04 January 2018

The interview

I'm currently in Japan with Saori for a couple of weeks to visit family and to attend my grandfather-in-law's funeral after he passed away earlier in the month. It's the second time I've been back in Japan since moving back to the States in 2015.While we're back partially for a sad, though not tragic, event, it's a nice opportunity to catch up with friends and visit our former stomping grounds. It's always odd to return to places you've lived. Many things are familiar, some are new, but the oddest part is how life somehow continues on just fine in your absence. Rude.

Being here has  brought back a lot of memories as well. I thought I'd share an one anecdote that came to mind:

The interview

I had been in Japan a less than a year and was working a few part-time English teaching gigs. They were alright, but it was far from steady work. And knowing that I'd be in Japan for a while, I was also anxious to find a job with more upward potential. English teaching is an enjoyable way to pay the bills, but it's hard to make it a meaningful career move unless you're interested in university work.

Unfortunately, there are not a ton of alternatives unless you speak very, very good Japanese. While I'd made progress in the months since I arrived, I was (and still am) far away from being able to handle business-level Japanese. I can communicate just fine, but I sound like an idiot. So my options for alternative work was limited.

Enter a job listed as a "communications specialist" or something similar at a moderately sized import-export business. The job description looked interesting enough: learn about the products that they were exporting and importing, represent the business in negotiations with foreign companies, and assist with business communications with proofreading, facilitating meetings, etc. Seemed like a solid entry into a legitimate "salaryman" position. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, I carefully drafted a cover letter and sent off my resume.

A few days later I got a call and was offered an interview with the company. Awesome! I showed up in my best interview suit, nervous, but eager to make a good impression. That's when things started to fall apart. I was told that the interview would be a few hours (typical for Japan) and would start off with me translating some business correspondence into Japanese. Uh oh. This was not included in the JD. I got beet red, started to sweat, and explained that I could not. But they said I should just try my best. After stumbling through the document with something along the lines of "This stock... I don't know... go up... this stock... maybe... go down." It was painful. The rest of the interview was in English, and felt better but I clearly could not perform the duties required of the position. I left with a sigh of relief, confident that I did not get the job, but laughing it off as an interesting story a peek into Japanese corporate culture.

I got an email a few days later , and casually clicked it open assuming it was rejection. It was completely in Japanese, so I ran it through Google Translate. Much to my surprise they asked me to attend another interview. I wondered if it had been a mix up. They asked me to come to their factory to see some of the products being made and to speak with the workers there. Again  I left a bit bewildered but was enjoying my authentic Japanese businessman interview experience.

After a few weeks, I got invited back to the headquarters for a final interview. At least this time I knew what I was getting into. I figured I might as well see this through to the end and have to admit that I did feel a small glimmer of hope. I showed up to the interview for what I knew would be a grueling process and had a three-hour series of interviews alternating between Japanese and English. The Japanese interview was in front of a panel of about 8 or 9 would-be colleagues and was really painful. I still get butterflies in my stomach thinking of how poorly I understood their questions and the awkwardness of my responses in what surely was horrifically business-inappropriate Japanese.

The interview ended with a 20 minute chat with the CEO of the company. He started in Japanese, but quickly switched to English when he realized my level. He was an affable individual and said that he liked me, but that it was pretty clear that I was woefully under-qualified due to my language skills. He ended with a smile and apologized for wasting my time.

In the end I was right; I was not qualified for and did not get the job, but I do feel like it was a pretty funny experience and made a decent story. I probably spent 8 hours over 3 interviews for a job that I knew within five minutes I was unable to perform.