Self-analysis is about viewing who you are and where you stand in various aspects of your life and personality.

Start with making a comprehensive analysis of yourself to find out the real self behind how you look

In Japan, landing a job suitable for you is often likened to an “Omiai-kekkon (a marriage after the introduction of a prospective wife and husband)”.  This kind of marriage allows you and your prospective partner to have a chance to see who he or she is and what they have in order to see if they can be a lifetime shoulder to lean on.  This process to decide your marriage partner goes for your job hunting process in which you narrow down to a field you are interested in and find out the company in the field that has best chemistry with you.  So knowing of yourself and reviewing who you are is essential before you start to work on the actual job hunting process.  If the self-assessment is not deep enough to understand what your real self is, the subsequent process in deciding which company is the best place you will work for may turn out to be something that would make you feel regret.  Some of you may think that you can change jobs if you have made a wrong judgment about building your career path for the future, but that is the rash way of thinking.  In general, most Japanese companies hire people fresh from colleges or graduate schools in bulk once a year.  So “dropping out” of the company you have entered may jeopardize your career because it is next to impossible to get back into the fast track once you got yourself off the track.

Get ready to explore a field uncharted on your map.

Now, let me introduce a story about a college friend of mine, Mr.A, who works for a major event company and plays an active role in various projects there.  He was actually, however, a typical example of a serious and introvert student during his school days.  Wearing thick glasses like the ones worn by Dmitri Shostakovich, a Russian symphony composer, he looked on himself as a sensitive type who would prefer reading books to playing sports with other friends.  Gaining everyone’s trust as a responsible guy, he was always elected as a class rep when he was in primary school, and a member of students’ councils through six years of his junior high and high school every year.  

When he was a sophomore in college, he was asked to help his classmates do a performing gig as a special event for the annual college festival.  At first, he refused the offer as he thought himself that he would not be cut out for the role of being a kind of jester in an animal suit, a hero suit and others.  But as he was seeing his classmates working hard for the event to be successful, his sense of responsibility outdid the sense of embarrassment.  Strangely enough, Mr. A felt happy after all the performance.  “This is not bad”, he said to himself.  

Two years later, Mr. A, a college senior, started his job search activities and had to prepare for some legwork.  At first, he had wanted to work in the financial industry and paid a round of visits to banks and securities companies, but he felt that things didn’t go as well as he would expect them to.  So he visited an “employment counselor” in his college’s Student Affairs Office.  During the talk, the counselor said, “By the way, I actually happened to be among the audience for the stage performance you did two years ago, and I was impressed with you in a lot of costumes.  Maybe you are also suitable for entertainment industry.  Why don’t you think of that?”  The counselor’s words reminded him of his sense of excitement he felt on the stage and people’s wowing after the performance.  Soon after the counseling session, he started to check out the entertainment industry as advised and then visited some movie production companies, music agencies and companies related to theme park business, which he is engaged in now.

Use “Tekishoku-Shindan(適職診断)”, which literally translates to “Career Aptitude Assessment Test”, to find a job suitable for your real self

As in the case of Mr. A, it is important to know as much about yourself as you can to discover the real self you don’t notice yourself yet.  One good way to assess yourself efficiently is to try some Career Aptitude Assessment Tests.  There are many kinds of similar tests available mostly online free of charge, designed in a questionnaire format.  Questions asked in the tests are mainly based on psychological analysis.  They are simple and convenient, but one bad thing about them is that the results are easily foreseeable as you go on with the questions.  For more objective analysis of yourself, you may as well consult someone with broad experience and expertise in the job market in your college’s Student Affairs Office or recruitment agencies as Mr, A actually did.

Listen to your inner intuitive voice

Of course, you can conduct a self- analysis by yourself without looking to experts for good advice.  The first step to understand who you are and what makes you do the things you do is to reflect on the things you have ever experienced.  Let’s write a journal.  Date back to your childhood and write down what you experienced then.  Don’t make a list of your history in a rush way.  It is important to take some time to dig deep into the inside of yourself.  In order to figure out what drives you to the collection of certain behaviors and thoughts, there are some typical questions to ask for your self-assessment: Did you feel listened to or criticized in preparation for some events you were planning on?  Were you always expected to be perfect?  Did you get attention from your parents, teachers or friends?  

Your inner voice is the results from the thoughts that have gradually been produced through your life experience.  One experience can have an influence on forming your personality, and the personality can be changed by other experiences.  So take sufficient time to reflect on yourself in order to see your personality.  I think this is the most important step to take for finding your job suitable for the personality.

By Onomatopoeia

An instructor English conversation school.
A certified guide-interpreter of English.
A working mother of two children.