There is a saying in English which goes: “it’s not what you know, but who you know!”, and simply means that personal connections and friends contribute more towards being successful than having a lot of knowledge does.

While we all have family, work and school friendship networks and connections, for many of us there are activities we wish to pursue or perhaps an industry we would like to work in where we have no contacts and therefore no easy way to ‘get in the door’. Under these circumstances what steps can we take to make out way into these new areas? Here are some of my tips on where to start.

Networking Events

Networking events are specifically designed for people to meet and get to know many people in one place. I organize a bi-monthly networking event called Gary’s Happy Hour and I am also involved in a really big networking event called NetTokyo coming up soon in July. NetToyko is actually a ‘network of networks’ event as it brings together seven of Tokyo’s premier networking organizations in one setting over a casual Saturday afternoon of fine food, drinks and conversation.

www.nettokyo.jp/

Business Groups

There are some great business and professional associations that operate in English which are a fantastic starting point for learning more about business in Japan and specific industries as well as meeting the movers and shakers (important people) in each sector. I sponsor a mobile industry association called MobileMonday:

MobileMonday: www.mobilemonday.jp
Entrepreneur Association of Tokyo: http://www.ea-tokyo.com/
American Chamber of Commerce: http://www.accj.or.jp/user/210/index/

Clubs & Organizations

In every school, many companies and across Tokyo there are clubs and associations devoted to everything you could ever imagine including sports, business, movies, travel etc. These are also a great place to meet new people and learn more about the subject you are interested in. For clubs and associations that involve the international community I suggest you take a look at the clubs listing in Metropolis Magazine’s classified section, available online here (bottom left): http://metropolis.co.jp/classifieds/biz.asp?action=home&pid=0

Good luck!

I remember over ten years ago that advice given to new graduates was to get into the computer and technology industries as they were the future growth sectors. That was good advice then and still is today. As the internet and other digital applications become more and more sophisticated we are now seeing new technologies affect almost everyway that business is done in the modern world. Following this, traditional ad agencies are now beginning to shift their attention towards ‘new media’ advertising and therefore several of the positions I am now working are in this exciting field. So what is ‘new media’ and how can you prepare your self for the changes ahead?

The term ‘new media’ refers to a variety of media which has been born out of the digital age and may include web sites and blogs, social networking sites such as Mixi and Facebook, virtual worlds including Second Life, video games and almost any type of information that is provided on mobile phones.
These days more and more people are using their mobile phones for searching the web, social networking, blogging and even reading novels, and advertisers are taking note with data from Dentsu showing that mobile based advertising expenditure has risen over 60% in the last year!

For someone with many years of experience and a broad knowledge in the traditional advertising mediums, the shift to web and mobile based platforms can be a little scary as it threatens their future job opportunities. However, there is no reason why this has to be the case and for many people simply updating their technical skills and knowledge could add that extra dimension to your resume and make you a more valuable employee in the digital work place. Unless you’re around 60 years old then you still have many working years ahead of you and so it is definitely worth taking the time to consider the future direction of your industry (next 5 – 10 years) and then determine where your interest lies and what niche you can carve for yourself.

Once you discover your career options, you may also realize that you need to update your skills and knowledge to remain competitive in the work place. Take for example mobile phone technology and applications. If you currently work in traditional media such as magazine advertising, it may be time to start learning about mobile advertising etc. One way you could do this would be to attend some of the many mobile industry events that are held around Tokyo. One regular networking event that I attend is called Mobile Mondays (MoMo) http://www.mobilemonday.jp/. MoMo is held once a month and features presentations about the internet and mobile industry from individuals and major companies, including Microsoft, KDDI and MTV and it can be a great way to catch up on what’s going on and also meet interesting people in the industry. Perhaps I will see you there!

Recently, several gaishi companies have approached me to help them find staff for new offices they are setting up in Japan. Many of these companies deal in new media products or services and they are now ready to enter Japan as part of their worldwide expansion strategy. Working for a start-up company brings with it extra benefits, but also extra challenges and risks and depending on your current circumstance can be a great career move. So what are some of the advantages and disadvantages of working for a start-up gaishi company?

Advantages:

Advantages may include increased responsibility, possibility of having an influence in your industry and the potential to make large bonuses. Often a new company coming into Japan sets up with only a small team to begin with (say 5-10 people) who’s job it is to kick start the business in Japan and begin generating sales as soon as possible. Therefore, usually the initial key positions are for a Country Manager and also sales and marketing staff.

Country managers for these start-ups are often expected to be the face of the business in Japan and therefore need to have charisma and be OK with receiving attention, and taking responsibility. Marketing and sales people need to be able to push a product or service that may be completely new, unheard of and untested, Therefore you should be innovative and able to use unique marketing and sales techniques.

Gaishi companies coming into Japan understand they need to pay to get the best people on their teams, but are not so willing to pay extravagant salaries for staff in a market where they have no proven results. Therefore it is common for these companies to incentivize new team members with large bonuses and stock options etc. Although these practices may require you to take pay cut, they offer great upside potential should you prove to be top performer. If the company grows very fast, then stock options (not salary) are the element that is likely to make you very wealthy.

Disadvantages:

There is risk in working for a new company. If things don’t go well and expectations from head office are not met then the Country Manager is likely to be blamed. In a worse case scenario – if the business fails then being part of failed business is not an attractive thing for anyone to have on his or her resume. Furthermore, if the company is in direct competition with an existing Japanese company there is likely to be fierce competition and even some dirty tactics such as bad mouthing etc. to try and force the foreign company to fail and leave Japan.

So, like any opportunity, working for a gaishi start-up has its potential plusses and minuses. The above are generalizations and every situation is different, so keep this in mind as you consider any start-up opportunity. Nevertheless, start-ups can be a great springboard for your career if you’re careful about choosing the right one. Good luck!

Something that may be difficult for non-native speakers to understand is the etiquette involved in email communications in English or with foreigners.

If you are writing to someone for the first time, then you should use formal style speech and writing patterns to begin with. In addressing your email, consider using proper honorific titles such as Ms. and Dr. and you should never use casual terms such as ‘mate’, ‘dood’ or ‘bro’ until you are good friends with someone.

After trading a few emails with the same person, it may be acceptable to become more casual in your writing. In order to save time some people will not address you, or even write their own name, but simply write a few words to answer or ask a question. Occasionally in email correct grammar and punctuation are also overlooked with examples being: using ‘i’ instead of ‘I’ and even ‘ur’ instead of ‘your’

Generally this is fine as both people gain an understanding of each others communication style, but unfortunately there are no rules that cover what is appropriate in email. Overall, just be careful to stay professional and if you are unsure, then stick to being formal and it may be best not to use emoticons such as :p L and J etc.

For most people their work email address is their name, which is easy and professional, however often we think up creative personal email addresses that reflect something about ourselves such as a hobby or personality trait. Unfortunately these types of addresses can create an improper impression of who you are and make you appear unprofessional.

Perhaps the best and easiest email is simply your name: firstname.lastname@yahoo.com

If this isn’t available try simple things like adding your favorite number or the city you live in:

gary-bremermann1970@hotmail.com or gary-in-tokyo@yahoo.com

Although making up strange email addresses may make you easier to remember, it may lead people to associate the image of the address with your personality or work ethic. Also, try to make it easy for people to contact you by not making your email address hard to read and full of punctuation marks or long sets of numbers etc. Some bad examples of email addresses are:

eating-icecream-with-pink-pandas@yahoo.com {-808(+-+)<gary>(~.~) -808-}@yahoo.com

Many people use multiple emails and it’s probably a good idea to create a new email account to use for your job search communications, while you have a special personal and interesting sounding email address for friends and family. Unfortunately there are no rules for this either - just be careful to be professional and consider what people will think of you.