Attended an information session at a job event and submitted my resume when I knew more about the position. After they reviewed my resume I was immediately offered an interview. This interview was in Japanese. I was then invited to their office in front of Tokyo station for an office tour. When I got there, there was only one other candidate and the person who invited us appeared to be on a holiday. Clearly the HR representative was not informed of our arrival and everything had to be quickly arranged. However, she guided us around in Japanese with great enthusiasm and spontaneity. One of the nicer offices I have ever seen, with lots of colors, modern design and even a free food zone. She put me with an American analyst for about an hour so I could observe the daily tasks and responsibilities. At first glance, you don't have that stiff Japanese hierarchy and everyone seems pretty approachable. And what a view on the imperial palace!!
Negative points:
- when we walked through the different divisions with the Japanese, female HR manager, some of the Western, male employees walking by made some very sexist comments. She either didn't hear or ignored it stylishly. However, it made me ashamed as a male gaijin and I got an impression there can be a jerk-factor imported from the financial world.
- we were allowed to take some food for the train ride home and were promised a date for a follow-up interview as we weren't yet properly assessed during this visit. However, to this day I have never received an email and there's also no reply to my follow-up correspondence. A bit of a pity.