Nationality: The Netherlands
Graduation date: October, 2019
Place of employment: Insurance company：Actuaries
Why did you choose KAI?
The main reason why I picked KAI is because of the cultural diversity of the students here. I was very impressed by how many nationalities there is in KAI. Also, the fact that they create their ownteaching material means there will be originality and shows they care about what they do. I also liked the way the classrooms are designed to lay out which come across relaxing, open and really for adults.
I have learnt a lot over the 9 months studying with KAI. I was also able to commit to a part-time job alongside my school schedule. I felt the balance between school, work and my private time was perfect.
What did you learn from the NBJ Program?
I took the NBJ program because I planned to work in Japan, and my business Japanese is very poor! I learned a lot of business Japanese from the course, these business languages were exactly what I had to use during my interviews. I think it was still very tough doing interviews in Japanese. But had I not done the NBJ course, it would have been even tougher.
How was your job search?
The job search took some time. A lot time was spent on learning the jargons of my profession in Japanese because interviewers go through your CV in Japanese very thoroughly, and you will need to be able to explain them in Japanese.
At the end, I was lucky to receive offers from 3 different employers.
From the process, I realized how important JLPT is. Not only it significantly increases the chance of being invited to an interview, it also plays a key part in the salary negotiation stage.
Who will you be working for?
It is a general insurance company. As a Senior Actuary, I will be supporting the company by providing our view for making decisions on business strategy and risk management.
What is your plan of the future?
For now, I am just thinking of gaining as much experience from the Japanese market as possible. More importantly, I am looking forward to enjoying life in Japan, especially during the ski seasons!
