Honest Job Interview in Japan

Finally you’ve managed to sit at a job interview in Japan!

A job interviewer in Japan has started to talk about something unusual. He has begun
describing business practices of his company honestly to avoid expectation gaps with
the job applicant.

His company has lost non-Japanese engineers one after another. So he is venturing an
unconventional, risky way after a long debate with the President who gave a
greenlight finally.

The job interviewer started the honest conversation with “In our company …”:

Let's be honest.

Do you still want to work in Japan ... or are you inclined to look elsewhere?
Obviously your reaction is understandable and would be common perhaps...from the
work styles and values in both East and West.

But may I suggest to you to try a trick before you give up like most uninformed job
applicants do?

Ask the rationale for or even possible benefits of some of the practices that sound
important to you!

Ask the rationale for or even possible benefits of some of the practices that sound
important to you!

If the interviewer mumbles and fails to offer reasonable answers or even starts getting
angry about your unexpected inquries, then, you should look elsewhere right away.
Such companies will become extinct anyway in this War for Talent! They are the ones
that have been dwelling on archaic business systems that have passed the best-before
date long time ago.

If he can answer your questions passionately by combining pros & cons of common
(global/Western) work styles and positive meanings of their practices and underlying
work culture, then, this is it! You must jump in! Such a company will be a rarity, I tell
you, but, still it's worth testing it.

I have created this list to firstly showcase typical work styles in Japanese companies to
minimise your expectation gaps, and secondly, to remind Japanese readers of the
need to review the original meanings of the way they work. To me, Japan's work
style contains a microcosm of alternative life values, secrets of healing conflicts that
could lead to the joy of diligence and labour.

They are not archaic. They are the treasure ... contained inside the treasure box.
While too preoccupied to go after the katakana "global" trends, Japanese leaders have
neglected to open the treasure box, find the ones that are still glittering and put them
under a spotlight. How about the ones that have lost the glitter from any angle you
look? They should dump them right away.
In conclusion:

It is foolish to adopt business practices just because they are popular temporarily
during a few decades of globalisation. It is even more foolish to abandon time-tested
values and culture that have been bred in the soil for centuries. World cultures
sparkle because of diversity. Then, why not a unique alternative work
culture...however unpopular it may look?

Go see my list again. Ask yourself if you are the rare bird who is willing to search and
appreciate those treasures. I said "such a company will be a rarity", because Japanese
culture neither encourages nor believes in explaining every thought in words (that's
why they don't have fights to win arguments like English speakers do. Yes, this is for
another blog). Therefore, although it is the employers' job by right to do so to keep
talents, practically speaking, it will be your job to adapt to their work styles by
acquring local communication skills.

That will be 10 times faster than waiting for Japanese to strike a fine balance between
excavating their culture and transforming it into what feels comfortable by non-
Japanese. The golden rule in international business has always been "Speak the
Customer's Language".

Do you still want to work in Japan? Will write another piece soon.

*Please know my training & coaching programs at Success Japan Initiative:

https://www.successjapanseminars.com/

Takashi Kawatani, authour of Winning Together at Japanese Companies, crosscultural

management consultant (Japan)