Friday, December 28, 2018

Back in Japan - PART ONE - the story so far

After a very long hiatus - Totally Japan is back in action! I moved back to Japan in March 2018 to work with Interac as an ALT.

Quite a lot to talk about! Let's dive right in :)

So after leaving Japan in 2012, I moved back to the UK and finished off my university course. I managed to get a distinction on my graduation paper (about the impact of mobile video games on the traditional video games market - if you were interested) but unfortunately I suck at other subjects and ended up with just a decent score on my degree. Still I passed with a BSc in Business and Japanese!

During the period of job-hunting just after I graduated, I was head-hunted by a recruiter who introduced me to a small investment analysis company in the Midlands. They deal exclusively with Japanese companies and they wanted someone with good Japanese skills to expand their team from 2 to 3. I went there for an interview and they ended up persuading me to stay over night (they put me up in a hotel) so that I could get a feel what an actual working day would be like. The job was awesome and the pay they offered was fantastic for a graduate just stepping out of university. I stayed there for about 11 months and then, for my own foolish and romantic reasons (geez, don't ask), I quit and moved back to my hometown.

Shortly after I managed to find a sales role at software development company looking to boost business and my Japanese skills helped seal the deal. I spent the best part of two years using my Japanese (half the time) to find new business. That involved me getting to go to Tokyo once or twice to technology conferences and overall it was great! Downside was that B2B sales is extremely stressful. You have someone constantly badgering you, "where are your sales? where are your sales?" and eventually you get to a point where you think "Why am I doing this to myself?". Sales is a very up and down role. When you're doing well you feel like you're on the moon but when things aren't going well you really feel like rock bottom.

I left that company and joined a small event management company in the same city. Absolutely fantastic, warm atmosphere and the best office banter I've ever had. It was sales but more achievable sales. Commission was something you could grab rather than some mythic six-figure sum that you could only hope to get. I stayed there for over two years and it was fantastic. By moving into a shared-house and working my arse off, I managed to pay off my debts and even get my teeth sorted!

It was all building up to the moment where I could say "OK I think I'm financially ready to move back to Japan".....

Join me next time for PART TWO!

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