Does the Japanese Education and Job Search Process Stifle Personal Ambitions?
As the news of my imminent departure from Japan and Rakuten continues to spread like a wildfire within the company, the compilation of reactions is certainly becoming a tool for me to further understand what it means to be a salary-men. The stability-seeking middle class backbone of Japanese corporate world, so loyal to their companies and so diligent in fulfilling top-down orders day in and day out, becomes something very interesting when even they become disillusioned with reality within the current work environment.
But before talking about disillusion and all, it is important to note just how "stability-oriented" Japanese education and job-search processes really are. Because of continued tendency for mass hiring, job posts are generally specified for new grads, nor are job posts really open to selection by the new grads themselves. Unless the new grad in question have seriously strong skill in one aspect, he or she will simply be placed, along with most others, in some sort of new grad position generally used to determine who has the toughness to grind it out and who will simply quit.
The funny thing is that the filter for new grads, for most companies, is sales. It is an additional role played by sales in Japanese society. In fact, observing the sales potential of a new grad began even before the new grad enters the company. During job interviews, the new grads are judged by their ability to "sell" themselves to the interviewer by keeping a good conversation while not sounding too self-righteous.
Of course, "selling" yourself well is necessary to succeed for job interviews in any country, but only in Japan does that act of "selling" yourself becomes so well-connected to the actual job assigned after entering the company. And precisely because most new grads know that they have to be tested by the filter anyway (no matter what Japanese company they enter), they have no reason or incentive to really think about and decide on what they really want to do for a career during their college years.
Now, with this sort of background cleared up, it is easily explained why people will feel confused (and outraged, in many cases) when a salary-man seeks to quit a company in such a short period of time. For one thing, the new grad is obviously not showing any gratitude for the company instilling toughness into him. But more importantly, it just makes no sense that the new grad is leaving before the "filter" (in this case, sales) can effectively measure whether he or she is a good fit in the company.
Amid the confusion, the reaction can be in two directions. One is the standard "guilt" passage. No congratulations, no goodbyes, just the standard "why are you quitting when we invested so much in you?!" grilling. The griller in question seeks to drag back the new grad from the edge of quitting by making him feel that he cannot leave until his responsibility is fulfilled (something that will obviously take years and years, given that Japanese job-training program is designed based on the assumption that salary-men are expected to work pretty much their entire lifetimes within a particular company)
The other is the "acceptance and encouragement" passage. There is hearing on the background, logic, and rationale for the new grad's choice without any excess negative opposition. The boss seeks to keep a good image with the new grad by showing that the company supports the new grad's decision and always welcome the new grad to reapply. The new grad leave the company with a good impression of the company as an open, accepting place that he can always seek to reapply.
Especially in my case, in which the reporting occurred after the choice is made, accepting my choice become a required presumption for any discussion on my leaving. Making me feel guilty about leaving is not going to change the fact that I am leaving. If anything, making me feel guilty that I am wasting the company's money can only do so much as to make me realize that I should help the company by leaving the company earlier than I originally scheduled.
The non-specific filter-infused Japanese way of hiring new grads make the new grads less likely to think about their futures other than what their companies hand over to them. The company is confused and angered by the occasional rebels who show up with their own ideas of future careers incompatible with the company vision. Sometimes the company manage to force the rebels into accepting their fates in the company, and sometimes they fail and complete drive away the rebels...really makes one wonder, is the Japanese system of turning students into productive members of society a good one?
But before talking about disillusion and all, it is important to note just how "stability-oriented" Japanese education and job-search processes really are. Because of continued tendency for mass hiring, job posts are generally specified for new grads, nor are job posts really open to selection by the new grads themselves. Unless the new grad in question have seriously strong skill in one aspect, he or she will simply be placed, along with most others, in some sort of new grad position generally used to determine who has the toughness to grind it out and who will simply quit.
The funny thing is that the filter for new grads, for most companies, is sales. It is an additional role played by sales in Japanese society. In fact, observing the sales potential of a new grad began even before the new grad enters the company. During job interviews, the new grads are judged by their ability to "sell" themselves to the interviewer by keeping a good conversation while not sounding too self-righteous.
Of course, "selling" yourself well is necessary to succeed for job interviews in any country, but only in Japan does that act of "selling" yourself becomes so well-connected to the actual job assigned after entering the company. And precisely because most new grads know that they have to be tested by the filter anyway (no matter what Japanese company they enter), they have no reason or incentive to really think about and decide on what they really want to do for a career during their college years.
Now, with this sort of background cleared up, it is easily explained why people will feel confused (and outraged, in many cases) when a salary-man seeks to quit a company in such a short period of time. For one thing, the new grad is obviously not showing any gratitude for the company instilling toughness into him. But more importantly, it just makes no sense that the new grad is leaving before the "filter" (in this case, sales) can effectively measure whether he or she is a good fit in the company.
Amid the confusion, the reaction can be in two directions. One is the standard "guilt" passage. No congratulations, no goodbyes, just the standard "why are you quitting when we invested so much in you?!" grilling. The griller in question seeks to drag back the new grad from the edge of quitting by making him feel that he cannot leave until his responsibility is fulfilled (something that will obviously take years and years, given that Japanese job-training program is designed based on the assumption that salary-men are expected to work pretty much their entire lifetimes within a particular company)
The other is the "acceptance and encouragement" passage. There is hearing on the background, logic, and rationale for the new grad's choice without any excess negative opposition. The boss seeks to keep a good image with the new grad by showing that the company supports the new grad's decision and always welcome the new grad to reapply. The new grad leave the company with a good impression of the company as an open, accepting place that he can always seek to reapply.
Especially in my case, in which the reporting occurred after the choice is made, accepting my choice become a required presumption for any discussion on my leaving. Making me feel guilty about leaving is not going to change the fact that I am leaving. If anything, making me feel guilty that I am wasting the company's money can only do so much as to make me realize that I should help the company by leaving the company earlier than I originally scheduled.
The non-specific filter-infused Japanese way of hiring new grads make the new grads less likely to think about their futures other than what their companies hand over to them. The company is confused and angered by the occasional rebels who show up with their own ideas of future careers incompatible with the company vision. Sometimes the company manage to force the rebels into accepting their fates in the company, and sometimes they fail and complete drive away the rebels...really makes one wonder, is the Japanese system of turning students into productive members of society a good one?
Comments
Post a Comment