Chen Xinyi, Nomura Securities Co., Ltd.: Completed the Graduate School of Economics in 2013
◆1 minute highlight movie
Memories of Waseda, where I had a fulfilling academic and personal life
I majored in Japanese language at a university in China and visited Japan for the first time through an exchange program. After spending two years at a Japanese university, I decided to go on to a graduate school at Waseda University, which is well known in China, to learn more about Japanese culture. At the enrolled Graduate School of Economics, I deepened my study of economics by conducting an empirical analysis of tourists visiting Japan with political factors taken into account. I enjoyed my personal life as a student, interacting with other international students during the seminar camp and going skiing with Japanese undergraduates who I had become friends with through the seminar.
One of the pictures that was taken during a ski trip with my seminar friends.
A struggle to self-promote my skills in the rash job hunting
I began job hunting in earnest in the fall of my first year as a master’s student. Many people around me had a high level of awareness about job hunting, and I remember feeling very rushed when I heard about their participation in summer internship programs. To be honest, I felt that I had to start making moves already despite the fact that I had just entered graduate school. Since I majored in economics, I thought I would be suited for a job that deals with numbers, so I started by visiting company information sessions for companies in the finance, consulting, and trading industries. However, rather than focusing strongly on the industry, I emphasized how friendly the company was to international students. I gathered information by registering with an international student employment support organization and participating in a job hunting event for international students called “TOP CAREER JAPAN.”
I participated in the selection process for companies I learned about at the event, but I was naive enough to think that I could just go back to China if things didn’t work out. As a result, I was unable to get a job offer until I was in the second year of my master’s program. Later, I was introduced to Nomura Trust and Banking by a support group that had helped me practice for job interviews, and I participated in the selection process and successfully received a job offer. At the time, I was honestly happy just to be able to work at a financial institution in Otemachi. Looking back, however, the decisive, very appealing factor to join the company was the down-to-earth atmosphere of the employees that I sensed during the interview process. This impression did not change even after I actually started working there. I also often feel that the environment is similar to that of Waseda University, with a climate that supports challenges and demands vitality.
I think what I struggled with in my job search was the episodic talk, or “gakuchika” (what you put a lot of effort into during your school days) as we now call it. It was very difficult to prepare a story that could make myself known in a short time. I sometimes lost confidence in myself, thinking that I was just an average person with nothing noteworthy to offer compared to the students around me who were competing in national championships in their college sports or participating in volunteer activities around the world. However, I did not give up there, but rather made an effort to try to devise a way to make myself known. For example, I learned vocabulary and how to speak persuasively by listening to podcasts of my favorite economic critics and shadowing them. At that time, I was able to speak Japanese to some extent through my student life and part-time jobs at a convenience store and the post office, but it was far from the kind of Japanese that could be used for business purposes. I don’t think the companies expected students to have that level of Japanese language ability, but it was worth learning the expressions and vocabulary that would help me present myself as an appealing candidate. I’m sure many students learn Japanese from TV shows and anime, but in order to acquire more refined Japanese expressions and vocabulary, I recommend listening to and imitating the Japanese of professionals in the industry you wish to work in.
Using job rotation to create varied lifestyles
For about two and a half years after I started working at Nomura Trust and Banking, I was engaged in operations and other tasks in the settlement department. Subsequently, I voluntarily applied for a transfer to an overseas group company, and was assigned to Europe. There, I experienced a wide range of work including client support and investment trust planning. After returning to Japan and working in the lending business for high net worth individuals and digital marketing, I have been transferred temporarily to Nomura Securities, where I am currently working on expanding the non-face-to-face business. I have been taking on various business challenges by changing departments every two to three years. One of the appealing features of this company is that you can have various experiences if you wish. Of course, there are many hardships, but I am very thankful that I learn something new every day.
What’s fun about my current job is that I can support the business of my customers by utilizing my own data analysis. Digital marketing is also a rapidly evolving field, and it’s fun to see how small UI changes, such as the placement of a small button or the presentation of a description, can make a big difference in consumer behavior and results.
“While on assignment in Luxembourg, I traveled all over Europe,” says Chen.
Getting started is the key.Practice again and again to convey your personality
What is important in job search is to take an action. Even if you’re only halfway there, whoever starts first wins. But once it actually starts to move, I want you to really work on it. In my case, I could not let go of the feeling that I should just go back to China, and I was growing anxious while everyone around me was getting job offers one after another.
If I were to give specific advice to all of you, I would suggest that you prepare one or two stories that you can use to introduce your personality in an easy-to-understand way. You will get better at interviewing the more you practice, so I would like you to try again and again until you gain confidence. I recommend that you consult with your university’s career center or employment support organization and ask them to accompany you in your practice.
I can’t really say that I had an excellent job search, but now I am enjoying working. Even if there are days when you feel things don’t go well, I want you to keep trying until the end without giving up.
