Hello everyone! My name is Duanxia Xu, but people usually call me by my Japanese name Kasumi. I made the decision to come to Japan for further study by chance when I was about to graduate from my bachelor’s degree. Without speaking a word of Japanese, I came to Japan as a research student. Then I passed the graduate school exam and became a master student at the University of Tokyo. It was a challenge for me at the beginning, but I have never regretted choosing to come to Japan.

During my time as a college student, I tried my best to explore my potentials and different interests. I attended classes from various disciplines and did internships in different fields. I also tried to do something I have always wanted to do since I was a kid, such as photography, handicrafts, drawing and managing an online shop. I worked hard to figure out what I want to do, and what I am good at doing.
 
The most memorable thing for me is traveling alone in Japan and doing a homestay with local Japanese families. It gave me an opportunity to communicate with people, and to understand different styles of living and visions for life.

What I Wish I Did If I Could Go Back 

I wish I had paid more attention during class in college. Back then, I sometimes zone out during classes and even skipped classes occasionally. Actually, we can learn a lot by attending lectures. We should not attend classes just for credits

Don’t Worry Too Much about Your Japanese!

The first advice is not to let the Japanese be the barrier and wall for you to get a job in Japan. A lot of foreigners think that you have to be super fluent in Japanese in order to work in Japan. Many Internationalstudents tend to give up before even trying because of their fear of low Japanese skills. However, you should not have that mindset when looking for a job in Japan. Of course, being able to speak in Japanese is important and useful, but actually, being able to convey your ideas is sometimes already good enough. Japanese companies appreciate your contribution to the discussion, even if you do not speak Japanese perfectly. If you at least try your best to speak up and learn every day your Japanese coworkers will surely appreciate it. 

Pay attention to your CV and Resumes

Your resume is another point you should pay close attention to. Resumes are important because they will be the first impression that companies have about you! One tip you should know about your resumes is that sometimes you might have to change your resume a little bit when applying to different companies. What does it mean by changing? During your college years, you must’ve have done tons of activities, and it would be hard to fit everything into one resume. So what you should do is to highlight your experiences that are related to the company’s values or the post you are applying for. In my case, I would highlight my volunteer experiences since high school when I applied to NGOs. 

Critical Thinking

Each project might be about an entirely different industry. Tasks every day seems like a new task. It feels like you are thinking about how to work when you are working. You have to provide some unique insights in order to satisfy the customers. 

Ability to Learn Fast 

As I mentioned before, the customers come from a wide range of industries. So the industry you are working at might be totally new to you. You have to study the industry and the company fast in order to give satisfactory advice and solutions.

Cooperation Skill

We work on projects as a team, so communication and cooperation between team members are important as well. It took me some time and effort to adapt to Japanese style workplace communication. Such as the different ways of writing a formal email, how to talk to your seniors and so on. It's especially important to also know how to cooperate with Japanese people because they have a different work culture that is maybe different compared to your own country.