“I want to learn and work at a Japanese hotel.” with this resolve, Vo Thuan Danh quit his job to study in a Japanese vocational school. However, his career path after graduation did not go as he had hoped, as the number of hotel jobs had plummeted due to the new coronavirus infection (※).
He was unable to get the hotel job he had hoped for, and also struggled with workplace relationships… We spoke to Danh-san, who amidst that situation came to discover WeXpats Jobs and through them found his “ideal workplace”.
※ As of May 2023, the number of hotel job openings have returned to pre-Corona levels.
Are you having any issues with job-hunting in Japan?
Graduated from a vocational school… but the door to his future career was closed by the pandemic
― Why did you decide to work in Japan?
It all started when a friend invited me to visit Tokyo and its surrounding area. I was surprised by the quality of service, and the large number of tourists… I have always been interested in the study of foreign languages, and wanted to work overseas, and thought to myself, “I can find my ideal working style if it's in Tokyo!” Or maybe I was just amazed by Tokyo Disneyland (laughs)
― After that you started studying Japanese, and around a year later came to study abroad at a Japanese language school. Did you have a solid idea of what type of work you wanted to do at that time?
I had a strong desire to work in a hotel even from that time. When I was in Vietnam, I also worked full-time in a hotel’s F&B department, and was interested in おもてなし (omotenashi) - Japanese hospitality.
I studied for 2 years at a Japanese language school, and then 2 years at a Japanese tourism vocational school before thinking about finding a job…
― In 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic started. As a result, the number of job openings in the accommodation sector temporarily dropped to around 1/3 of its usual numbers.
The vocational school did introduce to me some job opportunities, but most of them were hotels in rural areas, which did not seem to fit my wish to work while making use of my multilingual skills. So I started to look for job openings myself using job sites, but it didn’t go very well.
― What was difficult about it?
The interviews, I would have to say. My Japanese abilities are at JLPT N2 level, but I couldn’t get the words right as I was nervous during the interview, which frustrated me many times. Even now, I can recall the interview question, “What do you think good service is like?” I deeply regret not being able to properly translate the answer into Japanese, even though I had the answer in Vietnamese in my head.
Somehow, I managed to land a job at a restaurant in Tokyo, but they treated me differently, saying “Since you’re a foreigner, you need to work harder”. I began to feel that I couldn’t go on like this.
Writer's Pick
Career Change to a Hotel Job 1 Month After Meeting WeXpats! Learning the “Art of Omotenashi” at the Ideal Workplace
― How did you discover WeXpats Jobs?
I saw the advertisement on Facebook. Before deciding to use a recruitment service, I even look up the operating company to make sure it is not suspicious. When I found out that Leverages has a branch office in Vietnam, I somehow felt that it could be trusted.
It was the first time I had seen this service, so I didn’t expect to get a hotel job within a month (laugh)
But the more I spoke to the career advisor, the more confident I became, and right away was glad I registered for it. I especially appreciated the interview preparation. They gave me specific advice on how to answer questions in Japanese, such as “I think you will get this kind of question, so you should answer like this”. This helped me do well in the real job interview.
― How do you like the environment at your new workplace?
I could feel that each and every employee works while thinking and being considerate of not only the customers, but of each other as well, and that this was connected to the quality of service. Because of my previous experience, I was worried about the workplace relationships, but everyone is kind and even threw me a welcome party. I really think I made a good career change.
― That’s good to know! We would like to hear about the specifics of your job.
During the training period I also did housekeeping, but now I mainly work the front desk.
My shift is from 13:00~22:00. My first task when I start work is “Handover” which is when I am given a detailed account of what happened between midnight the day before and morning the day of, including requests from hotel guests, whether there were any problems, and the like.
After that, I deal with check-ins, taking luggage into custody, delivery to guest rooms, facilities inspections, replenishing supplies, and other tasks. I am still learning more about the job, and it feels very rewarding when the number of things I can do grows.
― On the contrary, were there any difficulties?
Not because of the workplace, but I was shocked by the “School Trips”. I had heard beforehand that there would be large groups of students coming, but it was much busier than I had imagined. As this "school trip" culture is rare in Vietnam, I think Vietnamese who work in Japanese hotels will be astonished (laugh)
There is a lot to learn everyday, but everyone takes some time out of their busy schedules to teach me, so I want to become a full-fledged employee as soon as possible. My current goal is to be able to answer phone calls.
― What did you learn from the guidance you received?
What I felt was most different from the hotel I worked at in Vietnam was the “handover” system I mentioned earlier. There is an ingrained awareness of sharing each guest's information with everyone, such as requests, personality, food preferences, etc. This information is used to provide service, such as “that guest has a physical disability, so let’s be careful when guiding them around”.
I learned that smooth communication with other employees is one of the basics of omotenashi. If you are thinking of working in a Japanese hotel, please do your best in your Japanese studies. I also have to handover to the next person on shift at the end of my work day so I’m trying really hard to be able to write understandable Japanese (laughs)
I had always wanted to work in an environment where I can grow, and have found myself in that exact ideal job. I think about the interview question “What do you think good service is like?” that I was bad at answering, and am daily updating how I would think about and answer it. Until I am able to answer the question confidently, I will continue to learn as much as I can.
What is WeXpats Jobs?
WeXpats Jobs is a job site for foreign nationals who want to work in Japan. There are jobs in a variety of industries including hotel jobs mentioned in this interview.
You can search for jobs in 11 languages (English, Vietnamese, Korean, Indonesian, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Burmese, Thai, Spanish, Portuguese), including Japanese, so it’s fine even if you don't have confidence in your Japanese. There are 2 patterns for finding jobs !
① Search Jobs Yourself
Find jobs that suit you by specifying your Japanese language level, occupation, location, and etc.
② Receive Job Offers from Companies
Complete a short questionnaire to receive information about jobs you can apply to that match your work experience and desired work conditions. It’s completely free to use, so register as a member using the button below to find a job that suits you!
If you are particularly interested in hotel employment, you can check the list of hotel job openings available by clicking on the button below. These jobs are the embodiment of Japanese omotenashi. If you would like to take up the challenge, we look forward to hearing from you.
※ You can register from outside Japan, but only those living in Japan can apply for jobs.
