Into the World:
The Random Thoughts in My Mind

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 ...

With the end of the last call yesterday, my sales experience in Japan has officially topped two and a half months. Even though I am still without a single success to my belt, it feels as if, at least from a socio-cultural standpoint, I am starting to see what exactly is the role of a salesman here in Japan. In an IT company whose success is largely defined by aggressive sales rather than technical innovation, understanding the place of sales and its practitioners in Japanese society would be not only necessary but fundamental. In a previous post , I already established that sales skills are obviously not a cookie-cutter ability applicable in the same way to every country out there. But I am coming to realize that what is more important for the difference in sales across countries is social status and function rather than sheer approach and methodology. People would tend to listen to salesmen if the salesmen are perceived to carry more of a social significance, rather than just so...

"I have decided to graduate from Rakuten and go become a teacher in Uganda!" The tone from an outgoing coworker cannot have sounded more optimistic and forward-looking to a globetrotter like me. A sudden message indeed, and no doubt caught most of the people on the recipient mailing list with great surprise. While I am reading and feeling absolutely jealous and in complete respect for the courage of making such a risky move, I at the same time wonder how others are feeling about the same announcement.