Hello there readers of JPort Journal, I am Ihsan from Indonesia. Before coming to Japan, I was already enrolled in one of the top universities in Indonesia but I decided to drop everything and start fresh in Japan. I took the leap of faith in doing more self-learning and investing in online courses for programming. I wanted to be a researcher in environmental development, but ended up working as an engineer in the IT industry! Dreams can change in an instant, just be mindful of the small events in your journey!

Studying abroad has always been my dream. When I was in high school I had the chance to represent Indonesia for an environment development competition in Poland. From that experience, I became sure that studying abroad is one of the goals I have to achieve. However, sadly I wasn't able to make it a reality on the first try. 

Before coming to Japan, I was actually already enrolled in a university in Indonesia for a year. Yet, I felt like I wasn't able to grow much if I just stayed in Indonesia. I was inspired by one of my friends who also goes to APU and studied environmental development. Then, my young self was reminded again by my old ambition of studying abroad. So, I thought, why don't I drop everything in Indonesia, start fresh, and dream big in Japan? 

During college, I did a lot of organizational activities. One of the two activities that I am most proud of is Indonesian Week 2017 and CONNEXT ASEAN. I was the Vice Leader for Indonesian week 2017, an annual multicultural week event in APU. That year we were able to receive an award for the best student’s program from the Overseas Indonesian Student Association (PPI Dunia). On the other hand, CONNEXT ASEAN is a youth-led non-profit organization by APU students. I was a project leader for a charity project. We collaborate with Hoshizora Foundation, a foundation that supports more than 1,521 children to gain access to quality education in Jogjakarta - Indonesia. Luckily, we were able to collect 50 million Indonesian Rupiah. 

Not only did these experiences gave me the opportunity to learn to manage responsibilities, handle pressure, manage people and also learn to be a better team player, it was also worthwhile because I was able to give back to the community in Indonesia.

Take this Time for Self Improvement

For those who are currently doing job-hunting in the midst of the pandemic, although I know it might be easier said than done, be positive on the process. What you can do is focus more on the things you can control such as how you can utilize online courses to educate yourself to learn new skills or explore new hobbies that might help you stand out from other candidates. It might take longer for you to land on your dream job, but keep working hard because when the opportunity knocks on your door, you are fully equipped to jump into that opportunity. In addition to that, make use of the online recruiters because they can really give you good feedback to improve your resume!

Willingness to communicate is more important than correct grammar

To give a piece of general advice, I would say to not worry too much if you think you speak broken Japanese because the most important thing is the willingness to communicate. I know a lot of people who are too shy to try to even converse in Japanese and sadly, missing out on the opportunities even though I believe they are bright minded talents. So please don’t be afraid to make mistakes! Being wrong is part of the learning process and I suggest everyone to be confident with yourself!

Programming Classes Recommendations

For those who have a keen interest in programming or generally want to explore new skills, I suggest you take it seriously because there are a lot of opportunities for you out there in this field! At first, I didn't think I would even do job-hunting in Japan because my initial plan was to go to graduate school. But during my college years, I took an intro to internet class and grew interested in the IT realm. As a person, I enjoy self-learning. I took the Python Programming class for fun which was very much helpful for improving my skills. It then leads me to a  window of opportunity to apply in my current company. I took the leap of faith to continue self-learning, invest more in online courses, and challenge myself to join portfolio projects. Here are some of the online courses website you can use:

• Udemy

• FreeCodeCamp

• Code Academy

• Plural Sight

• LinkedIn Learning

• Linux Academy

• Harvard CS50, and many more! 

Hone your interpersonal and communication skills

The Japanese are people-oriented. Having good interpersonal and communication skills will definitely benefit you when you want to work in Japan. When you work, you don't just do the task you are given. As you will be working as a part of a company, your attitude towards your coworkers, how you help other people in your team, are much more needed skills than core hard skills. Lastly, taking initiatives. Be proactive in handling tasks as well as managing your time well with keeping the deadlines in mind are also important points to gain respect from your co-workers.