My life as a student is coming to an end, and I have long been wondering about what I want to do when my last semester is over. Although I might be finished as a student I didn't want to go back to Norway just yet, and decided to look for jobs in Japan starting from my previous semester.

One thing is doing 就職活動 (Japanese job hunting) while living in Japan, another thing is doing job hunting for a job in Japan while living abroad. The companies usually expect you to do at least three interviews with them, which means that you have to commute to their office in order to finally get a job offer. In addition to all of this most people apply to a large number of companies; some of my Japanese friends sent up to a hundred applications before they finally got accepted at one of the companies.

Since I'm living in Korea my last year in University I knew right away that it would be impossible for me to follow the normal job hunting schedule as the other students. Some of you might remember that I went to Boston last semester for the annual Boston Career Forum, and this is where my job hunt began.
I had already signed up for interviews with some of the companies before I went there, and one of these companies was the Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten.

What I really like about this company, is its focus on empowering society. Rakuten works closely with the merchants who sell their products through Rakuten's page, and helps them both set and reach their goals in terms of sales. In the future there is also a possibility that I can work in one of Rakuten's offices abroad, as the company is expanding to countries all over the world. This includes many developing countries, where Rakuten thus is helping to increase people's opportunities to empower their local communities. My biggest trouble about finding a job in Japan was that most of the companies did not have any goals like that; their focus was limited to making as much profit as possible. Of course profit is necessary, but a company should also give something back to its community! Also, in addition to work for the empowerment of the society Rakuten is also a very ambitious company, aiming to become the world's number one in e-commerce. 私も頑張らなくちゃ！

It took me many months of interviews and tests (2 essays, 3 written tests, one oral Japanese test and 4 interviews) before I finally got a job offer from them. But although the process has been long I am very pleased with the flexibility the company showed me, as all the interviews after I came back from the career forum have been conducted through Skype! Fantastic!! :D
My only regret now, is about my TOEFL test.. Two years ago when I applied for Ritsumeikan's master degree program I had to take this test to prove my English abilities. However, I knew it would be fairly easy for me so I didn't study for it at all, and got 108/120. Now it turns out that Rakuten demands 110 or higher, so my test score isn't good enough >< oh, the pain.. Haha.. So I'll be taking the TOEIC exam some time before or right after entering the company. But at least I get to take the test for free through Rakuten^^

Anyway, when working in a Japanese company it is normal to go through a period of introduction courses where you learn more about the company and the different types of jobs they offer. So although my main interest would be to work as an e-commerce consultant it is possible that they'll find me better fit for some other roles within the company.

I'm really exited about my future work in Rakuten. It seems like a great company!! Now I just have to make sure that I can finish my thesis and graduate in time this summer!! *Back to writing thesis*
Ciao!

Rakuten's Mission

To empower people and society through the Internet, and to transform and enrich society through its own success

• All blogposts about Rakuten
• All blogposts about working in Japan
• 就職活動終わり：I'm officially a Future Rakuten Employee!
• 楽天入社式: Our First Day as a Rakuten Employees
• Working at Rakuten - Introduction Training (研修) Summary!
• Tokyo Cafes: Rakuten Cafe in Shibuya
• Benefits for Rakuten Employees: The Rakuten Cafeteria (楽天食堂)
• Rakuten Travel Hotel Training: Karuizawa Prince Hotel
• Working at Rakuten: The Rakuten Group Noukai (納会)
• Working at Rakuten: The New Crimson House Office in Futako-Tamagawa

This weekend I traveled all the way to Boston to participate in the Boston Career Forum, a forum mainly for companies searching for possible employees who are at least fluent in both English and Japanese. My reason for participating was that I want to work in Tokyo after I graduate, and since I live in Korea at the moment it is not possible to follow the normal Japanese shushoku katsudou (就職活動  -> job-hunting) system.

The logo of the CF Boston Career Forum

In Japan it is quite common that one applies to a large number of companies, many of which not necessarily have any relation at all with what you studied in university. Getting a job requires around 4 rounds of interviews, which means that the students have to do quite a lot of travelling in order to go through with their interviews.

Some of the interview booths at the career forum

Disco International, the company behind the career forum in Boston, thus has a vision to make the job hunting process easier for the students, and give them the opportunity to spend less time to get a job than they do in the traditional Japanese system. Many of the companies at the career forum offer the opportunity to have 2-3 interviews during the 3 days of the forum, and although most of the companies require further interviews after the forum is over there are also some companies that even hire you at the spot.

Through the Internet page of the career forum you can prepare for the event in advance through extensive information about the different companies, and their requirements for the students. Most of the companies offer the opportunity to send in your resume along with a general application for the company in advance, and the companies will then regard you for interviews at the forum. Personally I had Skype interviews with some of the companies before the actual career forum as well, so the procedures really depend on the different companies.
At the career forum itself you have the opportunity not only to have pre-scheduled interviews, but also participate in information sessions about the different companies (so-called setsumeikai - 説明会). Additionally some of the companies offer walk-ins based on your resume, which you can turn in while you are there.

Probably the most popular setsumeikai of the event was that of the gaming company Square Enix.

There is usually more than enough time to sit down and read about the companies between the interviews.

In general most of the students seemed to have quite a lot of time between their interviews. I was one of them, and I spent a lot of my time just by sitting down and preparing for interviews. Although I haven't gotten any concrete job interviews yet there are still a couple of companies that are considering me for further interviews, so right now I'm just waiting for what hopefully will be some positive answers. Anyway, it was an interesting experience (but a very tiring one considering all the hours spent travelling), and I'm really happy for the opportunities this event has given me to actually meet representatives from a lot of interesting companies. 万が一, if I don't end up with any job offers after all I suppose I'll have to attend Disco's next career forum in June as well. But at least this one will be in Tokyo, so I don't have to travel that far x).

Boston Convention & Exhibition Centre, where the career forum took place.

Unfortunately I did not get to see much of Boston beside my hostel and the conference hall

I have bought my FIRST SUIT EVER along with a plane ticket to Boston in October where I'll be running around like crazy trying to find a job for an American/Japanese company at the big Boston Career Forum. 頑張らないと！

My first suit.. Now all I need is a pair of shoes. Haha..

UPDATE: My blogpost from the career forum