At G Talent, our bilingual career advisors who are well versed in the IT industry will assist IT engineers from around the globe with their career change. We have many interesting stories to tell from our past candidates who were successful with their job hunting through our support and today we interviewed Mr. K.H to share his experience.
Contents
- 1 “I wanted to acquire advanced skills from the leading source of technological advancement in Asia.”
- 2 Nothing is more reassuring than receiving support from an IT-savvy professional in both languages
- 3 The decisive factors were: a work environment that allows skill improvement & work location
- 4 Aiming to be an IT engineer who can complete the entire software development process alone
- 5 After the interview
“I wanted to acquire advanced skills from the leading source of technological advancement in Asia.”
―Could you briefly tell us about your background?
After graduating from a Bangladeshi university, I came to Japan in May 2006 and studied Japanese at a Japanese language school in Hyogo Prefecture for two years. This was followed by further education at an IT vocational school, and in 2014, I graduated from the Graduate School of Applied Information Science at Hyogo Prefectural University.
In April of that year, I joined a company in the same prefecture and worked as a web director for two years. In 2016, I wanted to further utilize the skills and knowledge I had cultivated, so I moved to a system development company based in Ibaraki Prefecture, where I was involved in web application development for about six years. In October 2022, I joined a company that provides technical human resource services.
―What made you decide to work in Japan in the first place?
I first became interested in Japan when I learned about Japanese culture at school as a child. I often wondered what kind of country it would be like. The main reason I decided to come to Japan was very simple – I wanted to acquire advanced skills from the leading source of technological advancement in Asia.
Japan and Bangladesh have completely different cultures, so I had a very difficult time acclimating to the new living environment. In the beginning, the hardest part was the food. As I’m a Muslim, I don’t eat any pork or drink any alcohol. But just before leaving for Japan, I was disappointed to hear from a friend that there are many foods in Japan that contain pork. During the first three days, I could not eat anything. After that, I subsisted only on milk and bread until I adjusted to my situation. After living in Japan for almost 17 years, this experience has become a fond memory.
Nothing is more reassuring than receiving support from an IT-savvy professional in both languages
―Could you tell us why you chose G Talent?
I found out about G Talent when I was starting to think about changing jobs, and I looked at its website. I was very interested to know about the support I would receive from their bilingual career consultants who are well-versed in the IT industry. I have lived in Japan for a long time, but since Japanese is not my mother tongue, I sometimes have difficulty in understanding when it comes to complicated topics. There are times communicating in English is so much easier. I thought it would be a great help if I could get support in both languages, so, I decided to contact them.
The career consultant at G Talent exceeded my expectation. Not only did she explain everything in detail switching between Japanese and English depending on my level of understanding, she was also able to read between the lines and showed a deep understanding of what I was trying to say. I was pleasantly surprised, and at the same time, I decided to register with G Talent, thinking that with her support, I could proceed with my career move with confidence.
I was also grateful for the fact that she remembered me even after a period of time had passed. To tell you the truth, I had my first meeting with her in February 2021 and was referred to several companies for interviews, but I had to pass on the opportunity as we couldn’t reach an agreement for several reasons. After that, I took a break from career change for a while. However, when I received a New Year’s greeting e-mail from her, I made a promise to myself, “In 2022, I will definitely work on a career move once again”.
When I called her a while later, there was another surprise. Even though it had been more than six months since we last spoke, she remembered me immediately, just by giving my name, and I was so thrilled. It made me even more determined to do my best. Subsequently, I managed to get an official job offer from the company I wanted to join. It happened only two months after the phone call. Thanks to her extraordinary support, everything went so smoothly this time.
The decisive factors were: a work environment that allows skill improvement & work location
―What factors made you decide to join the current company?
Among the job offers that I received from three companies, I decided to join the current company that focuses on the technical human resource services business for two reasons.
First, the company could provide an environment where I could enhance my skills and knowledge in the software field while making use of them.
Another deciding factor was the work location, which also affected my decision t change jobs. There was no international school for my five-year-old child in the vicinity of my former workplace and home. I did a lot of research and found a suitable school in Kanagawa Prefecture that I really wanted to send my child to. It would be great to move and work for a company near there if possible, and surprisingly, G Talent’s career consultant found me a perfect position that matched my background and skills in the same area. With a lot of luck coupled with happy coincidences, I was finally able to join my current company.
―Tell us about your current job and work environment.
I am currently working as a reverse engineer and have two main roles. One of them is to convert an existing desktop application into a web application. The other is to decipher the desktop application program and create a basic design document in Japanese.
Basically, every application has a basic design document, and engineers use it as a basis for coding and other tasks. But this desktop application doesn’t have one. I never thought I would be in charge of this project, and it is so challenging to write everything in Japanese, but I am finding it very rewarding. In parallel with these tasks, I also share the knowledge of web applications that I acquired through previous jobs for many years with other IT engineers.
I am very satisfied with the work environment. Employees are friendly and helpful, and if I have any questions or concerns, they are always willing to be of assistance. I am especially grateful to my boss, the group leader, for taking great care of me from day one so that I can work with peace of mind. As for working style, each employee can decide at his own discretion. I like the fact that I can flexibly make my own decisions, such as coming to the office if I want to and working from home if I prefer to do so.
Aiming to be an IT engineer who can complete the entire software development process alone
―Where do you see yourself in the future?
As an IT engineer specializing in software, my primary goal is to be able to complete the entry-exit process of software development on my own. In the future, I would also like to work for a Japanese company that is expanding into the global market.
What I find attractive about Japanese companies is that the people working there all have a spirit of harmony. People at ｔhe Japanese companies I have worked for so far have all fostered an attitude of mutual respect for differences in position and values while working together to achieve a common goal. I thought it was wonderful that even when cleaning the office, the CEO himself proactively participated in the activity with employees.
I would like to take the next step when I am able to fulfill my duties at my current company and make significant progress as an IT engineer. At that time, I would be happy to consult with the career consultant at G Talent again.
ーFinally, do you have a message for foreign IT engineers considering a career in Japan?
When you catch a cold or feel unwell, you go to the hospital. If you don’t describe your symptoms, the doctor will not be able to determine the cause. The same is true of the relationship between a recruitment agency and a job seeker. If you don’t tell the truth about your skills and background, there will be a mismatch between you and the company, and this could lead to a major problem. I think the first step to a successful job change is to draw a clear line between what you can do and what you cannot do, and to present your true self without trying to make yourself look good. At the same time, I think it is very important to clarify what you want to do in your new job and tell your career consultant about that.
After the interview
What did you think? We hope that this article will be of help to those who are looking for a new career in Japan, and for those who are currently working in Japan, considering a career change.
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