Hi! My name is Angeli. I was born in Singapore and moved to Tokyo, Japan when I turned four. I’ve been in Japan for more than 18 years now, spending most of my life commuting between Tokyo and Yokohama (where I attended Yokohama International School). I’m Sri Lankan-Singaporean on my father’s side and Japanese on my mother’s side. 

I was involved in the University of Tokyo’s Women’s Field Hockey team. My interest in this game started since I was in middle/high school, where I played hockey for seven years. Thereafter, I went on to play the sport in my university’s varsity team for two years. Besides, I also co-founded Komaba Times as an official student group, working as the main website designer and co-editor of the team. In my junior year, I spent a year abroad at the University of Toronto, studying at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at their St. George campus.

The most memorable or proudest thing during college

One of my most memorable experiences at university were the friends I made from all walks of life. While my closest friends were from my program, I grew close with members from my field hockey team who were mostly all Japanese students from the ippansei (regular) program. Competing in a strict, Japanese bukatsu (i.e. clubs and societies that require rigorous commitment. Joining a bukatsu would mean attending multiple training sessions per week as well as weekend training sessions) taught me a lot about strength, teamwork, perseverance, responsibility, and dedication.

 Another memorable experience was the year I spent in Toronto, Canada. It was the first time in recent history that I was away from Japan for an extended period of time, and it was honestly my biggest life-changing moment. 

What you wish you had done during college and why?

While I thoroughly enjoyed my time at school, I wish I took more advantage of our school’s short term foreign exchange opportunities. We have a school portal that lists upcoming summer exchange programs and internships which can be substituted for credits. Although I was able to graduate on time, I also wish I took more time to explore the world through the university and take more classes at foreign schools.

Go for the extra mile

Start early, look for connections, and start visiting career forums. Also, start forming case studies and examples from your extracurricular activities at university - this could prove to be useful during the interview stage when interviewers ask about key personal episodes from your life. Moreover, even if your current capabilities do not meet the job’s requirements, if you’re passionate enough you can try asking the recruiter if they have junior-level positions for the same job - it doesn’t hurt to go the extra mile when it comes to job searching and it will show the recruiter how dedicated and resourceful you are. In addition, brainstorming about your career interests is important - find your spark or passion and try to roadmap it to a possible career start point

Japanese Language Ability 

Many workplaces, including foreign companies, still rely heavily on Japanese. If you work in Japan, you will be dealing with Japanese co-workers as well as clients so brushing up your Japanese skills can help with the job search process and will be useful when starting your job. Having a fluent Japanese language ability or better, a near-native level capability will definitely help your career growth. 

Useful Licenses and Certificates

Moreover, holding Licenses/certificates will help boost your profile. Some jobs require a driver’s license and it will be a plus if you have a certificate to give proof of your skill, which can make you unique and set you apart from other candidates.