Author Archive admin

Due to the spread of COVID-19, online interviews are now drawing more and more attention. As a result, we would like to share some tips for online interviews.

Preparation is important for both regular interviews and online interviews is also important.

1. Tips before online interviews

①Is the Internet connection stable?

The connection with Pocket Wi-Fi or free Wi-Fi tends to be unstable, and there is a risk that the connection might be cut off during the interview. Therefore, we recommend connecting to the Internet with a wired LAN cable. For wireless, connect in a place where the Internet signal is stable.

②Be careful of the “reflection”!

• Lighting: Online interviews tend to look dark. Make sure your face is exposed to natural light by turning on the light even in the daytime. Placing a white piece of paper or a handkerchief under your face is also effective to make it look bright.
  
• Angle: When the face is taken from below, your posture has to lean forward and it looks terrible, Moreover, it feels like you are looking down on the interviewer, which is definitely not a positive impression. Try to keep your eyesight and your camera straight.
  
• Bangs: If your bangs hide your eyes, it darkens your face, so be sure to arrange your hairstyle in advance. Also, be careful not to touch your hair during the interview.
  
• Screen: It will not be desirable if the screen shakes too much. Stabilize your equipment.
  
• Background: Remove clothes, posters, etc. so that the interviewer will not be able to see extraneous things and use a wall in your room as the background.
  
• Attire: Do not wear a suit only for the upper body but wear a full-body suit for the interview.

③Let’s check!

• Device: Check that the interview device, such as camera, microphone, earphones, etc. can be used properly.
  
• Battery: Make sure your device fully charged and charge it during the interview if possible.
  
• Practice: Check your appearance on the camera in advance. It is also good to practice the answers aloud.

2．Tips during online interviews

• The first impression is crucial: The first impression is very important for internet interviews as well as for regular interviews. When the interview starts, let’s say hello energetically.
  
• Keep your eyes on the camera: Look at the camera, not the screen.
  
• Let’s make your voice a little louder than usual: In the case of an internet interview, it may be difficult to hear the voice due to the connection. Try to speak clearly in a slightly louder voice than usual.
  
• Let’s keep smiling until the end: Even after the interview, be careful and smile until the connection is broken.

We have explained tips for online interviews. Please refer to our previous article for more details about interviews.

We wish you a successful online interview.

Japan is a country which cares about manner a lot, so let’s make good first impression!

【Entrance】
① Don’t be late!
It would be appropriate to arrive 10 mins before the interview, but don’t arrive too early either.

② Knock the door THREE times before you enter the room!
Do not knock on the door too quickly.

③ Say 「失礼いたします」 before entering into the room
Use the volume that the interviewer could clearly hear you.

④ Don’t show your back to the interviewer!
When you close the door, make sure not to show your back and use your both hands to close the door silently.

⑤ Differentiate three types of bow.
The examples are shown in the picture down below.

⑥ Say 「よろしくお願いいたします」once you enter the room.
Express your appreciation for taking up interviewer’s time. Bow 30 degree.

⑦ Don’t sit on the chair immediately.
Sit after you hear the interviewers say 「どうぞ」. Bow 15 degree.

【Exit】
① Express your gratefulness after standing up from chair.
Say 「本日はお忙しい中、お時間をいただきありがとうございました」and bow 45 degree after the interview ends.

② Say thanks before leaving.
Say 「失礼いたします」and bow 30 to 45 degree before leaving the room.

When you are in Japan, you often need to use seals for daily life and work. However, there are various kinds of seals, and many rules to follow. As a result, I would like to explain them here.

There is also a legal support behind the importance of seals in Japan. The Code of Civil Procedure stipulates in Article 228, Paragraph 4 that ” A private document, if it is signed or sealed by the principal or his/her agent, shall be presumed to have been authentically created”. Moreover, “seal forgery of official documents ” and “seal forgery of private documents” are considered crimes under Article 155 of the Penal Code and Article 159 of the Penal Code.

【① Individual】

In our daily life, whenever we go to either bank or ward office to apply for things, it is necessary to bring your seal. The seals could be divided into 「シャチハタ」& 「印鑑」.However, it is difficult for foreigners to understand the differences.

【② Corporation】

There are even more varieties of seals at work. Furthermore, make sure to gain the approvals of your superior authorities before using any of the seals in the company. Otherwise, your behavior might be illegal.

Photo by: Photock

Today we are going to explain about visitor correspondence in Japan. This is so important that if you don’t do it properly, you might receive complaints from the visitors, or the reputation of the company might be ruined. As a result, it is necessary to make good impressions.

1. Basic rules about business card exchange

1. Don’t cover the words with your fingers.
2. Show your business card to the other party.
3. Say your company name, division, and name to the other party while giving your business card. (Check the illustration down below!)
4. If the other party is also giving you his/her business card, the position of your hands should be lower than the other party.
5. During exchange, your right hand should give your business card and your left hand receive their business card.
6. As soon as you receive business card, you should hold it with your both hands.
   *If you cannot read the name, confirm with the other party while exchanging.

2. Basic rules about arranging seats

「上座（かみざ）」is the “top seat” within a room, meaning the seat of honor. The antonym, meaning “bottom seat,” is「下座（しもざ）」. In a room, the「上座（かみざ）」 is the seat or position that is most comfortable, usually furthest from the door, because this is warmest, and was safest from attack back in the feudal period.

Please check the illustration down below.
Red: Customer
Blue: Host
The less the number is, the higher position the person is.

Since you are not able to show your attitude and facial expression to the other party through phone call, it is necessary to respond more carefully than usual. This is especially important for people who just start working. Let’s become a great working person by reading this article.

Basic rules

① Answer the call before the third ring
② If you cannot pick up the call immediately, you should add 「大変お待たせ致しました。」at the beginning.
③ When you are holding the call, make sure to ask the company name, the person’s name, and brief summary of the matter.
④ Put down your handset after the other party hangs up the phone

Example of the process

Recipient：「（企業名）でございます。」
Caller：「私、＿＿の＿＿と申します。」
Recipient：「＿＿の＿＿様でいらっしゃいますね。いつもお世話になっております。」
Caller：「＿＿の＿＿様はいらっしゃいますか？」
Recipient：「_＿でございますね。かしこまりました、只今お繋ぎ致しますので、少々お待ちくださいませ。」

When the person is absent,
大変申し訳ございません。＿＿は只今外出しております・席を外しておりますが、
① 宜しければ折り返せて頂きますか？
② 宜しければご用件を承りますか？
③ お急ぎでいらっしゃいますか？

Before you hang out the phone, make sure to say,「ありがとうございました。私（名前）が承りました。失礼いたします。」

Taboo

• Don’t pretend to be familiar with the other party on the phone
• Don’t call while drivin
• Don’t talk loudly in the public
• Don’t give the other party more than one person in charge form your company
• Don’t talk loudly around the people who are on phone
• Apologize when the other party is having lunch or already left the office.

Photo from フリー素材ぱくたそ

Since Japan is an aging society with a declining birthrate, the labor shortage problem is very severe. One of the methods to deal with the labor shortage problem is to hire foreign labors. As a result, there are already over one million foreign labors working in Japan. Maybe you are also looking for jobs in Japan now. We are going to explain the pros and cons of working in Japan.

Pros

1. Teamwork: Japan cares about teamwork, so you can learn the importance of cooperating with your colleagues.
2. The opportunities to learn: It is necessary to use Japanese while working in Japan. You are able to improve your Japanese and learn business culture of Japan.
3. More responsibility: As the minority (foreigners) in the company, it’s possible to take more responsibilities than working in your home country.
4. Politeness: Japanese society focuses on peace.

Cons

1. High-context culture: Non-verbal communication, such as “perceive” and “read between lines” is often used.
2. Change slowly: Japanese culture is more risk-averse, so they might tend to remain status quo and avoid changing.
3. Language barriers: Although the number of foreign workers is increasing, there is still some information that you won’t understand unless you can understand Japanese.
4. Long working hours: The extra working hours differ from company to company. Some might be zero hour, while some might be unbelievably long.
5. Not much positive feedback; There are quite some Japanese managers more used to focusing on mistakes instead of the successes you make.
6. Picky at details: Japanese tend to pursue perfection, so it is possible to cause extra time and effort in order to reach perfection.

So far, we have introduced pros and cons of working in Japan. If you want to work in Japan, you are welcomed to come to us, Staffing Japan!

Photo from フリー素材ぱくたそ

Business manners are courtesy practices to make your business run smoothly. If you ignore business manners, you may not be blamed by others, but you may lose the trust of your business partners and colleagues. In particular, since Japan is a high-context culture and talks on the premise that the other party has a certain level of knowledge, non-verbal communication, such as “perceive” and “read between lines” is often used.

A company is a group of people who work together in order to achieve a common goal. When you are outside, be aware of yourself as a company representative. This is because your movement, attitude, and language can determine the company’s impression.

Greet & smile
あ：明るくbrightly
い：いつもalways
さ：先に beforehand
つ：続けて会話に continue the conversation

“Thank you.” makes people feel motivated and happy.

The magic of smile
Smile makes people feel secure and trustworthy. It is important not to forget smiling at work.

How to smile sincerely
1. Sincere smile makes the muscle around your eyes move naturally
2. Show as much your upper teeth as possible.
3. The mouth corners should be rising

Wording
1. From command type to request type:
・何とかしてください。➔ご配慮いただけませんか。
・帰ったら伝えておきます。➔戻り次第申し伝えます。
・うちの誰を呼べばいいですか？➔失礼ですが、誰をお呼び致しましょうか？
・確かに伝言を受け取りました。➔確かにご伝言を承りました。
2. Positive answer
If you are not sure, reply after confirmation.
3. Use easy-to-understand words
Avoid jargon.
4. At least use polite language
When calling people, make sure to attach “San/sama”!

It is hard to write CV or resume, but it is crucial for applying for jobs. For interviewees, these resumes decide your first impression and play a big role in deciding whether to hire you.

We are going to introduce the important points of resumes.
① Work experience
Unlike hiring new graduates, work experience is the most important aspect of mid-career recruitment.

Tips:
・Fill in all the companies that you have worked for, including the companies that you only stayed for a short amount of time.
・ Do not abbreviate the company names
・ Writing in chronological order
・ Briefly explain the reason why you quitted your former jobs
・ If you are still currently employed, fill in “退職予定”or”現在に至る”.
・ Write “以上”at the final line
② Motivation
The motivation is like a “love letter” from the applicant to the company. The company that wants to o know “Why have you selected our company among so many companies?” The recruiter’s purpose is to understand your motivation and determine whether the applicant has enthusiasm and matches the desired character.

Motivation composition
・ Reason for selecting the company: You should combine the reasons for changing jobs with your past achievements / skills to explain why you want to apply for this enterprise.
・ Career vision after joining the company
③ Self-promotion
Selling yourself to the other party and getting it approved.

Tips
・ Show specific episodes to appeal
・ Narrow down to only one episode
・ If the number of words is not specified, write about 400 words
④ ID photo
The ID photo determines your first impression. Since the photo is not only the first place in the resume, but it also shows whether you have common sense. The interviewer is just a human being, so they are interested in the appearance. Furthermore, the photo is the only part has color in the resume, it will definitely stand out.

Tips:
・ Cleanness: Please refer to 【Interview clothes, hairstyle, makeup】 published on September 20th on our Facebook page.
・ Energetic impression: Aim for a natural smile. You are not supposed to open your mouth to show your teeth. If you are unfamiliar with smile, practice in front of the mirror.
⑤ Overall balance
Rather than focusing on whether your handwriting is pretty, it is more important to write sincere contents. In addition, for those who are changing jobs, the hope column is a mandatory item. “希望欄” this column is where you can explain your expected salary to the company.

Tips to make your handwriting in Japanese beautifully
・ Kanji should be written larger than Hiragana / Katakana
・ Characters with a small number of strokes should be small and characters with a large number of strokes should be written large.