10 Frequent Asked Questions in Japan Job Interview

Syukatsu (Job Hunting) had been one of the most exhausting thing I have done in my life after jyukken (University Entrance Exam). Unlike most countries, Japan companies have a very unusual practice of simultaneous recruiting of new graduates period which happened annually from April. The same thing happened to all Japan university entrance exams as well. 

In this post, I would like to highlight the top 10 frequent asked questions during my interview with various Japanese companies for the last few months. 

1. Why did you choose to come to Japan? 
     (なぜ日本にきましたか？)
Tell them what made you came to Japan at the first place. For me, I told them I have always admire their technology and electronics since very young age because our family use refrigerator, television, car and etc from Japan, which somehow implant the mindset of "Japan=Technology" within me. Oh ya, I told them about my obsession with Malay dubbed anime too.    


2. What's your strength. 
     (自分の強み・長所を教えてください)

Are you a responsible person? Or a person with perseverance? 

No matter what answer you give them, just remember to insert suitable elaborations so that the interviewer can truly relate you to what you are saying.   

3. Do you do any part time job? 
     (アルバイトされていますか？)

This question was among the most popular ones. If you are doing it, tell them your part time experience and if you have none (like me), just tell them about your internship thing instead. Don't make "I don't do part time job" become one of your negative points to them. Explain why you don't need it.

4. Do you participate in any club or activities in university?
     (大学の部活に参加されていますか？)

I haven't been a very active person in university or college. Similar to the question above, if you have none (like me, AGAIN) just tell them you don't. Luckily I join MSAJ this year so I can talk about that instead. So why don't you join the club too? :)

5. Have you ever suffered any major setback?
     (挫折したことありますか？)

This was a hard question for me. I think at our age, most of us haven't really experienced something that BIG yet. I wanted to tell them the job hunting thing drives me crazy, but I didn't. haha. It was an interview after all. So tell them something they want to hear and don't forget to tell them how you overcome those moment. 

6. What's you weaknesses 
     (短所を教えてください)
Read question 2.


7. How frequent do you go back to your own country?
     (国に帰ったことありますか？)

I think their purpose of asking this question is to find out the possible on-leave will you take in the future when you start working. As a foreign student, tell them you have already get used to the away-from-home situation and have no problem be far from home or even travel around. 

8. How about your parents? Do they encourage you to work in Japan?
     (○○さんのご両親は○○さんが日本で就職することをどう思いますか？) 

I was pretty surprise when I was asked about this. Never would I thought that they actually care about how my family felt. Mostly I think it's because they don't want their workers to leave unexpectedly due to family objections after the employment. 

9. What other sectors are you currently looking at?
     ( 弊社の他にどんな企業を探していますか？)

Tell them what others sectors are you currently looking. IT, researcher, sales or others. Personally, I don't think this effect much on their employment decision. They are only trying to guess whether other sectors have already started their selection process.

10. Do you have any question for me?
     (何か質問ありますか？)

This is the most important question throughout the interview. NEVER EVER say no because it will certainly trash your chance for being selected as candidate for next interview. The logic behind this theory (what most people say) is you might give the "I am not that interested" or "I don't even know what I want to know about your company" impression to the interviewer. They are searching for an enthusiast partner to work together in the future. Which is why if you don't show them your interest and your passion towards your question, you might be cross off their list immediately after the interview ends.     

All the questions above are based on my personal experience. 

It might not be applicable for all interviews, but hopefully you'll find it helpful.

Don't forget to practice those sentences in your mind as well as speaking it out loud over and over again before the interview. Speak with confidence. Be able to receive the positive energy in that space. And don't be late. That's all that matters.

Good luck to those who are going to have interviews.

And thank you for those who stopped by :)

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