Master’s Degree Program Graduated in September 2020
Job offers: Robotics etc.
A. Reasons for Working in Japan
Since my childhood, I have been into cars and bikes and most of my favourite bikes and cars are made by Japanese manufacturers like the Nissan R34 GTR Nismo. Getting into engineering, I realised why the world admires Japanese vehicles and other Japanese products. I wanted to learn this, and I realised that the best way to learn this is to learn from the Japanese people itself. I participated in Formula Student competitions held in Japan to confirm my beliefs and I realised that this is the right place for me. Even though my interest changed to Robotics, the basic engineering of making reliable products applied here too. So, the next year I applied to Waseda University to study robotics under the supervision of a well-renowned roboticist, Prof. Shigeki Sugano.
B. Your Job-Hunting Period
As an international student, I had to understand the job-hunting process of Japan, so I started a year before. I met with Indian alumni of Waseda University and other mutual friends and got some advices from them. I also attended some OB-OG sessions organised by the Career Centre.
C. Industries & Corporations Approached
I had narrowed down on what line of work I wanted to pursue which was robotics. Therefore, initially I researched about all the companies that research and develop robots. As the robotics field is gaining some traction lately, there were many companies which had entered into this field but were publicly known. With a lot of discussions with my lab mates, professors and attending academic conferences, I came across a lot of companies.
D. Methods of Job-Hunting
I attended a lot of briefing sessions. I used Rikunavi and Mynavi to search for companies. Once I knew the company name, I used their official webpage to access the recruitment page and applied through that webpage instead of Rikunavi or Mynavi as I thought that it was faster.
E. Challenges Faced
As an international student with very little Japanese speaking ability, the biggest challenge was obviously the language itself. Initially, I focused on companies that provide an English interview. Finding such companies was another challenge that I faced.
F. Importance of Japanese Language
I believe that command over Japanese language gives you a head start in the process, at least over your fellow international students. Additionally, I would definitely recommend you readers to have some hold over the language before starting the process so that your options are no longer limited. Furthermore, I haven’t started working when I wrote this but I can guess that in order to convey your true thoughts to you colleagues in the company, knowing Japanese can make it easier and will prove beneficial to you and your future with the company.
G. Message to Potential Jobseekers
I believe the system that the companies have is very good in overall because you normally get a job before graduating which usually does not happen in most of the other countries. It can be lengthy, but perseverance is important. Furthermore, I believe that the companies give immense priority to your personality and your attitude along with technical knowledge. Have the right attitude and show willingness to learn new things and you will be just fine. I believe Japanese is very important just like how your mother tongue is important in your country.
E. Challenges Faced
