So today, I got a job-hunting booklet from the school and I realised that I haven’t given an update of how the job hunting has done since… the suit post, if I remember correctly.

It’s not just a schedule/notebook. They have advice too.

Anyway, I haven’t been doing much. I had an internship during the summer (with Aso Group again), but apart from that, I’ve only been to two 懇談会 (kondankai), which as far as I can tell, is an informal meeting and way for you to get to know the company, and vice versa.

Interestingly enough, for both meetings, I was nominated to go by my seniors.

The first meeting I went was for an M&A consulting company, and it was based in Osaka. It was also the day of my 和食検定 (a theory test on Japanese cuisine), so it was literally a “take test, board shinkansen” moment. I was, however, still half an hour late.

Although the invitation said personal clothes were allowed, I was counselled by my teacher to wear a suit. And that advice was spot on. When I went into the room, I saw that everyone was in a suit. Everyone was also a guy, but I’ve accepted my fate that all small groups I’m in this year are going to be male-dominated.

Since I was interrupting the conversation, I didn’t really know when to jump in and didn’t talk as much as I wanted to. I did ask a few questions, and give my opinions, but other than that, I was pretty silent. Much quieter than the other students. It was only at the end, when people found out that I was from Kyushu that I actually made an impact (and then they found out about the 和食検定, which probably gave me the impression of a rather strange person.

The second meeting was held in Fukuoka, so yay, no travelling. It was also for a game company, so this time, ‘casual clothes’ meant casual clothes. Even the company representative was in casual clothes. It was also over dinner (unlike the first company), so I got a nice meal out of it.

But more importantly, I would really like to work for the second company (or at least, I know that I want to apply to know more about it). I’m loving what I hear about the company culture – from its focus on learning, to the relative lack of hierarchy, and the ability to move around the different departments. Plus, the people seem really nice (although that means I’ll have to work with my senpai – he’s a nice guy, but I don’t want people to think I chose a company where I know people).

Apart from this, I’m also applying for different winter internships, but they haven’t progressed very far. One hasn’t come back with the results, and the others are only at the pre-entry stage, if they happen, it’ll be next year. So I’ll have to be patient.

Right now though, I have to figure out how to answer the question “What is the one thing you worked the hardest at during your student years”.