After spending more than half a month sending out resumes, I finally received an interview invitation from a company yesterday.
And it was an in-person interview.
To be honest, I was really nervous.
In theory, I’m already 35 years old. I’ve worked in China for more than ten years and have plenty of experience with job interviews. So, under normal circumstances, an interview shouldn’t be something to be afraid of.
But this time was different.
What I was really afraid of wasn’t the interview itself. It was Japanese.
With my current level of Japanese, I still can’t communicate fluently with native Japanese speakers.
If I were interviewing in Chinese, I probably wouldn’t feel much pressure.
But sitting in front of several Japanese interviewers and trying to answer their questions in Japanese, while knowing that my Japanese is still far from fluent, took a lot of courage for me.
So, simply walking into that interview room was already a challenge in itself.
A Company That Matches My Experience Quite Well
The company I interviewed with is one of the largest ATM providers in Japan.
The main responsibility of the position I applied for is ATM maintenance and related operations.
When I first read the job description, I thought:
“This job is actually a pretty good match for my previous experience.”
In my previous job, I was also responsible for maintaining self-service machines similar to ATMs.
The equipment included not only computers and printers, but also sensors, surveillance cameras, mechanical components, and various other modules.
My daily responsibilities included regular inspections, troubleshooting, equipment maintenance, and user support.
Looking at the job description, there are quite a few areas that overlap with the more than ten years of IT operations and maintenance experience I have accumulated.
So even though I wasn’t very confident about my Japanese, I still decided to go to the interview.
An Interesting Kind of “Reception Desk”
The actual interview was much more relaxed than I had imagined.
There were also several things that felt quite different from the interviews I had experienced in China.
The interview was held on the fifth floor of an office building.
I initially assumed there would be a normal reception desk where I could tell someone, “I’m here for an interview.”
But when I arrived, I discovered:
There was no receptionist.
More precisely, there was a telephone instead of a reception desk.
I followed the instructions, called the reception desk using the phone, and then someone came to meet me and show me where to go.
I thought this was quite interesting.
With just one telephone, the company can handle some of the work that would otherwise require someone to be stationed at a reception desk.
From the company’s perspective, it seems like a simple way to reduce the need for additional staff.
For me, as a foreigner attending my first job interview at a Japanese company, it was also a small but interesting discovery.
The Interview Wasn't Nearly as Serious as I Expected
Once the interview actually started, there were a few more things that were different from what I had expected.
The interview was held in a meeting room.
There were three interviewers.
Based on my impression, two of them seemed to be from the technical side, while the other appeared to be from HR.
All three were men, and they looked to be over 40.
But when the interview began, they didn't immediately ask me to introduce myself and then start firing questions at me, as I had expected.
Instead, they first gave me some materials introducing the company.
Then they used a PowerPoint presentation to explain the company's business and the specific responsibilities of the position I had applied for.
This surprised me quite a bit.
I had never experienced anything like this in the interviews I had attended in China.
My impression of interviews in China was more like:
“The company is evaluating you.”
But this time, I felt more like:
“The company is also trying to introduce itself to the candidate.”
It was a very different interview experience for me.
The Interviewers Were Kinder Than I Expected
Throughout the rest of the interview, the interviewers were also very friendly.
They understood that my Japanese wasn't very strong yet, so they didn't deliberately ask extremely difficult or tricky questions.
When I couldn't answer something completely, or when my limited Japanese prevented me from fully expressing what I wanted to say, they sometimes helped fill in the gaps and then confirmed what I meant.
They would ask things like:
“Do you mean this?”
That made me feel much more relaxed.
Overall, the interview wasn't nearly as serious as I had imagined.
It wasn't the kind of atmosphere where interviewers sit there expressionlessly staring at you, making you feel like you're being judged.
Instead, it felt more like a relatively relaxed and friendly conversation.
This experience made me realize something:
An interview doesn't necessarily have to be a one-sided test.
At least this time, it felt more like an opportunity for the company and the candidate to get to know each other.
But Then I Asked, “Do You Have Any Foreign Employees?”
At the end of the interview, I asked about something I had been curious about for a while.
“How many foreign employees does your company currently have?”
They told me that the company itself currently had no foreign employees.
However, their parent company, OKI, has many foreign employees.
When I heard that answer, I felt that I already had a pretty good idea of what the situation might be.
Maybe my chances of being hired weren't very high.
The reasons are actually quite straightforward.
First, this was my first formal job interview since coming to Japan.
In terms of interview experience in Japan, I obviously still have a lot to learn.
Second, there's my Japanese.
My Japanese is simply not fluent enough yet.
And this is a company where the workforce is primarily Japanese.
For a foreigner who is still not fluent in Japanese, getting into a company like this and working there is certainly not easy.
So when I walked out of the interview room, I honestly wasn't expecting too much.
Still, I'm Very Grateful for the Opportunity
Regardless of the final result, I am very grateful to this company.
Because for me, this interview wasn't simply about whether I could get the job.
Since coming to Japan, this was the first time I had actually walked into a Japanese company's office, sat in front of Japanese interviewers, and completed a formal job interview in Japanese.
For someone else, it might have been just another interview.
But for me, at this stage of my life, it was a very valuable experience.
At the very least, I took the first step.
I also finally learned what a job interview at a Japanese company is actually like.
I learned what I did well.
At the same time, I also discovered where my Japanese still needs improvement.
Even if I ultimately don't get the job, I don't think this interview was meaningless.
Because there will be a second interview, and then a third.
The first time is always the hardest.
And now, I've already experienced that first time.
As for the final result, I'll leave that to the company.
Of course, if I really do get the opportunity to work there, I will do my best, take responsibility for my work, and make the most of the opportunity.
For me, simply being given such a valuable opportunity is already something worth appreciating.
Maybe that's just how life works sometimes.
You never know whether the door in front of you will eventually open.
But first, you have to find the courage to walk up to that door, raise your hand, and knock.
Maybe that's where everything begins.