Gregory Benne, BBA Nice 2011, shares his experience in Japan and few tips for working there. 

I started my career in Switzerland in the corporate finance field for over two years and then I decided in 2014 to challenge myself by exploring new opportunities in Asia in order to broaden my working experience in a different cultural environment.

This move allowed me to take my career to the next level thanks to an opportunity to work in the pharmaceutical industry for a major multinational company in Japan as a financial controller.

Still based in Japan in 2019 and living within their own particular settings and cultures, with their long-standing values, norms and habits of behavior, I am thrilled to share with you a glimpse of my experience in Japan.

The Land of the Rising Sun is a great country to grow professionally. Working in Japan means working with very professional, qualified and knowledgeable people. The word “Quality” is not to be taken lightly in country where everything must meet the utmost standards. In this regard, Japan is an outstanding opportunity to learn robust processes which follows strict compliance, to be rigorous in term of respecting deadlines, being well organized or acquiring strong working methods. The few Key words I would choose to describe the Japanese society would be the words, “Commitment”, “Respect”, “Services”, “integrity” and “Hierarchical”.

This being said, it is also important to highlight what we, westerners are able to bring to the Japanese society and particularly into the world of work. We are living in a fast-paced environment and corporations must rapidly adapt to this economy in perpetual movement. In this regard, we are able to bring our diversity by proposing innovative ideas thanks to our cultural differences, by thinking out of the box, by reconsidering the status quo in place and bring new ways of working in a country where people tends to be conservative toward change.  

We also have some advantages when it comes to act as a bridge between local entities and headquarters from multinational companies. Sharing a common culture is strongly supporting an effective communication and mutual understanding. Presentation skills or being able to openly speak up on issues or opportunities that arise in a very hierarchical society are other areas in which we can bring added-values.

The few tips I could share for anyone interested to work in Japan are the following: improve your Japanese language skills prior coming to Japan, this will significantly increase your chances of success to get hired. Enhance first your working experience elsewhere prior considering to come to Japan, that will allow you to have a competitive advantage by bringing your international experience. A good way to penetrate the Japanese market is via the V.I.E program which is used by most of French companies. I also recommend to purchase or rent the latest book “Annuaire” from the CCIFJ which stand for “French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan” in order to submit spontaneous applications. This will give you a direct access to the list of French companies registered in Japan with the coordinates of the management (email, phone number, person in charge etc.). Chambers of commerce from other countries may provide the same services. Last but not least, I also recommend to use our local EDHEC Alumni Network, it is an effective way to get to know people, increase your network and an advantage that only us can benefit from.