Moving to Japan at 23 Prepared Me for a Global Career

In 2006, I was fresh out of the University of Southern California, working as a legal assistant at a plaintiff litigation firm in Santa Monica. At 23, I enjoyed a pretty good lifestyle - I worked 9-5, had a nice apartment in West L.A., and just finished producing 2 hip-hop albums with my best friend. I planned to work for 2-3 more years, go to law school, and become an attorney. 

Twelve years later, I am a compliance attorney and product manager at The Red Flag Group, a global integrity risk firm. Since joining the firm in 2012, I’ve had many great opportunities such as working in our Hong Kong office for 18 months, managing relationships with several Fortune 500 companies, providing advice to chief compliance officers and general counsel, and leading engagements in the U.S, Asia and Europe. 

But I didn’t get to my destination on the route I had originally planned. In 2006, after 12 months of working as a legal assistant, I left my job and moved to Japan to teach English. More than anything else, moving to a foreign country at 23 years old prepared me for a career as a global business professional. This article highlights my experiences living and working as a young person in Japan, how those experiences prepared me for a role as a global professional, and why I believe every young person should consider living abroad before committing to a career. 

Life In Osaka, Japan 

In Japan, I worked for an eikaiwa, a private language school where mainly foreign-born teachers provide one hour conversation lessons to Japanese students of all ages. Teachers are all college graduates in their home countries and come mainly from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. While its business model has changed significantly in the past 10 years, joining an eikaiwa was often the easiest way to start working in Japan. The eikaiwa would recruit locally in your home country, prepare your work visa, arrange housing, and put you in touch with other English teachers to help jump start your social network. 

While an English teaching job help set a foundation for my life in Japan, the rest was still up to me - making friends, learning the language, understanding the culture, succeeding at work, saving money and forging a path ahead. By taking on these challenges, I developed a variety of skills that have helped me succeed as a global business professional. 

Learning to Work with People from Different Backgrounds

While most 23 year olds might be working their first post-grad job in their hometown, I reported to an Australian manager who had been in Japan for several years. Together, we managed the daily schedule, discussed how to approach certain lessons and students, and co-developed training materials. While we may have both been from Western countries, we were still from opposite ends of the world, and had to come together to solve problems. In our free time, my manager gave me advice on how he got started in Japan, saved money, bought a house, learned the language and settled into a culture very different than the one he grew up in. 

Each branch at an eikaiwa is managed by a Japanese staff member. Many were quite young like myself, working their first job, and in charge of developing business for the branch. When a potential new student would be interested in joining, we would evaluate the prospect, tailor a demo lesson, and work together to bring that student into the school. 

The ability to work with people of different backgrounds has been instrumental to me as a compliance attorney and product manager. In compliance, we manage projects that require leveraging cross-regional support from our international offices. This means putting a team of associates together from different countries in order to manage a global, multi-dimensional project. We also deal with clients from all over the world. When we implement a compliance program, we need to get buy-in from stakeholders across the client’s organization. This requires the ability to make a convincing case to people from several backgrounds, all whom may see the value and importance of compliance quite differently. 

By starting my career in Japan, I learned early on how to interact with people from different backgrounds, which has served me well in my business career. 

Make People Your Focus 

In Japan, you always treat the counter-party as respectfully as possible. Everyone who has been to Japan knows that when you eat at a restaurant or go shopping, you will be treated like royalty - not in a superficial way, but in a way that makes you feel incredibly comfortable and the center of attention for the duration of that experience. 

Obviously, applying that behavior in your own country (such as the US) may come off as unnatural or disingenuous. Instead, what I took from this custom was - make people your focus. As a product manager, I spend most of my time dealing with clients. When I am managing sales calls, I focus on the customer and their problem. Before even going into the call, I assess the client’s needs, evaluate their challenges, and develop a list of how our solutions can help. Once we connect, I spend time making recommendations - not just so we can get the sale, but so we can establish ourselves as a trusted advisor to our client. Ultimately, I want clients to understand that we are here to help solve their problems, whether or not we make the sale. 

When projects are active and something doesn’t go right, I try to avoid worrying, and instead think about the client’s situation. They have paid you generously and are relying on you for advice and support. What can you do to help manage their situation? By making people your focus, you will develop a level of trust that leads to deep, rewarding relationships with those you interact with. 

Appreciate New Cultures 

When I moved to Japan, I could write hiragana and katakana (two of the three main scripts used when writing Japanese), but I could barely speak Japanese. Within a couple of weeks of arriving, I signed up for Japanese classes and studied for at least an hour a day. While I did not become fluent, I developed enough conversational skills to meet new friends and demonstrate that I had a true appreciation for Japanese culture and history. 

Developing a genuine interest in other cultures has helped me professionally as well. In 2012, I joined The Red Flag Group and moved to Hong Kong to work at our head office for 18 months. While I could have worked from the U.S, moving abroad allowed me to learn from our senior staff members, work alongside our development team, and experience a new business environment. As a result of my time working in Hong Kong, I gained a broader view of the organization, developed relationships with key stakeholders, and learned to work in a fast-paced business culture. 

I now work in our U.S. office in Phoenix, and am able to positively leverage my experiences in Hong Kong to help the organization. I can easily build teams across the organization, since I’ve developed relationships and history with people in our other offices, and can manage international deals with sales people since I’ve led engagements in Asia. By developing a keen sense of appreciation for new cultures, I gained the confidence and ability to succeed in multiple business environments. 

Conclusion

The modern business environment is truly global now. An entrepreneur may start her business in the U.S., outsource development work to Asia, and sell products in Europe. To succeed in this environment, you must be able to communicate with people from different cultures, build teams internationally, and have the ability to take risks and make adjustments. By living and working abroad, you can develop these skills and build a foundation for any career you choose.