter how nervous you are when you speak Japanese, don’t show that to your interviewers. They understand that your Japanese, as a foreigner, is imperfect. Thus, don’t get nervous and choke on your words when you make mistakes. Try to turn the interviewers’ attention to your other assets, such as hard skills, English, extra-curricular activities, etc. Since I am the only foreign member of my team, I first felt pressured a lot about my Japanese. However, during work and parties, I feel that people are eager to know about Vietnamese culture. I believe that since multinational companies in Japan are getting more globalized, employers are trying to understand their employees to create a sense of belonging among employees. Therefore, don’t let small mistakes in a language stop you from getting a job and being closer to your colleagues. 

What are the beneficial skills needed for working in Japan?

Teamwork is important

Working with other people is a mandatory part of life. In Japan, teamwork is one of the most sought-after qualities in a candidate. Companies will test what kind of person you are while doing teamwork during group interviews and case studies. My advice is never trying to outsmart others, aggressively protecting your idea would totally do a reverse. Companies look for people who are corporative and know how to give constructive feedback. When you find a mistake, you need to suggest a solution for that, leaving the impression that you are considerate and well-thought. 

Time management

Being strict with time is a part of Japanese culture. If you don’t finish your task on time, it will affect your team and other departments. Besides, you will have to work on different projects simultaneously, making it miserable if you mess up with time management. I recommend dividing a big task into small pieces and set small deadlines for those. In the end, achieving goals, whether in work or your own life, requires an unblinking focus on efficient time management.

What does Web Director Do?

Work Environment HAKUHODO PRODUCT'S INC.

Recommended Job-hunting Resource

Tokyo career forums, Linkedln, Rikunabi