Interview -- Dec. 14, 2005
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Web site advises on job openings in China
By SHINICHI TERADA
Staff writer
First money moved to China, now people are following suit.
After many years of ambitious Japanese investment in its fast-growing economy, China is becoming an attractive and challenging place to work for young Japanese, according to Rika Kashiwagi, a founding member of a unique online job information service "International Xinhuajob" (www.xinhuajob.jp).
"We are looking for Japanese who want to work in China. One qualification is a strong command of English and/or Chinese languages," said Kashiwagi, 34, a veteran career consultant. "Another important qualification is work experience. Two or three years is preferable."
The Web site, launched last April by Works Creative Ltd., specializes in offering job information for Japanese who want to use their English and/or Chinese-language skills for their careers. The job categories range from manufacturing to information technology, and the work locations from Japan to China and other Asian countries. The key words, Kashiwagi said, are, "English," "Chinese" and "career."
It is quite natural to see a rise in demand for Japanese in the Chinese labor market, Kashiwagi said, with a large number of leading Japanese firms doing business there.
High in demand are Japanese in their late 20s who studied in China after several years of work experience in Japan. "An increasing number of Japanese companies operating in China are promoting Chinese employees to management-level positions and are hiring young and talented Japanese to work for them," she said.
Aside from China, young Japanese job-seekers with work experience may find it challenging to work in other Asian countries, like Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore, where leading Japanese companies do business.
Behind the launch of her unique Web site lies the trend that sees more and more young Japanese falling in love with Asia's ethnic diversity, energy, optimism and hope.
Kashiwagi was one of them.
In her early 20s, she visited Malaysia twice as a tourist and was instantly smitten by the country, especially its dramatic economic turnaround. She decided to quit her first job and seek a new career there.
"If I continue to work here, I may end up climbing the corporate ladder, marrying and leaving the company," she said. "If I really want to go, now is the only time for me to take action," she recalled thinking at the time.
She sent resumes to about 30 hotels in Malaysia where Japanese stayed. She assumed that the hotels might need a Japanese-speaking person.
In an interview with a hotel manager, to make up for her lack of experience, she emphasized her determination and aspirations by describing to her a book she was reading about a professional hotel worker.
Kashiwagi, then 26 years old, finally got a job offer from a hotel in the Malacca area.
She worked as a sales representative for Japanese customers in Malaysia and Singapore, and took care of Japanese tourists and managed the hotel's housekeepers.
Japanese and Malaysian hotel hospitality standards are completely different, she said. Japanese customers, especially elderly people, took it for granted that a hotel has tea-making facilities and toothbrushes in each room, she said with a laugh. Thus, she had to prepare for those items and paid attention to every detail in rooms for Japanese customers, she said.
Working in a foreign country is not always easy. The language is different, religions are different and lifestyles are different in Malaysia, she observed. Kashiwagi said that each person values different things in life and has different ideas about their career.
"Surrounded by those differences every day, I learned to understand them and accept them. For those who work in different cultures, communication or the ability to understand people are more important than language skills," she said.
There are cultural differences in Japan, too, she observed.
"Although we (Japanese) ethnically look the same, each individual is unique," she said. "We should assume that each of us is different and communicate clearly the real intent of what we want to say to others, and in that way, we can minimize stress."
That's the most valuable lesson she learned from working in Malaysia for about 18 months.
Kashiwagi serves as a consultant for the subsite "Putting your Language Skills to Work" at "All About," the popular Web site (allabout.co.jp), which provides daily life information in as many as 300 categories. She said she wants to help job-seekers by offering a wide range of job information through this Web site.
She says that there are many young people who want to use English skills at work and are looking only for that kind of position, but such an attitude could narrow job opportunities.
"Those who only have language skills may not be of any help," Kashiwagi said. "When you are in your 20s, you need to build up your experience, whatever specialty you have. And then, ideally, you may want to have experience in management or mentoring in your late 20s or early 30s."
She emphasized that the young, first of all, need to develop an expertise that will be attractive to prospective employers. "That's what a company wants," she said.
As her ultimate goal, she said, "I want to expand job positions to more countries. Then there will be more choices for job-seekers, and people will have more choices in their lives."
