Recording summary · June 2017
[2017-06-27] Why I hated working in Japan [h0HsDD-cF60]
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Overview
In 2011, Daniel spent a year in Japan on a working holiday visa, working twenty-six hours a week at a convenience store and limited hours at an izakaya instead of teaching English.
The convenience store role presented numerous difficulties, including cigarette varieties, customers' speech, strict customer service standards, sleep deprivation from long commutes, and strained relations with coworkers.
Specific incidents at the convenience store included an exploding sauce sachet, disputes over points cards and microwaving, taking unpaid stockroom coffee, and masturbating in the toilet with a found pornographic magazine, leading Daniel to quit without notice after being reprimanded.
Subsequent job-seeking experiences involved frustration over Japan's handwritten CV conventions compared to Western printed resumes, requiring a Japanese friend to write the application after repeated kanji errors, followed by a restaurant kitchen interview where the interviewer criticized the CV layout and demeaned a level 2 Japanese proficiency credential.
Themes
Convenience store employment challenges and coworker relations in Japan.
Customer service incidents and resignation without notice from the convenience store.
Washing dishes and mopping at an izakaya before peak hours.
Contrasting cultural practices of handwritten CVs in Japan with printed CVs in England and the West.
Criticisms received during a restaurant kitchen interview regarding CV layout and Japanese language proficiency credentials.
Speculation regarding a future employer's possible reaction to the recorded video.
Developments
In 2011, Daniel resided in Japan on a working holiday visa.
Two weeks after arriving in Japan, Daniel secured a convenience store job following an informal Japanese-language interview.
Daniel took unpaid coffee from the convenience store stockroom, causing a confrontation with a coworker.
Daniel quit the convenience store job without notice after being scolded by the owner's sister.
A Japanese friend wrote Daniel's CV after five or six failed personal attempts due to kanji errors.
An interviewer at a restaurant kitchen job interview questioned Daniel's motives and experience, criticized the handwritten CV, and demeaned a level 2 Japanese proficiency qualification.
Uncertainties & gaps
How a future employer might react upon viewing the recorded video.