Preparing for a job interview abroad

Hi there!

As you might have noticed, I have recently spent two weeks in Japan. During this time I had my first international job interview experience. Even though it was maybe not the traditional job interview most people have in Japan, I wanted to share my experience with you anyway. 

Before going to Japan I wanted to be quite well prepared so that I had an idea of what I could expect and also what I could ask for. This is my list of things I think you should think about before a job interview. Hopefully it can help you as well! 

1. Make sure you have a rough idea of the type of job and the organisation
2. Learn more about the country and the general working conditions
    
3. Figure out what regular wages are for people in your position, for example through websites like this one for Japan. In that way you kind of know what to expect https://resources.realestate.co.jp/living/average-salary-japan-occupation-age/. Also, get information from friends in the country, or ask for information about this on fora or fb pages like Girls love Travelling, or other pages. This usually provides the most accurate information. 
    
4. Also think about tax through this website for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tax_rates .
   However, tax is a difficult thing. It differs a lot per country and depends on many variables like wage, the city in which you live etc. 
5. Think about pension. How does the pension system work in your country? Will you be building pension abroad? If not, will you get extra money to build your own pension? 
    
6. Make an overview of your living expenses at home and your expected living expenses abroad. This is a VERY usefull website for worldwide living costs https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/
    
7. Check the amount of paid-vacation days people generally get. In Japan I read, for example, that when you start working for a company, usually you don't get days off for the first 6 months and then the second half year you get ten days. Then the longer you work somewhere the more days you get.
    
8. Find out what the working atmosphere is. For example, in Japan again, people hardly ever take all of their days off. They are afraid to let the company and colleagues down. It can therefore be important to have this in mind and maybe also to be clear about what you want in your job interview. More information can be found here: https://talenthub.jp/blog/working-in-japan/holidays-and-paid-annual-leave/
    
9. Think about the living situation, does the company provide housing? Will you have to find housing yourself? In that case, how much would it roughly cost? 
    
10. Ask friends or other people how they feel about working in that country. How are the general working conditions, how are foreigners treated, how is the hierarchy within companies? 
     
11. Ask people who work in the country what can and can't be done in job interviews. So for example, can you talk about salary? Is it possible to negotiate? Would it be okay to ask for some extra time to think about the offer?
     
12. Be aware of visum requirements. Are you allowed to work in the country? If you need a visum, will the company provide it for you?

Well, for now this is all I could come up with. Of course there is more, like is there an international community? Or are there nice things to do in the area? But, I think the above things are some of the most important things to take into account. In my next blog I will write specifically about my experience in Japan. 

Hopefully this was useful to you! If you have any more advice let me know! Because I'm still in the process of figuring out what I want. 

Cheers!
Hannah