My interview with a company

Hello,

Today I had an interview with a company I have been trying to enter for the last six months. Due to the earthquake and many companies closing due to this it has been over a month since my first interview with this company. As many might not know that in Japan most companies do not only have one interview like companies in the USA. In Japan many companies have a long and complicated selection process when looking for potential candidates. Similar to America the first step one has to do is send a resume to the company. If the company accepts your resume they will ask you to take a entrance exam. The exam differs from company to company however, the most used exam is the SPI exam. Most of these tests have math, English, or Japanese language components. If you pass this test you will be able to take part in the first interview with is usually a group interview with three to five candidates in the same room. If you pass this interview you might be asked to attend another group interview followed by a group discussion. If you make it to the next step you will be able to have a one on one interview with a manager from HR. If you pass this interview you will attend a final interview with an company executive.

Here are the steps again
1. Entry sheet
2. Test
3. Group interview
4. Group interview 2 " depends on company"
5. One on one Interview
6. Final interview
7. You got the job

Anyhow, back to my story. Today I had an interview with a company, it was my second interview so I was guessing that it would most likely be a group interview with other foreign students. Like always I arrived about 30 minutes early to the interview office in order to get myself situated. However, unlike the previous time the place was crowded with applicatants waiting for an interview. Upon sitting down my name was called along with three other people and we were asked to follow a man to another section of the building. Once we arrived to that section he asked us to take as seat and wait to be called on for an interview. The other two applicants who were seated with me started to chat with each other and I found my self chatting with them as well. After talking to them about the selection process I found out that this interview was our final interview. I was quite shocked to hear this because unlike them I have only had one interview prior to this one, while on the other hand they have had in the range of four to six interviews.

After 10 minutes or so I was called back for an interview. Knowing that I was an American I was given a interviewer who spoke great English. Upon entering the room I was asked to give a 2 minute long introduction about myself.

After the first 15 minutes of the interview he asked if I could do an interview in Japanese. I said it was okay; although I preferred to have the interview in English my mother tongue. The questions were the same as the English interview except for the final question which was " what does life mean to you?"

I was totally at loss for words when he asked me this question... Not only was I supposed to answer in full but I was supposed to answer it in Japanese.

To make a short story short I think I bombed this last question and it might have sabotaged my chances of entering this company but I will keep you guys updated.

Cherry Blossoms on Sunday

Today I was invited by a friend mine to join his Hanami party. This was my first time to ever attend a Hamai party in Shinjuku Gyoen. I arrived a little early in order to get some shopping done before heading to the park to reserve a spot. When I arrived in Shinjuku I was surprised that there were so many people waiting to get into the park for Hanami. After a good 20 minutes of looking my friend and I finally found a place and secured our spot. While waiting for the rest of the party we snacked on potato chips and other unhealthy snacks.

After the other two members showed up; we enjoyed chatting about politics, life in Japan and many other interesting topics.

It was a great day and it was nice to meet new people.

More Walks and Sakura

Today, I decided to go for another long walk in order to lose weight. This time Jess decided to join me again on this long journey. On our way to the final destination we ran into some nice Cherry blossom trees and took some pics.

Enjoy !!

Cherry blossom and the weightloss plan

The weather has really warmed up here in the Japan capital of Tokyo, which means it is time for me to start my walks again. Years ago I used to weight a total of 350 pounds but after returning to Japan and eating a healthier diet as well as maintaining a healthy diet I have lost a total of 170 pounds. Yet, recently I have been busy with job hunting and school which means I do not have time to eat healthy nor exercise. Which in return has led to me gaining some weight...




So today with the start of spring I decided to go back on the Lawrence diet which helped me lose all of my extra weight a couple of years back. Yesterday after my class ended I decided to walk from the Azabu Juban area to Shinjuku. My friend Jessica from school and also a native of Durango decided to join me on this two hour walk to the center of the city.

Along the way we saw many cherry blossom trees and decided to take a couple of pics.

It was a nice day with good talks, good walks and best of all good sushi :)

Clearing up

Today was my first day back at school after a long three week vacation. Today I found out that I need apply for a tourist visa as soon as I graduate and then I can apply for a job hunting visa once I get my diploma from the main campus. Soon after school ended I headed to Shibuya where I met a friend for dinner then headed to Esteban`s house to help him clean up his apartment before he left for America the next day.

It was a nice day and a bittersweet good bye

Going away party

Today, was Esteban`s going away party. Although this would most likely not be the last time I would see him it was still kinda depressing to see him go. Thephong and I had met previous to party in order to talk and catch up on what was going on the last week. Soon after meeting up with Esteban and two of his friends we headed to his favorite restaurant by the name of Otoya. After eating Otoya we headed out for a drink. When we got to the bar our mutual friends Masa, Joe, and Pat.

It was a great night of catching up with friends and eating good food. Nonetheless, I will miss hanging out with Esteban....

Walks around Tokyo

Many of my close friends know that I have worked hard to lose weight and somewhat maintain a fit figure... but recently I have gained some weight because of all of the great winter foods. However, in order for me to lose weight again I started doing my long walks around Tokyo.

Here are some pics I have taken while walking around Tokyo alone and with friends

Last years Christmas Party!!!!

Last year was a busy year for me. Not only did I go to school full time and wrote my graduation thesis. but I also was working part time every day. Since then my life has slowed down quite a bit. I quit my job and my life has slowed down because of the earthquake. However, before I quit my job I attended their annual Christmas party. Here are some pictures I took during the annual Christmas party.

A walk in Korea Town with Thephong

Last week Thephong and I went for a walk in Shinokubo. The reason being we had a lot of time to spare and we have not talked to each other in months....

It was nice catching up on old times and also trying to eat some good Korean food!!!