Hi, I am M, who studied in the UK after working for a Japanese company for years. When I studied abroad, I left a Japanese company which I had worked for for nine years. The company I joined as a new graduate was a so-called ‘enterprise company’.
Many of my bosses and colleagues were nice, and although there was a lot of workload & meetings and I often had to work overtime, it had a friendly company culture. I feel like my colleagues are like family or friends. The salary was not high, but very normal in Japan. The company had generous perks such as house support, transportation support, etc.
So why did I leave the Japanese company and decided to study abroad at the age of 35? I have three reasons.
First reason: Control over my own life
You might not be able to believe that I felt I did not have control over my life. However it was true.
During my last few years working for a Japanese company, I was fortunate enough to work with many overseas members of the company.
When I spoke to an American colleague, I heard that American companies allow people to raise their own hand and run for a managerial position or move to another department in the same company, which is completely different from the HR system in Japan! I was shocked to hear because it is very different. In Japan, HR will decide your career path based on the discussion with you. HR will listen to your request, but it does not mean HR follows you. HR will decide your next position and promotion based on your performance, aspiring career path, and company’s demand. HR works for the company, so a decision depends on the company’s demand pretty much. Some of my co-workers were ordered (not asked) to move to an unwanted division and they left the company because they did not like it. This is very common in Japanese companies. Sometimes this type of HR decision gave me a new opportunity to explore. In my case, although I did not ask to work outside of Japan, I was asked to move to the United States and work for a subsidiary. At that time, I could not speak English at all. It was challenging but it was an eye opening experience for me. Sometimes it is good, but not always. Overall we work for a company and I felt the HR department controls my life.
To be honest, both the American and Japanese HR systems have their pros and cons, so it is hard to say which is better. However, after working for a Japanese company for nine years, I felt that transfers and promotions were influenced not only by the person’s own wishes, efforts and abilities, but also by other factors over which I had no control, and I thought there must be something different.
I also felt that once you miss the express train for promotion, you can never get on that train again. We, Japanese, are not allowed to make a mistake if you want to be a CEO of a Japanese company. Keep scoring more than average points is most important. I think HR is now trying to rectify a lot of things, but I think that once you step off the train, you lose your ticket on the express train.
Seeing that, I wanted to take control of my own life. Not controlled by HR or company. That is a reason for me to leave the Japanese company and work in a different world.
Second reason: Enhance my skills
At the time, I was working for a Japanese-owned company as a product manager. The responsibility of a product manager is to be responsible for the success of a product. For example, product development, operation and promotion/sales.
My company was a technology-driven company. The company started developing a product without market analysis. I had doubts about the company’s product development methods, so I spent my weekends studying product development methods on my own.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any colleagues in the company (around me) who were aware of the same issues and were willing to work hard to fix the culture together. I realised that I was limited to reading books on my own. It was not enough for me to learn a practical way to learn another product development method. I decided to move to a school or company where I could learn product development in a more systematic way.
At that time, I lacked far more knowledge and experience in the business, so I decided to study business for years and won a scholarship to study at a business school abroad.
Third reason: Confirm my value
For several years before I left the company, I worked mainly with people at overseas subsidiaries.
My co-workers were professional and knowledgeable about product management. I felt I am the only person who did not understand product management. However, I work for a head quarter. My bosses expected me to be a leader to lead the product development project of a global product. Can you imagine how funny it is? I was much junior from a product management perspective, but I had to be a leader because I worked for a head quarter. However, my co-workers were kind enough. They guided me by providing a lot of advice to me.
‘They listen to me because I work at the head office.’
I was always under the impression that they were only listening to me because I was working at the head office. I kept wondering if they were really convinced by what I said and agreed with what I said. The question never went away from my mind.
Looking back, I think I lacked confidence (and competence).
Because of this, I dared to make the decision to leave the company because I wanted to enhance my skills and knowledge and test how much value I would have when I was just “me” and not “me” in the head office.
any regret to leave the company I joined as a new graduate?
Even now, I don’t know what was the right decision for me.
But at least I no longer feel that I am stuck with one company. I have more freedom in my life, such as quitting my job, going on a six-month journey and then going back to work for a company again or start my own business.
I am also aware that I am in control of my own life, and I have certainly improved my skills and behaviour compared to a few years ago.
In addition, I got to know my value. Specifically, group work at graduate school was a great opportunity for me to recognize my value. We have no hierarchy in the classroom. I needed to contribute to group work only by providing my skills and knowledge. Naturally I realised what skills are stronger than others.
On the other hand, I recognised cons as well. Usually Japanese companies do not lay off people, but now my current company does lay off in case of recession. It is essential for me to always be learning new things.
However, I think my decision to leave the company at that time was not a bad one. I want to praise myself for making a good decision, as I am usually indecisive.
