Job Discussion Forums

[Sadebugo]

Following up on my post about Matsuyama, I now have a telephone interview scheduled in a few days. I usually feel very comfortable during the interview process. However, I do have a question. Are there any 'typical' questions or subjects that Japanese interviewers usually focus on? For example, in Korea, you're always asked what you think about Korean culture.

Any general advice on the interview process would be much appreciated.

[Glenski]

How are your language skills?
How will you cope being so far from your home country?
Have you ever been away from "home" before?
What do you know about Japan?
Why do you want to work in Japan?

[PatrickHardy]

If the interviewer is Japanese, he/she may start by asking you to give a jikoshokai, or personal introduction. It might not be a bad idea to have a short self-intro, telling where you're from, your work and educational background, and your hobbies (you should always have a hobby, even if you have to make it up).

[Sadebugo]

Thanks to Glenski and PH for your advice. Nothing too unexpected except for the question about language skills. The employer has seen my resume and knows that this would be my first job in Japan so perhaps, this question won't come up.

On the subject of interviews, I have worked in Korea, Saudi Arabia and Thailand with most of my time spent in Korea. The range of interview styles between these three countries was enormous:

For SA, interviews involved flying to the American headquarters and sitting through a three-hour marathon interview session with up to five different interviewers. They focused more on how you might adapt to Saudi culture and function as a corporate employee rather than how much you knew about teaching principles.

For Thailand, the interviews were more reasonable in that they focused on the teaching. If you had a lot of knowledge about the profession, you would shine in this kind of interview.

In Korea, you felt almost cheated by the interview process in that you never got a chance to show what you could bring to the job. I've had to fly to Seoul and spend a lot of money just to be asked two questions . . . What do you think of Korean culture and What do you think of Korean food? To be honest, most jobs in Korea either just give a telephone interview or no interview at all!

[hagakuri]

Ohh.... how I wish life were so easy!

[Shonai Ben]