Watch the YouTube video for this article
In the last lesson, we learned three key points to passing an interview.
In this lesson, you will learn about the characteristics of people who fail interviews.
We will explain in detail the five failure characteristics and countermeasures, so be sure to study hard so that you don’t fail the interview.
People who haven’t done company research
I would like to ask some questions to those who work for companies in Japan.
Can you answer these questions clearly, concisely and with specificity?
Why do you want to work for this company and not another?
Please tell me about your career plans and vision after joining the company.
If you research the company, you will have a clear reason why you want to work for this company rather than another company.
In addition, by researching the company, you can learn about the company’s business operations and the career paths of your senior colleagues, so you can see your own goals and aspirations after joining the company.
If you do not research the company, your motivation for applying will be vague, such as “Because I want to work in Japan,” which will make the interviewer think, “As long as it’s a Japanese company, doesn’t it matter which one?” and you may not be hired.
How to conduct corporate training
Before your interview, be sure to check out the website of the company you’re applying to and conduct some company research.
What kind of information do you look at and study on the website?
◆ What do you have in common with the company you applied to and yourself?
◆ What is the difference between the company you applied to and other companies?
◆ How can you utilize your skills and experience at the company you are applying to?
Using the above information as a reference, let’s conduct research on the company.
People who don’t review their work
During the interview, you will be asked detailed questions about your previous work duties and experience, the skills you can utilize in the job, and your own personality.
If you think that it’s just about you, that you’re just sharing your experiences so far, and that there’s no need to reflect on the work you’ve done up until now, then you’re in very real danger!
Modern people are busy with work and forget things very easily. They can’t even remember what they had for dinner three days ago, so how can they remember things from more than a year ago?
Make sure to check at key points what kind of work you have done and how you would like to contribute to the company.
How to review your work
You want to make as many appealing points as possible during an interview, but if you try to talk about everything, you may run out of time, or there may be too much information and you may not be able to understand what you were trying to say.
No matter how many points you want to highlight, limit it to three or so.
When I think back on the past while remembering the following things, memories of the past come back to me one after another.
◆ What kind of work did you do that earned you praise from your boss?
◆ What made your customers happy?
◆ Have you ever received an award from your company or felt that you had made a difference to someone?
By answering these questions, you can confirm the work you are responsible for and the skills you possess, in other words, your strengths as seen objectively by a third party, rather than your subjective selling points.
Praise from others is actually one of your biggest selling points, so be objective when talking about your accomplishments.
Someone who looks or talks badly
In an interview, appearance and speaking style (speed of speaking) are very important.
The reason why appearance is important is that a person’s appearance, speaking style, and speaking speed (tone of voice) will convey 93% of what you want to say to the other person.
Do you know Mehrabian’s Law?
When communicating with someone, how do people understand the content of the conversation?
55% understand content through visual information.
38% understand content through audio information.
7% understand content through audio information.
In other words, if your appearance, tone of voice, and speaking style are poor, even if you convey good content, only 7% of what you say will actually be conveyed to the other person.
In other words, if you pay attention to your appearance and the way you speak, even if the content is weak, it will still be conveyed well to the other person and you may be able to get a job offer.
How to improve your speaking skills
During the interview, make sure you have a bright expression and speak clearly and in a loud voice.
In particular, interviews for people planning to work in Japan from now on will be conducted online, making it more difficult to convey information than in face-to-face interviews.
Therefore, it is necessary to pay extra attention to the way you speak and the volume of your voice.
Because you are not a native Japanese speaker, be conscious of your appearance, the way you speak, and the volume of your voice, and speak calmly and slowly.
People who care too much about their salary or income
For those who are working in Japan for the first time, the annual salary is determined by the number of years of experience and the level of Japanese language proficiency, but there is an annual salary range within the company. For example, if you have 5 years of experience, an annual salary of 5 million yen would be reasonable, and the company will decide the annual salary after actually meeting you and confirming your skills and communication ability.
Some people, especially those who have never worked in Japan before, do not know much about prices, the cost of living in Japan, or even the yen, but hope for an unrealistically high annual salary.
To be honest, even Japanese people don’t earn that much, so why did you ask for that amount of salary? It would be good to have a reason, but if you just give your salary based on some vague ruler that you think is appropriate, you will likely be rejected.
Since I haven’t lived in Japan yet, it’s okay for me to say something irrelevant, but it will be seen as me not doing my research on working in Japan.
Let’s be careful not to convey unfounded, high salary expectations to countries where we have never lived or worked.
How to communicate your desired annual salary
When negotiating salary during an interview, you can say:
My current annual salary is 4.5 million yen, so I would like to be paid more if possible, but since this is my first time working in Japan, I would like to follow your company’s regulations.
If you communicate in this way, you will make a good impression.
Alternatively, since negotiating salary in a foreign country can be very difficult, leave it to a Japanese job hunting agent.
Your agent will be able to accurately communicate your current performance and market value.
Also, after joining the company, you can gain experience in Japan, which will increase your annual income when you change jobs again.
This is because they already have a visa and have work experience at a Japanese company, so they can be counted as immediately effective.
Your annual salary will likely increase in the future, so your first priority should be to work in Japan rather than worry about your annual salary, and you should be humble when negotiating your salary.
People who don’t seriously practice for interviews
People who are interviewing in Japanese for the first time may become nervous and not be able to convey their feelings well.
It is difficult to pass an interview in your native language, but if you have to take the interview in Japanese, the hurdle becomes even higher.
Even if you have work experience or excellent skills in your home country, it’s a waste if you can’t communicate them, so it’s important to prepare multiple times for the interview.
How to practice for an interview
The questions asked in interviews are generally fixed, so first you should find out what kind of questions you will be asked and how you should answer them in order to get a job offer.
Before the interview, find out as much as you can about the types of questions you might be asked so you will be prepared to respond to any question.
Some people may be too busy at work to practice, but try doing some image training for around 10 minutes while you’re in the bath or before you go to bed.
The more you practice, the higher your chances of getting a job offer, so all you can do is practice.