My name is Nicole and I have studied Japanese since I was a Senior in High school. I was born in Tokyo, Japan and lived there for about 2 and a half years while my parents both worked for AT&T in Tokyo. I then moved to New Jersey where I have lived ever since. My mom was not never attached the the Japanese culture like my dad is. My dad still goes to Japan every year since I left as a baby and takes shodo classes at NYU once a week. We have many family friends who my dad still keeps in touch with today. I have grown up with the language my dad always using certain phrases on a daily basis. After coming to UVM I was originally a Biology major but after taking a couple Asian Studies courses and beginning the Japanese language classes I knew that is what I wanted to study.
My uncle works for another bank in the city and asked for me to send him my resume on a whim so I did. I got an interview that because of school obligations I was unable to attend. However I then returned home for spring break and went into the office and sat down and waited for someone to meet me. After waiting about 3 hours someone finally came down and said ” I like your moxy come on up.” I was then asked some questions about my background and why I thought I would be the best choice. Then at the end of the “interview” (which in my opinion was not very formal and probably would have been more intense if I actually showed up when I was supposed to) the man who had been speaking with me said “You will do, we will be in touch.” We shook hands and then he was gone. So I was excited I got the job but then again completely confused because I did not know when I would start, what I would do, who I would be working with or much of anything for that matter. Then a week into my summer vacation I got a call on Monday and I finally got to speak with my supervisor. He said “We will have you work Wednesdays, See you around 7AM this Wednesday and we shall get started.”
I found that working for a Japanese company I was often faced with many challenges. There are many differences in the way that Americans run business compared with the way Japanese run their business practices. I found that often the presentations would try to get a point across but the main points would sometimes be “lost in translation” because of the way that the Japanese phrase things. I believe that because of their high focus on being polite main points can often be misinterpreted.
I worked for UFJ bank over the summer one day a week. I would primarily be proofreading and translating emails. I would often arrive at work around 7AM and stay in the office until about 830- 9 PM. The job was more for an experience rather than the money. While they did pay for my monthly train pas and metro card I did not get paid much, but I did not really mind because I think working for the company just really opened my eyes to how different it really is working for a Japanese company. I even had it easy because my job was here in American so I believe that I got like a “crash course” in Japanese business.
I would go through presentations that my superiors would plan on presenting to American clients just to double check the points they were trying to get across were clearly stated. Also I would often have many office workers forward me emails that they would have me translate and then tell them the main points so they know how to answer.
They found it to be more efficient especially with lengthy emails that would take them more time to answer and go through than it would have if I helped.
The atmosphere of the office was very unusual. I found that there were many people there working long days like myself but I often felt like I was the one working the hardest. People would certainly seem busy.
In the evenings I always would wait until my supervisor left before I would leave the office. I noticed this after working there for about 2 weeks that this was how other people of lower rank would act. I found that they would wait until their superior above them left the office before they would leave. This often meant my hours were very erratic. Since I did not have a set “work day” I would often never know what time I would get home or what time in the morning I would get my first assignment.
I found the job quite stressful at times because I was thrown into a business environment that was very different than the one I had become accustomed to. I found there were a couple funny things that I noticed working at the bank. I went through more business cards working there and interacting with people from the company than I have ever given out. All in all, it was a great experience for those looking for jobs in Japan or even in Japanese companies here in America. It is very different and there is no arguing with that.