My name is Tran Ngoc Quang Anh, I’m a 23-year-old Vietnamese who graduated from Tokyo International University and is now working in a foreigner’s service company in Japan. 

In the past, I participated in an exchange program between my high school in Vietnam and Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University. During that experience, I fell in love with Japan because of its culture, people, and also its uniqueness. Therefore, I started having the dream of living and working in this beautiful country. Throughout my years in university, I worked extremely hard to be able to have a job in Japan so that I can be here for a long time even after graduation. The reason why is that I wish to stay in Japan for as long as possible and experience all of its special features in the future. At the moment, my dream came true, and I couldn’t be happier.

The most memorable or proudest thing during college 

I believe that each student has his or her own distinctive memory during college time. 

I also want to share my proudest achievement, which is the time I was accepted to receive the scholarship for 2 consecutive years from Nagasaka International Scholarship Foundation. Apart from Tokyo International University and JASSO’s scholarship, I wanted to find another chance to get other sources of financial support. That is the reason why each time I got the scholarship announcements from the university, I deeply researched and tried to apply at my best. After writing a lot of documents and going through some interviews with other candidates, I dare say that the day I received the result was the happiest day ever. Hard work paid off and I could even celebrate with a party at that time.

Here is some advice for all students. Please do not miss any information from your school (especially scholarship announcements) and also you need to search for other scholarships that Japanese corporations offer as well. Then, try to apply once. Even if you cannot be the selected one, it does not mean you are not good enough but rather, it proves your effort in finding your own way of success.

What do you wish you had done during college and why?

Other than studying and earning money from part-time jobs, I wish I could have more time hanging out with friends and talking with family. During my university time, I spent a lot of time working on several part-time jobs to gain experiences, and also time to study as well. As a result, I did not have much time traveling around Japan with friends. Even on the weekend, sometimes I did not have time to talk with my family members although they are far away and always care about me. However, on the other hand, I believe that study time and time to get experience became a precious chance for me to be hired and have valuable knowledge now.

Have a Clear Direction

The job-hunting period is really difficult because this is Japan and if you do not take it seriously, the higher the chance that you need to find jobs in another country. There are many companies that fit your preferences, but the essential thing is how you can fight with other candidates and become the prominent one. 

The first thing is that you need to determine your career. Service industry? Fashion industry? Office work? Retail? Foreign companies? Japanese company? Tokyo? Osaka? These are vital because it will be a choice that affects your next years in Japan. Do not hesitate to ask for advice and research about that career. Close friends, family members will know you the best and they can help you to decide. 

After deciding the job categories and other related matters, it is time to start searching for the company. Please do care about their welfare system, their evaluations, their working environment. Because you will not have time to regret once you get in. All of the surrounding factors will affect you directly so please carefully consider. 

Confidence and determination

Lastly, confidence!! Confidence and Confidence! Finding a job is a tough time. But you need to have more than 100% confidence and always be optimistic even when you fail. If you do not fail, it means that you did not try hard enough and get it too easy. You need to fail sometimes in order to get experiences, to be more mature for the next chance. Just remind yourself, failure is not something too bad, failure is a start for future success. Furthermore, for me, your smile and your careful preparation contribute 90% to a successful interview. It will create a friendly and positive feeling for your interviewer. Since then, after the interview, you have no need to regret anything because you did your best. 

When I was doing job hunting, I applied for around more than 100 companies, and I got rejected by a lot of them. I felt really sad and disappointed because I already put so much effort into applying to the job, already prepared all kinds of documents and went through many processes, and yet still failed. That being said, in order to stay in Japan, it is a must that you have to try, try and try over and over again. You must take it seriously because if you don’t try, no one can help you. It is your future, not your parents’ future, or anyone else’s. Once you decide you want a future, you have to live for it. Personally, for me, I was determined to work hard so that I could get a job that pays 200,000 yen a month, rather than an easier job but with lower pay. The point is, do not fear and just keep looking ahead. Your dream will come true once you put your effort into accomplishing it. 

Japanese language ability

In order to work in Japan, the most important skill is that you are able to communicate effectively in Japanese. Even though I graduated from an English program in Japan, I still need to learn Japanese as a third language. The reason why is that working here means your co-workers, as well as clients, will speak their mother tongue and they really appreciate their language. Therefore, Japanese is a must when working in Japan. 

Patience and hard work

Moreover, I believe that anyone who wants to work in a Japanese company needs to be patient and hard-working. Japanese working environment has been known as a place with a lot of complex procedures, and Japanese people are likely to devote themself deeply into their company. If you are not patient enough and hard-working enough to finish your job, then it will be a challenge when dealing with Japanese co-workers. Also, paying attention to details should be a necessary factor to get the job done.