His Japanese is so good that as soon as we started the interview, he greeted us by saying, “Thank you very much for giving me the honor of this opportunity.” At Seven-Eleven Japan, where he is working now, he is in charge of supporting foreign nationals who want to work in Japan. We spoke with him about his job and what brought him to Japan.

Profile

Current Job

Q. Please tell us about your current job.

At Seven-Eleven Japan, I am involved in introducing the company to foreign students and foreign permanent residents and supporting their employment in Japan. At job fairs and workplace tours, I tell people in easy-to-understand Japanese what they can learn by working at Seven-Eleven while sharing my own experiences.
In addition, since many foreign nationals work at Seven-Eleven Japan’s member stores, we are working to create a comfortable working environment and improve our acceptance and training systems.

Q. Where do most of the people you support come from?

It varies depending on the area and the organization we work with, but many foreign residents are from Brazil, Peru, and the Philippines, and many foreign students are from Nepal, Vietnam, and other countries. We also have refugees from Afghanistan and students from Myanmar.

Q. What do you tell foreign nationals and international students?

First of all, I tell them that it is very important to “work mindfully.” Of course, we all work to earn money, but I take it one step further and say, “Be mindful of what skills your job will lead to in the future.” For example, if you work at a convenience store with the intention of learning customer service, you will learn how to speak and communicate with customers. If you work at one store for a long time, you may learn about management. It is very important to be mindful of what you need to do today for the future.

Q. When you’re speaking at job fairs, do you do any prep work?

I use slides and videos to explain what it is like to work at 7-Eleven in an easy-to-understand manner. I also try to make my presentations as intuitive as possible by using my own experiences working as a store manager and assistant manager.

Q. Are there any difficulties unique to the convenience store industry?

Many convenience stores are franchisees. The owners of these franchise stores decide who to hire and how to train the employees they hired. We tell people who want to work at our stores how to apply.

Q. Do you find your current job rewarding? When does that happen?

I find it very rewarding. Although sometimes it feels tough, when I receive feedback after the info session such as “I want to work at a convenience store too now,” it makes me happy that my work has made a difference in someone’s life.

Work Environment

Q. How is your relationship with your supervisors and co-workers?

At my current workplace, we have many coworkers and supervisors who support each other and understand each other, regardless of whether they are Japanese or not. I feel that I am in a very blessed work environment.

Q. What kind of work style do you have?

Until a few years ago, I worked mostly in the office, but due to the spread of COVID-19, I started working from home more often. Currently, I work about 50% in the office and 50% at home. On the days when I come to work, my regular hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., but I sometimes work different hours as well.

Working as an Operational Field Counselor

Q. What kind of work did you do as an Operational Field Counselor (hereinafter, “OFC”) before your current job?

An OFC visits franchise stores regularly to provide management support. It is a core position at Seven-Eleven Japan that provides a variety of management counseling to franchise store owners.

Q. Did you have any difficulties as a store management counselor?

It took some time for me to build a relationship of trust with franchise store owners. There were some difficulties in communication, such as using honorifics.

Q. What efforts did you make to build a relationship of mutual trust with the owners?

I tried to demonstrate my thoughts through actions rather than words, so I increased the amount of time I spent visiting the stores I was in charge of. Normally, each store is supposed to be visited twice a week. However, in my case, I increased the number of times and hours I went, and for some stores, I went every day. In addition, I always thought about what I could do to help the stores. For example, when I visited them, I worked with them to prepare the sales floor and listened to the employees.

Q. Do you have any memorable stories from your time as an OFC?

For one of the owners whose store I was in charge of, I had a hard time finding a conversation starter. I decided to start the conversation with something the owner was interested in, so I talked with him about his hobby of mountain climbing. In my home country of Nepal, there are various mountains, and I have climbed some of them myself. The owner became interested, and I remember well how we gradually developed a relationship where he would listen to my stories as we became closer. Although I was no longer in charge of that store afterward, I still keep in touch with the owner to this day.

Job Hunting

Q. Why did you choose your current job?

When I first came to Japan and entered a convenience store, I was amazed by the hospitality of the staff with their irasshaimase (“Welcome!”) and arigato gozaimasu (“Thank you very much!”), as well as the wide variety of products. Later, I worked part-time at a convenience store myself and thought about how people would love it if there were such stores in Nepal. For those reasons, I chose this job.

Q. Why did you choose your current company?

When I was looking for a job, I found that the following three things were important: First, a company where foreigners could play an active role; second, a job where I could feel that I was helping someone; and third, a company which I could use English in and is also active overseas. I chose Seven-Eleven Japan because their career plan aligns with what I find important.

Student Days

Q. What made you want to come to Japan?

When I graduated from high school in Nepal, a friend of mine ran a Japanese restaurant and I worked there part-time. As I talked with Japanese customers, I became interested in the Japanese language and culture, and I think that is what led me to come to Japan.

Q. Why did you choose your university?

After graduating from a Japanese language school, I decided to study tourism at a university. However, there were many vocational schools in the field of tourism but not many universities. At that time, my teacher at the Japanese language school told me that Meikai University had a department of tourism, so I chose the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management in the Faculty of Community Tourism at Meikai University.

Q. What did you learn at your university?

I had the chance to learn the necessary knowledge about Japan’s unique culture in tourism, or the so-called “hospitality industry.” Many of the lecturers at my university were former travel agency managers, former hotel managers, and others who have had experience in various workplaces, and I learned a lot from them.
In a seminar at my university, I also learned about a unique Japanese culture called kazari-mofu, which is a form of hospitality found in hotel and ship cabins where towels and blankets are shaped into flowers and Mount Fuji.

Differences Between Japan and Nepal

Q. Tell us about the similarities between Japanese and Nepalese culture.

Although the cultures of Japan and Nepal are quite different, there are also many similarities. For example, festivals. Like Japan, Nepal has many festivals. Some festivals are very similar to those in Japan, such as floats (i.e., a festival vehicle with decorations and big drums on it) that are pulled by people.

Change of Status of Residence: Permanent Residence Permit

Q. What made you want to get permanent residence?

I applied for permanent residence a while after I joined my current company because I wanted to continue my current job for a long time. It may be in the distant future, but I would like to do work that connects Nepal with Japan someday.

Q. Did you encounter any difficulties in the application process for the permanent residence permit?

To get a permanent residence permit, various conditions such as period of stay and period of employment are required, but in my case, I met all of them, so I didn’t encounter any particular difficulties.

Advice for Newcomers

Q. What advice would you give to those who want to come to Japan from overseas to study or work?

Japan has many scholarships for international students, and I think the environment makes it easy to come study abroad. I myself first came to Japan as an international student and was able to learn a lot thanks to the scholarship system.
I believe that if you learn Japanese hospitality, you can be successful in any industry or business in the world. Please come to Japan and learn as much as you can.

From the Interviewer

Maharjan’s favorite saying is a Japanese proverb, “When in a village, do as the village does.” (i.e., when you come to a new place, you should follow the local customs). He also said, “Even if you don’t follow the local customs, it is important to understand them.” I felt that Mr. Maharjan understands Japanese culture better than Japanese people. Thank you very much for always sharing the Japanese “hospitality culture” with the world and I hope that you can continue to do so.

Dinesh Maharjan / Photo provided by Maharjan

Senpai who have lived in Japan long time: “If You Need Help, Go to Antony”

Today, we interviewed Antony Alvarez, a fourth-generation Nikkei from Lima, Peru.