The First Stage
This is the 5th relay essay written by a member of our global team.
Following with the greeting words from ET, the head of Global Development Department, we have introduced our members from China, the United States, South Korea, and Malaysia. This time, we would like to interview a Japanese employee who won to become a member of the Department at the second year in intellim after joining us as a new graduate.
One of the core values of intellim is “Speed and Accuracy”.
Our global business expansion is very much putting more emphasis on Speed, which is much faster than internal and external expectations, we are making a sprint. The speed from recruitment to make a decision of hire in the global sector is an episode that embodies that speed.
May 25 (Sat.) Pre-Announcement through the CEO’s SNS
(excerpt below)
“intellim Holdings is planning to establish new overseas companies at least three countries over the past year. Afterward, overseas expansion will be accelerated.
(Note from the editor: intellim China, intellim Thailand and intellim Europe B.V.: 3 branches were established as of Dec. months after this announcement )
As a part of our future global strategy, we will increase the number of our global development staff. Global Development Department is a department under the direct control of myself. It would be a tough job as you would be required to accompany me for business trips, conferences and meetings frequently, however, I think the speed of your own growth will be accelerated in all aspects. If you are interested in this position, please contact me personally at once.”
June 3 (Mon.) The CEO mentioned about the job posting in his speech at the morning assembly in Tokyo office.
（On every first working day of each month, all employees working in Tokyo office gather for the morning assembly.）
Believe or not, the application deadline was by noon of the following day, June 4!
Because it had been only a week since the first SNS announcement, an immediate decision was needed to be made to get the chance.
Despite of the tight schedule, 5 persons applied for it.
This time, we are interviewing Y.K, who impressively won the position from the candidates.
Interviewer： This is your second year in intellim after joining as a new graduate. Can you tell us how you decided to join intellim?
Y.K：From Major at University, Reason for Joining intellim, to The First Assigned Department
I majored in biology at university and graduate school, researched the Monkey’s sense of taste using DNA and RNA. In my job hunting, I chose companies mainly for food companies since I wanted to make use of my experiences in the taste research. However, R&D in food companies had a different direction from the basic research that I had been working on, and it needed to be linked to product developments. When I was thinking about seeing a lot of things without limiting industries, I met intellim. intellim is always conscious of speed, and I felt I could grow faster and bigger depending on my actions. I was also impressed with the pleasant atmosphere when I met the employees during the interview, therefore I decided to work for intellim.
Interviewer：When did you first hear about the additional staff job posting in Global Development Team?
Y.K：I learned it from the CEO’s post on Facebook.
Interviewer：Did you have any hesitation in applying for that position?
I thought it was a great opportunity as I was willing to grow more, but there were 2 reasons I hesitated to apply for the position. First reason was that I was not qualified with some of the application conditions. For example, the working place for that position was Tokyo in principal, but I was living in Osaka at that time. I hesitated if I could apply for the position even though I was not qualified with this condition.
Another reason was the fact that I was just got married at that time. I could expect that I had to work in Tokyo if I got the position. But it would not be only my problem if it actually happened.
I worried a lot about these two problems, but I couldn’t give them up as I thought I would never have such a chance. However, surprisingly, my wife gave me a quick consent, haha.
I also kindly consulted with the CEO if I was qualified for this position. He took a time for me while he was very busy and permitted me to apply after the consultation.
I am truly grateful to the CEO who gave me this opportunity with such flexible response, and I am thankful to my wife who supported my decision.
Interviewer：Please tell us what exactly you prepared for the application.
Y.K：Since I only had about a week to prepare for the presentation after the announcement of its theme, I proceeded with the preparation between my business duties.
Firstly, since I thought it was necessary to understand about Global Development Department, I asked Eguchi-san, my current boss, and other members in the department about their jobs in the department.
Next step was the preparation of the presentation. The presentation was supposed to be held in English and I had no confidence in my English-speaking skill, I decided to express my thoughts by PowerPoint presentation. I studied the composition of English presentation files and intended to express my thoughts using diagrams. With regard to English expressions, I received advices from an in-house employee who is fluent in English. I revised the slides and practiced my speech until just before the actual presentation. I was really nervous when it started. I was feeling too tense to forget how to tie my necktie, people around myself helped me do it, haha.
Interviewer：How did you feel when you heard about the assignment?
Y.K：I felt relieved, haha.
I just think that I had seized the given opportunity anyway.
However, at the same time, I thought “if I am not useful, I will lose this chance right away,” and I trembled myself by putting a pressure on my own, haha.
Interviewer：Please tell about your current jobs.
Y.K：I am currently working as a monitor, and I am partly responsible for preparing estimates for new project acquisitions.
Interviewer：Please tell us about your future goals.
Y.K：In the future, I would like to work in an intellim’s overseas branch office and engage in company management. There are tons of hurdles which I must overcome, such as knowledge and experiences of monitoring and business and languages. I haven’t reached at any kind of the level where I can work overseas, so I continue to study every day.
Interviewer：Any message for those who want to involve in Global Development?
Y.K：Studying English is essential as there are many situations where English is used.
Not only in meetings with overseas clients, but also I often consult with senior staff in the same department about examinations and presentations in English in my daily work. I am not proficient in English, so I study every day. I have been currently practicing mainly on shadowing to focus on improving speaking and listening, but I encourage you to learn English as soon as possible.
