"Herstory" overseas work of the soft courage! In Japan, when people are shion: Make your choice the best

"When I was doing my first job in Japan, it was very painful and the culture of the relationship was very strict. , even if the person above is wrong, you have no right to talk to them. In the training, in order to train the Japanese etiquette, they are directly to put the ruler behind me to bow the mark is not standard. "

This is Shion King's experience, in Japan work is about to enter the four years, her first job is in the Japanese business company Pasona as Career adviser, the job is mainly to help customers find employees, until found the staff smoothly into the client company to work until. I met with Shion at an overseas work seminar , and as a Taiwanese, I was able to interview and revise resumes in Japan for job seekers from all over the world, so I wanted to share her story with all those who had a vision of working in Japan.

Japan, indeed there is a yearning, Shion said, Japan's clean environment, Four seasons, spring Tour sakura, Autumn Maple, winter, summer to see the sea, and rich history and culture is one of the most attractive places in Japan. Every time the festival, fireworks cast, everyone wearing a bathrobe on the streets, many hot springs shops, have decades of long history, one side can still listen to the story of the years.

This is Japan we can see, but how does it feel to work in Japan? How does the Japanese workplace look like? Shion recalled her first job, when she was the age of graduating from college, faced with strict Japanese management, in the training stage to eat enough.

Strict Japanese-style management, training tongue and guts

"As soon as we get in there, there are peer (peers, colleague) rating sheet, everyone will be assigned to a map, we have to be in the scope of the highlighter, a company to ring the doorbell to visit, for example, a successful visit to a 1 points, have to hand out business cards is 5 points and so on. "Every morning in the company, the grading table will be published, the results of their own and colleagues, at a glance, to form a share of the pressure of nowhere to escape." (same field Gayon: both men and women should learn the workplace success: soft to others, to their own vicious )

"At that time I was assigned to a factory area, not like the business district as a building is very dense, is to go a long way to another company, I was very angry, why do I divide this area to me?" Now look back to feel very happy, I was forced by that situation is not afraid to call, answer the phone, and customers face-to-face conversation is not afraid. " a foreigner working alone in Japan is hard, facing cultural differences and workplace friction, you can only grit their teeth to face."

The pursuit of abreast-style performance, as well as others

Shion speaking style is very direct and free and easy, speaking of those depressed working memory, has a "come" the determination, I asked her, as a foreigner in Japan, there are some impact and difficulties, and how she overcame it? She said, not because of their own personality is not admit defeat, face pressure or be looked down upon, there is always a kind of "I just want to do for you to see" strong, she may have fled back to Taiwan.

"In fact, the Japanese are very distrustful of foreigners, foreigners have a hard time getting promoted, they don't think you can use them, they don't even give you any chances, and they prefer to curry favor with flattering people rather than those who perform exceptionally well, and of course, companies in many places can have this kind of situation, But the Japanese prefer abreast-style equality. "shion says Japanese executives don't like employees to be conspicuous, and if employees can act as well as others, they are almost always paid the same regardless of performance.

In addition, the most let Shion can not adapt to, that is, the Japanese do not like the habit of change, if some people think the company where there is a problem, will tend to choose not to say, because even if said, may only attract superior's disgust, things will not be improved. "The way I face this culture is to try harder to make the grade, and then I'm almost always doing the first and second best of the company, and I'm more than willing to talk, though they won't change it." 」

"The same challenge is not overcome, it will always appear."

In the University of the University of early Rice to exchange a year of Shion, profoundly realize that the Japanese campus environment and the workplace is really not the same, such a shock to her very discouraged, at that time she was very headache for the workplace interpersonal, so after working more than a year, the initiation of the idea of resignation. (Recommended you see: The job is like falling in love, challenges are after the passionate period )

Only unexpectedly, she to the boss to resign the idea, the boss said a passage, but let her grateful so far:

"You met this challenge today, you can't get over it, you run away." So no matter where you go, the challenge will come in a different way because you have not learned it. 」

Shion recalls that she really hated the boss at the time, but thought he said very reasonable, so stay down, and in the company for more than a year.

"Now it looks like it was the right decision, and a year ago, I didn't know what to do when someone deliberately attacked me in person, so I would run away, but a year later, I learned how to deal with it." "shion said the attack, is a predecessor deliberately in front of the boss said her bad, let her very frustrated. Until later, an Indian colleague taught her to explain it through Email and her boss, and then copy it to her predecessors who had misunderstood her, and to make it clear, this is a way to protect yourself in the workplace.

Miraculously, when she learned to deal with the difficulties she had not known how to face, the opportunity to change jobs appeared in the eyes, "may be the fate of the judgement of my life, to help me score the people, think I learned in this company should learn, and finally let me go." "shion said she believed in the fate of the matter, but also believe that a part of the fate of their own hands, and confusion, is to teach us how to choose a mechanism.

"I didn't think I could play that value in Japan as a foreigner."

Leave the original company, to the human capital related work already has certain familiar degree shion smoothly enters the law merchant company Criteo, has received the strict Japanese-style management The baptism, Shion experiences the completely different enterprise culture in the legal business company.

"I didn't think Japan would have such a lively, reasonable place," he said. She said that at present the company's many foreigners, very international, she also gradually found in the work of their position and sense of achievement,Shion in PAsona work, mainly talent introduction, help people find work; and after entering Criteo, is specialized in helping their company recruit talent.

Whether in the original Japanese business company, or the current law firms, for Shion, the meaning of the work of people is equally important, many candidates after a smooth work has come back to thank her . For example, during her first job, although I do not adapt to the management of the company, but there are a lot of things that make her feel very successful, there was an American Taiwanese, want to find a job in Japan is a wall, Shion suggested that he will be on the curriculum vitae of the United States to Taiwanese, and according to his characteristics delivery sightseeing, Travel-related companies quickly find a good job.

Shion said she had observed that pelting Taiwanese were still full of sought-after people before giving him such advice. "I use my major to talk to him, he is very useful, he could not find a job will be due to visa problems back to the United States." "She said, slowly find a way to find a slow, fast and quick advice, which is a person's capital of the professional." (same field Gayon: say influence: Use professional to reach influence )

As a human capital, in other people's lives may only be a fleeting passing, but the weight left can be very heavy. "I thought I was just helping with the interview and teaching my resume, but I didn't think some of my suggestions could affect people's lives, and I didn't think I could play that value in Japan as a foreigner," he says. "shion is currently in the Japanese vocational counselor's license, and has passed the first stage examination, hoping to be more diligent in their professional ability.

Japan Workplace Gender Watch: 90% of management is male

In Japan for nearly four years, I asked Shion to share her workplace gender watch in Japan, saying that in recent years, because of the age of Japanese society and the obvious trend of minority, the Government is very advocating women to enter the workplace, but most of the work is male-dominated. (Share with you: the gender dilemma of Japanese cuisine: Only men are masters?) )

"There has been a slight change in the recent Japanese preference for sons, and the Government has made efforts to make it easier for foreigners to come to Japan and the market is more open than before." However, some traditions still exist, how to adjust, to strengthen self-worth and workplace competitiveness, are working in Japan. 」

"Many Japanese girls tend to limit themselves to the fact that they have children who can't work, and in Japanese companies, if they want to be promoted, they will raise men first, because senior executives will feel that men are not going to take maternity leave and travel." "shion said that although the company staff ratio of men and women may be 6:4, the gap is small, but look at the company's management 90% are all men.

She also mentioned that, in addition to Japanese women's own conservative concept, Japan's tax system design is also in disguise to encourage girls to stay home housewives, women as long as the name hanging to the husband to support, can help husband a lot of taxes, so many people choose to walk into the family rather than the workplace. When organizing a family is much easier than entering the workplace, women seem much more relaxed at the crossroads of choices, but the difficulty is also raised if they want to embark on another path. Pray that with the change of social structure, the woman who has the desire to climb higher has the opportunity to stand on the ladder.

Want to work in Japan? Make these three preparations first.

Working alone in Japan, and have a professional, I ask Shion and we share want to go to Japan before the work, should be prepared to do.

1. The art of softness, respect, and expression

Working in Japan, Shion says, must be tolerant and respectful of people of different backgrounds, and learn to get along with them. She started very not understand the art of speaking, "I found that the same email, senior sent and I sent, the effect is completely different, and then learned that everything must first start from the identity, understand the other party why do so, and then put forward their own ideas." She said that this is the way of softness and communication that will allow her to achieve the goal in a more strategic way. (Extended reading: overseas work to understand!) care is better than words.

2. Have the language ability

Through the Japanese N1 accreditation Shion said a good Japanese, there are levels above the English ability, no matter what country to think of work, language ability must be the most important outfit, have, and go anywhere.

3. Do you really know what you're going to do?

Working overseas is lonely, Shion says, and it's easy to give up if you don't have enough enthusiasm to get what you really want. "I have met a lot of people, have been to Japan, but only for a period of time I feel very tired, very want to return to Taiwan." "In the direction of their own before, if blindly rampage, it is easy to lose the target, the original filled with blood will become a blank."

For Shion, there is no right answer to life, there is no "best choice", she said:

"The best choice is to make your choice the best choice." 」

Shion that the hardest part of doing something is when you haven't started. Therefore, she suggested that before the general direction, try to set some goals for themselves, even if the long-term can not imagine, but also from the beginning of the short-term, she said, people are leaning towards the goal, if there is no pursuit of things, it is easy to lose their own. I understand that the goal of Shion is not necessarily great, as long as it can help to find themselves, slowly forward, is our best goal at the moment.

Text/rachel
Photo Offer/ Criteo Japen