Interview Content (Ian-san)
1.Basic Information
•Could you please introduce yourself again? (Your name, affiliated organization, etc.)
-My name is Ian Johansson, I am currently a 3rd year university student at Nagoya University of Commerce and Business
•What do you study at university?
-I study International Business
•Have you experienced any difficulties with Japanese workplace culture?
-The most difficult experience has been the language barrier. But due to my co-worker translating japanese for me it has been very smooth. I am also apart of a bukatsu so I have some experience in how japanese workplace culture operates
•Have you felt any cultural differences? (In daily life or business culture)
-I have felt the cultural difference. Like the hierarchy culture, how the meetings work inside businesses.
•Have you experienced any difficulties in daily life in Japan?
-Not many difficulties, the main one just being the language barrier.
•What was the duration of your internship (from when to when)?
-From August 4th to August 29th
2. Work Content
•During your internship, which department were you mainly assigned to?
-I was mainly in the Customer success department.
•What kind of experiences (work tasks) did you have?
-Brainstorming Ideas for Esports cafe and exposure, attending business meetings, creating marketing ideas, finding good locations to build an Esports cafe
•Which job or task interests you the most?
-Everything related to Esports. As someone who likes playing games a lot it helped being able to work in a field I am interested in
•Please also tell us why.
-I have a big passion for video games and playing them so it helped me stay passionate about creating a bigger culture of it here in Japan
•On the other hand, what job or task did you find the most difficult?
-Some difficult tasks were in the beginning when trying to understand where would be a good place to put in an Esports cafe. As it was my first time working in this environment I had a lack of experience and made a lot of mistakes in the process
•How did you deal with it?
-Trial and Error, my Co-worker Taiga was guiding me throughout my internship here and it allowed me to realize my mistakes and learn how to fix them.
3. Learning and Growth
•What new things did you learn through the internship?
-I learned how a Japanese business operates. I learned about the process of Marketing and how precise it has to be.
•How do you feel your skills and knowledge have grown?
-I feel like I have gotten experience that can not be achieved at school, by working hands-on on projects and applying what I learned at school into real life.
•How do you feel your strengths and talents were applied to your work?
-I was put in a position that required a lot of critical thinking and creativity so my brain and thoughts were being pushed.
4. Support and Feedback
•How did you feel about the support you received from your tutor or team members?
-The support has been amazing, everyone was very kind and friendly and I never felt lost
•Were there areas where you felt more support would have been helpful?
-No the support was great
•What impression do you have about communication with team members?
-Everyone was very communicative and open to talk despite me not being the best in Japanese. Some even tried to speak a little bit of English with me which was very kind
5. Overall Evaluation of the Internship
•Looking back, what aspects of your internship experience were good?
-I was able to gain a lot of insight on Japanese business culture and operations. I was able to immerse myself in Japanese culture. I got more opportunities to practice my Japanese language skills
•What aspects do you feel need improvement?
-There is no need for improvement
•What is your objective impression of Totsu as a company?
-Totsu is a great company with amazing individuals, with an amazing vision that I hope I can get the opportunity to work with again in the future.
•What is your impression of Totsu’s employees?
-The employees are all very hard working and kind. Very passionate as well, it is obvious to see how much they care about their jobs. I am very appreciative of how supportive they all were towards me
