Career Fly(CF) : Thank you very much for having us today. It’s nice seeing you all.
Mr. Tamon(T)& Mr.Vivek(V) : Thank you for giving us such a nice opportunity.
CF : Well, how is your Life in Japan? Do you get used to it?
V : So far so good. I am liking the culture here. I am having the best experience.
T : So am I.
CF : How is Life in Japan?
Vivek San : The best part is being systematic and I am learning to be more organized. I am having the best experience.
T : I like Shibuya, Harajuku & Kawasaki Daishi.
CF : Sounds both of you are really having an enjoyable time here! Actually, how did you career fly in Japan? Why you decided to come to Japan?
V : Actually it’s a very interesting story. After graduating from my engineering college in 2014 I was placed with a Japanese company NTT. There, I got an opportunity to learn Japanese and was introduced to the Japanese working culture.
While working in NTT I also worked on other projects from Germany, projects from UK and projects from Japan. There I clearly saw the difference in the working style of all these nations. And I liked the Japanese style the most.
CF: I see, but can you please explain what difference you are talking about?
V : Foremost, Japanese people are very honest and they treat their customer like a king. Since they want to give the best result to their customer, Japanese people work with so much dedication that the output is just perfect. I was very impressed. I found such moral values of Japanese people in sync with my personal values. Therefore, I decided to work and live in Japan permanently.
Japanese autos and electronics are the best in the world and renowned. I wanted to be the part of such an environment, contribute my best, and enhance my skills.

CF : Very interesting. So how did you land with Goalist?
V : I applied through a consultant and was interviewed by various companies. But when I was interviewed in Goalist by Ryo-san(Goalist’s CEO).
I really liked him and the environment in Goalist. Now, it has been an enriching one year with Goalist. I am learning a lot here and living my dream.
T : I had two options – either to stay in Canada or to move to Japan. I chose to come to Japan because I wanted to become an expert professional like a Japanese. I believe if you start your career in Japan you become the best professional in the world, be it a bartender or an engineer. So I wanted to experience this level of professionalism and also because my name is Suzuki*. Lol *His name is Tamon Suzuki (鈴木多聞)
CF : What you love the most about this company?
V : Well as you know, engineers are crazy about solving problems and I am one of them. I am hungry for challenges and love to solve new complicated problems. I enjoy learning new technical languages. Goalist fulfills all these criteria. Every day brings new learnings and challenges. I like that. Also when I spoke to Ryo-san I liked his attitude. So I decided to work under him.
T : I applied for various jobs through jopus and was finally recruited in jopus itself (a sister firm of Goalist). Now I work to help other foreigners get their desired job. Lol.
Goalist is a really nice company. I really appreciate them for giving me this opportunity. I am getting better every day. I choose Goalist because I liked the profile. Here, I can become a better engineer and learn many new languages.

You work here, you accept new challenges, you try and ultimately get better at it.
V : Yes I agree with Tamon-San. I also like the fact that Goalist trusts its employees. They give you responsibility and believe that their employees will do good. Back in India, I never got the opportunity to work on the front end. But here, after one month of training, Goalist put me in a project which was being built from scratch. Now, after one year, I have experienced all the stages of a project. So I believe having trust in the employees is very important which made me more responsible & confident.
CF : Wow. It sounds like a dream job. So what was the most surprising thing in Japan when you came first?
V : Many, but the foremost one was that everybody follows the basic rules even though rules are not specified anywhere. But everybody diligently follows these rules and respects them.
Second, the attitude of the Japanese people. For example, they take the tension word very positively. Third being the weather, it is highly unpredictable. In one week you can experience rain, chilly winds, sunny or cloudy weather.
T : First, Japanese people are respectful for everybody, second the konbini stores(convenience stores). Lol

CF : And what about the corporate culture?
V : I was in a very robotic environment back in India. My work was being reviewed many times and I had to seek permission for everything. But here everything is transparent and I have freedom, so that was surprising for me.
T : I am learning to be the best professional here. I learned how to work in a team with Goalist. Also, how to make reports and monitor the growth of the project every day.
CF : Also, Talking about working in Team, how is your experience of working with colleagues from other countries, how easily you can communicate with them?
T : In Goalist it’s easy. I listen and learn. I have learned one concept in Japan, that is, Sempai – Kohai, from Manga and is very important to follow in corporate life.
V : I feel in Goalist Sempai-Kohai is flat. Unlike most of the companies, here I can ask my director to join me for lunch or a coffee just because there is a flat hierarchy system.
CF : That’s lots of learning. Is it difficult to be on time as per the Japanese standard?
V : It was never a problem for me. I like the concept of being on time. Trains here are always on time. It’s easy for me to follow this rule because I avoid giving reasons why I got late.
T : I grew as a human being here in Goalist. Earlier when I was a student, it was difficult for me, but not now.
CF : How did your family and friends react when you came to Japan?
V : My parents were excited for me, and also because Japan is much safer than India. However, my friends envy me especially. For the kind of work I do. I work in all the latest technologies and most of my friends aspire to have an experience like me.
T : My father is Japanese so he was elated and my friends: they all are crazy to come to Japan. They all like Shibuya, Harajuku, pubs here and the weekend life of Japan.
CF : How about Japan culture & food? How was your transition?
V: Being a vegetarian, food was a bit of a problem for me initially. I faced a few health issues, but now I have switched to non-vegetarian and I am loving the Japanese food. Japanese food is considered to be the healthiest food in the world.
CF: Which is your favorite dish?www
V : I like all Japanese dishes now. Every week my favorite dish keeps changing.

CF : Do you have any recommendations for people who want to work in Japan?
V & T : Learn Japanese.If not for work but for day to day life in Japan. It’s necessary.
T : In the rest of the world Kami-Sama decides if you go to heaven or hell, but in Japan, the people decide. You are being judged, so one has to behave properly always.
V : Yes, I agree. In Japan people constantly judge you and expect you to follow the rules. This is a peace loving country. So all the fellow engineers who want their career to fly in Japan, please don’t come with a mindset to destroy their peace.
CF : So how did you learn Japanese? And in how much time?
V : I learned Japanese through my previous company. It is not that difficult. By putting 8 hours daily, I was able to clear N4 in 4 months. And from there my Career Fly in Japan. One just has to do hard work and be focussed.
T : I learned it from my grandfather. When I was in France I used to visit him during summer break all through my childhood. That’s how I learned Japanese.

CF : What do you have to say about Gender Gap in a Japanese workplace?
V : I don’t think there is any issue of the gender gap at least in Goalist. You can very well see the ratio in this room itself. (That time there were 6 females versus 2 males in the room)
T : For me, Japan is a super feminist company. People respect women a lot here. Everybody gets the same opportunity here.
CF : In the last one year did you have any weird or any bad experience?
T : You get judged a lot here. Even if you didn’t do anything bad you might feel you are being judged.
V: Yes I also feel people judge you a lot. All you have to do is to follow the rules and just be a part of their society. Future candidates should try to make Japan’s social ethics as their own personal ethics. Then, they will have no problem in adjusting in Japan. And as I mentioned, adjusting to the food was difficult for me.
CF: Do you think “overtime” word is exaggerated in Japan?
V : Yes, definitely. In Goalist there is no overtime but sometimes you are so involved in your work that you don’t realize if you put in extra hours. The office time in Goalist is 10am to 3pm to avoid peak time in metros, but when individuals are working on any project or work, they get so engrossed that they don’t realize the extra time.
T : In Goalist, it’s not there but yes you feel it around you, in trains you see people tired. But not everybody. If you enjoy what you are working you won’t feel the burden of extra time. You actually enjoy what you are doing.
CF : What do think about Nomikai : the after office hours drink parties?
V: It is fun to see our serious colleagues talking about other topics after office hours and having fun.
CF : How do you think your career will fly further in Goalist?
V : I am really excited about the AI project that I am doing. I had no experience in AI and soon I am going to have my own product made by our team. So maybe in future, I will have a bigger team to take care of the new product.
T : I really like my work: helping foreigners find a job in Japan. In the future, I would love to make new products from scratch.
Being trusted by directors makes us better employees
CF : One best thing about Japanese corporate culture?
V : You learn to become an enthusiastic worker, dedicated to provide the best services/products to your client. Goalist is a very transparent company and we have monthly recognition award on the basis of voting, which I think is a better & unbiased way to recognize the employees.
T : If you work in Japan or start your career here, you become the best professional in your field. Be it a bartender or an engineer, you are trained in such a way that you become the top class in your field.
CF : Is there any last piece of advices?
V : Kindly learn a bit of Japanese and don’t come with a mindset to trouble others. Japan is a peace-loving and super professional country, try to be like them.
T : Be yourself!

(On the left side)Career Fly Richa, Tamon-san, Vivek-san, and Career Fly Tomomi.

HR tech company “Goalist“
Mr. Tamon is from France and has lived in Chile & Canada as well. His father is Japanese. He currently works in the Full-Stack Data Management team at Goalist. His role is to upgrade an already existing project. He believes that once you work in Japan, you get exposed to such a culture that you can become the best professional in your field.

Mr. Vivek is from the West central part of India. After graduating from his engineering college in 2014 he was placed with a Japanese company, NTT. There he learned Japanese and was introduced to the Japanese working culture. While working in NTT he was exposed to projects from other countries as well. Of all of these, he liked the Japanese one the most & decided to shift to Japan. Here at Goalist, He is a part of the two-person AI team. He is working on some new products & soon, AI will be an inseparable part of Goalist.