日本で活躍する海外女子インタビュー企画「大成」外国籍社員のCareerFlyとは-前編

「日本で働く」を実現し、自身のキャリアを広げ活躍している若手外国籍人材にインタビューする企画。
テーマ 「わたしのCareer Fly（飛躍する）とは」
日本で働く外国籍の方々はどのようなモチベーションを持っているのか？
日本において外国籍の方々の受け入れが進む中、日本で活躍している外国籍人材にフォーカスし、彼女たちの描くキャリアや日本で働く想いを紐解く。
An interview with an international business person who makes own career at Japanese company as being a professional business expert. 
Interview theme is [My Career Fly].
What is the motivation for work to them? Spotlight their career vision and motivation for work itself.

大成株式会社 Taisei Corporate
マイ サイド アッズーズ アブゼード氏  Mai Sayed Azzoz Abuzied
エジプト出身。カイロ大学在学中筑波大学へ交換留学生として初来日する。好奇心旺盛な性格から在学中多くのアルバイトを経験。翻訳通訳、飲食店での接客業務など多岐に渡る。大手メーカー人事部にて1年間インターン経験後、大成株式会社に入社。3カ国語と高いコミュニケーション力を活かし同社にて活躍中。

Understanding culture & mentality is most important

Career Fly(CF): Can you please introduce yourself?

Mai Sayed(Mai): My name is Mai Sayed AzzozAbuzied. I was born in Cairo, Egypt. I am 25 years and have studied at Cairo University for 4years about Japan, its culture & Japanese as a language. My aim was to come to Japan and have a life here. And my hobby is reading

CF: What brought you to Japan? Why were you so interested in Japan?

Mai: When I was in High school I read about Japan and its history. I was impressed by Japan’s history of redevelopment in just 50 years after the infamous destruction caused by a nuclear attack. Since, then I was curious to know how Japanese people think, work & what is their main motivation. I always wanted to be a part of this glorious system.

CF: When did you come to Japan?

Mai: I came to Japan earlier for one year & then again for one year of internship at Sato holdings.

CF: In these two years could you discover how Japan made its recovery & lead to this level of development?

Mai: Actually in my first year I was very new, being the first time in abroad & was just amazed by this country.
Later during my internship, the first discovery I made was that it wasn’t important to learn the language to understand the story behind the development, but the other way round. It's important to learn the culture & mentality to understand the motivation behind Japan’s redevelopment, language is just a medium.

The second thing was that I always thought all Japanese people like to work a lot, but no, it is society’s expectation. Japan’s society expects a Japanese individual to work hard & contribute towards Japan’s growth. 

I like the way Japanese people work because…

CF: Do you like Japan?

Mai: Yes , I love Japan & also the way Japanese people work. Even if they don’t love their job they do it with full commitment. I like that. They see the bigger picture over their likes & dislikes.
I like this motto “To do your best now & later maybe you can get what you want”.

CF: When did you start working here?

Mai : I started working here last month in July & also got married.

CF: Congratulations on so many endeavors.

Mai: Thank You.

CF: How did your career -fly in Japan?

Mai : During my internship, I was told that my main task would be to hire foreigners for the company, but later my responsibilities were changed. I was briefed more & more about the company & the Japanese system. In a way, it was good for me.

Now, I work on the reception desk & later it can change to something else that I wanted. For now, I like my job & the way I started my career here.

CF: What is your experience of working in a Japanese company in Japan?

Mai: I will start with merits

Merits: I can’t see a major social gap in Japan, unlike other countries. In other countries, also in Egypt: you can easily make-out a rich person but, here everybody is the same. The standard of living is high but the majority of people are able to afford it. It makes me feel very comfortable.
Second is a convenience store. It is so easy to buy things. Wherever I go, I find them & can buy anything at any hour of the day. This concept is not anywhere else in the world. No matter where you go in Japan you can find anything & everything, plus it's affordable too. Unlike other countries where some exclusive things go beyond our buying limit. In Egypt buying electronics is very expensive because the earnings aren’t that much. Here, since earnings are high, electronic items look affordable.
Third, I don’t feel like a foreigner here. Even though I know the language, but still people around me make me feel so comfortable & at home that I don’t feel that I don’t belong to this country.

Demerits: I had read earlier while learning about the Japanese culture that when you are in a group, that group expects you to like & do the exact same things as the other group members. For example, to eat the same food, dress similarly.
Because of that expectation, I fear I might lose my own identity. A couple of my German & Italian friends feels the same. Few years down the line I might become a complete Japanese. It makes me feel a bit worried.
Also, people here say sorry for everything. Even without explaining why did they do the mistake, they just say sorry easily. They are always over-apologetic.

CF: That's why Career-fly is working to promote diversity & hire more foreigners. You are a great example of being a foreigner female, working in Japan & making your own mark.

Continue to Vol.2..........