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. M.H to share his experience.
Contents
- 1 Seeking a place to demonstrate and further enhance his skills and abilities
- 2 Working in tandem with the career consultant to create a new career path
- 3 Moved by appealing work environment & business areas with great potential
- 4 Making steady progress in career at the current company
- 5 After the interview
Seeking a place to demonstrate and further enhance his skills and abilities
―Could you briefly tell us about your background?
After graduating from Mawlana Bhashani Science & Technology University in Bangladesh with a Bachelor of Science (Engg.) degree in Information & Communication Technology, I started working at a domestic company as an iOS engineer in 2013. I worked for several companies in Bangladesh for about five years. After that, I received an offer from a Japanese company and came to Japan for the first time in 2019. My stint with that company lasted for two years. I then made a career move to another Japanese company and lived and worked in Fukuoka city for some time.
However, I had to make a hasty decision to leave the company and return to Bangladesh temporarily for some of my personal family-related issues.
Fortunately, I received an offer from another Japanese company around the same time. It was a short-term contract that allowed me to work remotely from my home country, so I worked for them for about 8 months. In 2022, I decided to return to Japan and seek new employment, and in November of the same year, I moved to a Japanese fintech company where I am working now.
―What made you decide to work in Japan in the first place?
The reason why I choose Japan in the first place is that there are far more opportunities for IT engineers than in my home country. Recently, there have been some new developments, such as a Japanese firm launching a software company, but the IT industry itself in Bangladesh is not that large at this point. I chose to work in Japan because I was seeking a place where I could demonstrate and further enhance my skills and abilities.
Working in tandem with the career consultant to create a new career path
―Could you tell us why you chose G Talent?
I have heard that some recruitment agencies do not understand the details of the positions that companies are looking for and end up contacting candidates who are not a good match. The career consultant at G Talent was completely different. She scrutinized my profile on LinkedIn before contacting me and fully grasped my experience and skills, thus finding the optimal position that would allow me to make full use of them.
I felt confident that I could rely on G Talent and decided to register with them right away. I felt like it was destiny calling because I received the email from the career consultant about the same time I returned to Japan. She was very supportive and responded to my questions in a timely manner. It was like I was working in tandem with her on planning my career path, which was very reassuring, and I am grateful for that.
Moved by appealing work environment & business areas with great potential
―What factors made you decide to join the current company?
I received offers from three companies, including one that provides QR code payment services and another that sells a mobile messenger application. I chose the fintech company with cryptocurrency as its core business for two main reasons.
First, the friendly and comfortable work environment that I was able to perceive through the personality of the person who interviewed me. This man, who is now my boss, was positive, friendly, cooperative, and very pleasant to talk to. I felt that his character reflected the atmosphere within the company.
Second, I thought that by joining the company, I would be able to create something new by utilizing my expertise and skills. In the fintech industry, which has been growing rapidly in recent years, cryptocurrency requires extremely advanced technology to ensure strong security. It is a field with great potential, not only in terms of business growth, but also in terms of dramatic technological advancement.
I never imagined that I would be involved in cryptocurrency, but it has always been my hidden desire to work in a field where I can enhance my technical skills by tackling difficult issues. I am very happy that my dream has come true through this new job.
―Tell us about your current job and work environment.
I am currently working as an iOS engineer, while also taking on the role of managing the team. I am also involved in the hiring of engineers and interviewing candidates on a weekly basis. In addition, I actively participate in meetings where the company makes decisions.
The work environment is just fantastic and far exceeds my expectations before joining the company. At work, we are encouraged to come up with and develop new ideas and try them out on a trial basis. The development team members and all the other employees are very supportive and friendly, while the company itself is a great place to work.
What I find wonderful about this company is the culture of mutual respect and care for each other as individuals, which transcends the relationship between company and employee, or boss and subordinate. I am especially grateful to my boss, who was very understanding of my decision to continue working from Fukuoka. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, but I had been used to working in Fukuoka since my previous job, and I wanted to continue living there if possible. When I discussed this with my boss, he suggested, “Then how about working remotely from Fukuoka?”.
I joined the company in November 2022, and for the first week, I stayed in Tokyo and worked in the office. After that, I started working from home in Fukuoka. Daily communication with my boss and team members is done via Slack. 40% of our engineers can speak English, so we communicate in English at meetings. Some Japanese members are not very good at English, so we sometimes use translation tools to communicate with them.
Making steady progress in career at the current company
―Where do you see yourself in the future?
I am very satisfied with my current company, including the salary and benefits provided, and would like to work there for a long time. I would also like to improve my skills as an IT engineer, and in the future, advance my career and become a manager. I believe that in the not-too-distant future, cryptocurrency will become a new standard comparable to currencies such as the Japanese yen, US dollar, and Euro. Even in the stock market, I expect that many people will be interested in investing in it as well. The company I work for now is one of the leading firms in this field in Japan, and I am confident that we will eventually become the top company. I am determined to strive for a bright future with them.
In my spare time, I run a community for university students in Bangladesh remotely, where I teach programming for free for an hour every Saturday. I teach them how to prepare for job interviews as well since they are aiming to work as IT engineers for companies in Asia like Japan, Singapore and USA, Europe after graduation. I would definitely recommend G Talent to any competent person who is looking for a job in Japan.
ーFinally, do you have a message for foreign IT engineers considering a career in Japan?
Regardless of your field of expertise, years of experience as an IT engineer is just a number, and it is meaningless unless it is accompanied by skills that you can be proud of. This is something I always try to keep in mind, and I always remember to keep on learning and working to improve my skills. Another important thing is not to chase after rewards. I can tell you from experience that as long as you continue to grow, the rewards will follow. If you are willing to take on new challenges and improve yourself, I am sure you will find a job that is perfectly suited for you.
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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