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What the interviewer is checking during the interview is whether you have communication skills.
Good communication skills does not mean JLPT N1 level.
In other words, having good communication skills and being able to speak Japanese are two completely different things.
Surprisingly, many people who pass the JLPT N1 and speak fluent Japanese are actually rejected because of their lack of communication skills.
In many cases, even Japanese nationals are rejected if they lack communication skills.
In other words, what is important is communication skills rather than the JLPT.
In today’s lesson, we will discuss communication skills in detail and show you how to develop them.
What are communication skills?
We would like to briefly inform you of the difference between having a high level of communication skills and being able to speak Japanese.
What are good communication skills,
It is the ability to understand the intent of the other person’s question and to answer in a short, clear manner.
Ask questions as a means of obtaining the information you seek.
Why did the other person ask this question? What does the other person want to know through this question? If you can answer the question from the other person’s point of view, you are considered to have good communication skills.
The point is not to answer questions off the mark.
On the other hand, what is being able to speak Japanese?
Just answer their questions without thinking about how to convey the information the other person is looking for in an easy-to-understand way.
In response to the other person’s question, you end up talking a lot about things you are not asked, and in the end, they don’t know what you are trying to say.
The kind of person a company wants to hire is someone who understands the intent of the question correctly and can answer that question in a short, easy-to-understand manner.
Are you able to consider the intent of the other person’s question and communicate only the information they are seeking in a short, easy-to-understand manner?
If not, that’s okay.
Let’s learn the method I am going to share with you, which is also commonly used by Japanese in business situations.
① convey a conclusion
Provide a short, clear answer to the question first.
② Explain the reasons in detail
After the conclusion, provide a short, clear explanation of why you think so.
③ Conclusion again.
Conclude with a conclusion such as “So, that’s why ”.
Let’s use an example of a question asked in an interview and compare good and bad way.
① self-introduction
In your self-introduction, tell your name, country of origin, and your current job.
Let’s compare good and bad examples.
本日はお時間をいただきありがとうございます。
日本から来ました、田中太郎です。
これまで５年間、モバイルアプリを開発してきました。
どうぞよろしくお願いいたします。
Thank you for your time today.
My name is Taro Tanaka and I am from Japan.
I have been developing mobile applications for the past five years.
Please take a moment to meet me.
This example is very simple and makes it easy to understand what kind of work you have done.
In your self-introduction, it is not necessary to explain your job in detail.
Because you will be asked questions about your job later, you can explain in detail there.
Then let’s look at some bad examples.
日本から来ました、田中太郎です。
昔からプログラミングが好きだったので、ＩＴの大学に入学しました。
大学では様々なアプリを作りました。
そこではＪａｖａを使って開発したので、Ｊａｖａのプロジェクトをやってみたいです。
日本のテクノロジーはレベルが高いのでスキルアップもしたいです。
My name is Taro Tanaka and I am from Japan.
I have always loved programming,
I enrolled in an IT university.
At the university, I created various applications.
I developed them using Java,
I would like to work on a Java project.
Japanese technology is at a high level, so I would like to improve my skills.
This is not a good self-introduction, and the interviewer will be wondering, “When are you going to finish?
While it is tempting to appeal by telling them everything about your career to date, too much information can make it difficult to understand what you are trying to say, so keep your self-introduction brief and to the point, in one minute or less.
② reason for a change of occupation
In your reason for changing jobs, be specific about why you want to change jobs and whether there is any reason why you must quit your current position.
Let’s look at good and bad examples and compare them.
スキルアップしたいからです。
現職では主にコーディングとテストの下流工程がメインです。
スキルアップのため、フリーランスとして要件定義から基本–詳細設計など上流工程も経験しており、上司に上流工程からプロジェクトに参画したい旨伝えましたが、もう少しコーディングを経験してからと言われました。
なので、上流工程からアプリを作り、さらにスキルアップしたいからです。
I would to improve my skills.
In my current job, I am mainly involved in coding and testing.
To improve my skills, I have experienced requirement definition and basic and detailed design as a freelancer.
I told my boss that I would like to join a project and do all phases, but he said I should wait until I have more experience in coding.
So, I would like to improve my skills by doing not only cording but also requirement definition and design phase.
It is easier to understand the reason for changing jobs if you start with the conclusion that you want to improve your skills.
Second, you are consistent in their reasons for changing jobs, as you clearly state why you need to change jobs.
This reason will make sense to the interviewer.
Then here is a bad example.
前のプロジェクトでは開発でしたが、今のプロジェクトではテストのお仕事をしています。
今のＱＡでは全くコーディングができず、あまり好きな仕事ではありません。
ＱＡも大事な仕事ですが、私には合わないと思ったから転職を検討しています。
In my previous project I was a developer, but I’m working on testing in my current project.
I can’t code at all in my current QA position, so it’s not a job I really like.
QA is an important job, but I don’t think it’s a good fit for me, so I’m considering changing jobs.
With this reason, I don’t understand why you want to change jobs after all.
If you are unclear about why you want to change jobs and tell them that you are quitting because the job “doesn’t suit you,” they may think that even if you change jobs, you will quit again if the job doesn’t suit you.
When communicating something, start with the conclusion.
Then give specific reasons for the statement, which will make the statement easier to understand.
③ Knowledge, experience and skills that can be applied
In the interview, tell the interviewer two things about how you can contribute your past experience to the company.
And by telling the basis for your contribution along with it, you can make a convincing appeal.
Again, be careful not to give too much information to get a job offer, or you will end up not knowing what you are trying to say.
Let’s compare good and bad examples.
5年間フルスタックエンジニアとして開発してきた経験を、そして日本語だけでなく、英語も話せるのでグローバルに貢献したいです。
前職では開発だけでなく、リーダーとしてコードレビューやタスクのアサインなど部下のマネジメントも担当しておりました。
タイトなスケジュールでも、チーム一丸となり、問題が起きてもミーティングでアイデアを出しながらリリースすることができました。
御社でも開発だけでなく、マネジメント経験を活かして将来はPMとして働きたいと考えております。
I would like to contribute globally, using my five years of experience as a full-stack engineer and my ability to speak both Japanese and English.
In my previous job, I was not only in charge of development, but also in managing my subordinates as a leader, including code reviews and task assignments.
Despite the tight schedule, the team came together and, even when problems arose, we were able to release the product by sharing ideas in meetings.
At your company, I would like to utilize my management experience, as well as my development experience, in the future as a PM.
By communicating how you can contribute your past experience at the beginning of a sentence to the company, it will be easier for others to understand.
In addition, by including your own actual experiences (evidence), the sentences will be more convincing.
It is difficult to show everything in interviews, and it is also extremely difficult for the interviewer to assess a candidate’s skills in a few interviews.
Therefore, when you appeal to the public, you should include your own personal experiences, which will serve as the basis for your story and make your story more compelling.
Then here is a bad example.
前職では、フロントエンドの開発をしていました。
現在はバックエンドの開発を担当しており、上流工程での開発をメインに担当しております。
これまでの経験を活かして、御社に貢献したいです。
In my previous job, I worked on front-end development.
I’m currently in charge of back-end development, and I’m mainly responsible for upstream development.
I’d like to utilize my experience to contribute to your company.
This example conveys that you have experience, but without a detailed explanation, what programming language did you use to develop the product? What phase are you talking about?
Those kind of information is lacking.
As mentioned before, good communication skills mean understanding the intent of the question [what does this person want to know through this question? and answer the question in a short and simple manner.
The intent of this question is to understand the applicant’s previous experience so that the company can determine if the applicant is a good match for the project to which they wish to assign the applicant.
If you don’t provide detailed information such as How many years of front/back end development have you done? and what is your main programming language?, they will not be able to match you to the project and you will not be hired.
Lesson Summary
Good communication skills mean
The ability to understand the intent of a question and convey the information the other person wants in a short, easy-to-understand manner.
If you are asked any questions, think about the following before answering.
Why is the person asking the questions?
What do they want to know through this question?
When speaking with Japanese people, whether at a job interview or in the workplace, always start with the conclusion. After conclusion, we Japanese people tell them why.
This will improve communication skills and communication will be smoother.
As a result, you can pass the interview.
Please try to practice this speaking style in your interviews.