Honesty is the best bet...do you agree?

Hi viewers,
As Billy Joel sang back in 1980s, honesty is such a lonely word, I found that it was almost applicable to my circumstances such as having job interviews which were quite a lot recently.

Actually, um…I’m looking for a new job at the moment, after becoming jobless, and am forced to spend hard times, because of many tricky questions showers upon me from interviewers. Also those questions are so unrelenting which is pretty hard to get by as well. They turn out to be completely fiasco after all.

I of course tend to play the game whenever I am asked, but somehow it leads to misunderstand, finally they judge me as an unwanted person.

I discovered that being honest is not always good enough, sometimes playing the devil’s advocate really fits in to pass such job interviews.
I wonder if I pulled some strings, and of course it’s pretty much easier to come by.

But then again, honesty is my best policy…it’s really hard to change my thoughts. I know I’m kind of clumsy, but I need to be dishonest sometimes, in terms of getting a good job. In this society, I don’t agree with the term being said like honest is the best policy, maybe you should take advantage of being unusual from what you are.

To the contrary, such corruptions like embezzlement conducted by low makers or government officials can relate to the fact that they are voraciously honest enough to become riches.
But they are totally dishonest in terms of what the true politics are. As you know, they tend to be honest all the while, but it’s little more than a ploy to attract more people by casting their goodness in the guise of sobriety.

So which is your better bet, honesty or dishonesty?
Ok, talk to you later!

Take393

It's just an absurdity...what do you think?

Hi viewers,
To be honest...given my current unstable condition, I found myself in a quandary over whether to do whatever work is necessary to expedite my job hunting, or to seek a decent job as to settle in for the better future. All I can say is...you know I'll keep up with learning English or anything else, like Thai as my second and third language, even the worst comes to worst, and no matter how the situation changes, with the exemption of my sudden passing, I'm sure my determination shall not waver so easily.

Is it absurd of me to think that I'm not a daydreamer, only cheesed of remaining at the same place, just like seeking political asylum in some other nations...? Well, it's just a joke. Yet I believe whether my thoughts are hackneyed, or they are not figments of my imagination at all, even some people might be flabbergasted at them.

Oh…by the way, the English proficiency test what I was supposed to take was taken place last Sunday, and it turned out be completely debacle due to my lack of capability to succeed it.
It is said that a threshold of succeeding the test denotes at least 10,000 words and idioms, and it should be prerequisite as well when you go outside the country and wade through a lot of information and do whatever you want to, including business and so on.
Still, it sounds to me a formidable task being measured up to that level, whereas I’ll try to gear my ass and cram a lot of words, whenever I come off duty.

As for the job, well I’m kind of optimistic, so eventually I believe it gets me somewhere.
But then again, to me, it’s little more than a ploy to turn things around, and of course you’ve got to walk before run. I should think twice as to rally my circumstances as well, in order not to fall for their silly schemes, like some of the remainders of my current work place dissuade me from leaving. As it turned out, I cannot work on 2 things simultaneously after all. Only what I can do is something more dominant that lies right in front of me, so I’ll try to hit the books once again from scratch until at the last minute before starting anything else.

Ok, talk to you later.

Take393

A job interview

Hi viewers,
Here's a scenario of what I'm supposed to take as a job interview.

I (Interviewer):　So could you briefly describe your job careers after graduating school?

T(Take393) : I was joining a trading company for 10 years, where I was doing sales for 6 years. I was a person in charge of electronic appliances such as phone, fax, or computer, at the same time I was responsible for making business documents such as estimate or proposal.
Then I was transferred to merchandise department, where I engaged in ordering some commodities from the manufacturing companies, and I was responsible for managing some of its stocks as well.

I: What made you leave that company?

T: My then boss suddenly asked me to go to Sapporo branch for awhile, however it seemed nearly impossible to accept the offer for family reason.
I had to turn it down and ended up with leaving the office.

I: Then you joined the Airport Limousine service at Tokyo International Airport, so what were you doing there?

T: I was doing all kinds of stuff, like making departing announcement to each passenger for boarding, taking care of their baggage, often taking them to the vending machine or the counter for purchasing tickets.

I: So why did you quit it?

T: One thing is… you know it was really tough physically and mentally in terms of working over night, I mean 24 hours of working. As the bus terminal was just right down the airport, I was pretty hectic all the while even I had to sacrifice my holidays at times for my job. Of course our service is opening throughout the year, as long as the air flight has not been cancelled.
The other thing is, well I really wanted to brush up more on my English as to jump into another pond. I was also seeking daytime jobs to make up for studying on weekends.

I: I see. So you are currently working…um…what would you say…MTK Co Ltd, and you are about to leave that firm as well?

T:Yes.

I: So what have you been doing out there?

T:I’ve been working as a debt collector for about 3 years. At the time when I was joining the firm in 2003, there were quite a few of foreign customers, and we had a claim with their debts concerning the payment for their cell phones. My main job is to persuade those customers to pay their debts immediately. I was fortunate to know my English was useful in a certain way, because a lot of foreigners were having troubles with conducting Japanese.
But later on, after our Sapporo branch launching the next year, our obligation was taken over to it, so right after that I could seldom conduct English on the daily basis, and that was a real shame to me as well.
Also a year passed by, one group company where I was primarily belonging to as a temporary staff dissolved, and then I was reemployed from MTK Co. Ltd as a part timer, where I am currently working for a year or so.
But the company doesn’t seem to go well, because it is likely to downsize its scale by firing a few workers. It seems really hard to stick up for it any further. That probably explains it.

I: Thank you Mr. Take393. As you know…I’m very sorry to say in the first place, but I can’t offer you a teaching job at the moment.
So I wonder if you could count this in as well, right after you had heard the detailed explanation about a new kind of things.

T: Well…as long as I heard about a new job, I can honestly say that I’m so much intrigued with it. Actually I was originally seeking a job as a teacher, but I found that intercultural communication is always necessary whatever you start up new things, and your company is currently pursuing being a cutting edge of intercultural communication, and it’s a skill of what we need on the bottom line, I think.

I: So what is your goal for the future?

T: My dream is eventually you know…immersing myself in an environment where English is only available, where I can mingle with the local people and I can show them my language and culture, after familiarizing with my teaching skill here in Japan.

I: Well, Take393, thank you very much for coming here today, and I wish you a good luck.

T: I thank you very much for having me here.

take393

How you could get the hang of pronunciation?

This is translated version being originally written in Japanese.

Hi viewers,
Today, I’d like to refer to the English pronunciation.

It is one of the main problems that the bulk of Japanese are having troubles with, isn’t it?
Have you had any experiences with your bad pronunciation made foreigners feel awkward, whereas you had learned a lot of English words?
People around me are apt to think the way I pronounce English words is like those of native’s, since I was luckily enough to stay in the U.S.
In fact, it might be much closer to them―as long as comparing with other Japanese―still I can hardly say it is impeccable enough to conduct. Yet from the past to the present, there is a main reason why I focus too much on that.
Although it may sounds weird to you guys, the reason is very simple.

Before that, please allow me to go off on a tangent for awhile.
At the time when I was staying New York, so called Young Culture represented the movie, Grease, Disco Music―now that what we called The Club Music―, The Beatles who had already broken up was renowned throughout a whole world, or The Rolling Stones, who is well known as the biggest group still on active list supported by the widely ranged audiences.
It was the time when the computer games were still not put on the block. Juveniles were flocking to the record stores, where they could kick up their heels respectively.
I was not exempted. I would purchase the bunch of The Beatle’s LP, even single records, often listened to them, as well as the succeeding group The Wings, until my record player had been seriously damaged. Although I was listening to them millions of times, trying to copy the way they were singing, at the same time I was looking at each lyrics, somehow I found that I wasn’t able to adjust to the original. I was always behind their rhythms at least one tempo. For me as a perfectionist, it came to me as a shock when I wasn’t able to sing smoothly.

After I came back to Japan, I primarily listened to English songs. In the early 1980s, The American Pop Music featured the leading figure’s songs, like those from Lionel Ritchie’s, Billy Joel’s, and Stevie Wonder’s.
They were available at the countdown programs on TV’s or Radio’s and I often imitated their way of singing as well whenever I dubbed the tapes from the borrowed albums.

There comes a time when I can sing English songs naturally. I assume that it took me much length of times which is almost equivalent to those the newly born is becoming grownups.

You can acquire pronunciation by singing songs as well as you can portray your emotion in your comprehension of those lyrics by building up your own vocabularies.
As it is my way of learning English, there might be controversial, whether my proposal could be for it, or against it.
Conducting the authentic English always requires the accurate phone, thereby you can say in a way, it was not in vain to me at all, even though how much times I had spent in practicing the pronunciation.

take393

How to secure a better job?

Hi, viewers!
Recently, I've had it up to here with my current job. Despite I've been working for about 3 years, neither brings me benefits, nor have I got any stipend over the years at all, which I deserve to be remunerated.
What’s more, sticking up for the job further gets me nowhere, because the current task is completely irrelevant to the goal what I’m pursuing at the moment.
I’ve found that I’m just toying with my time. Yet time flies like an arrow so I cannot procrastinate that much.
The bulk of times I spend with my work, but I don’t think it is compatible with studying for the coming test that takes measures of the current English proficiency.

Some people including me believe a few dissent firms or language schools still open their doors to those who have measured up to over 850 in TOEIC, or the 1st level of Step Test, which catch on English learners in Japan nationwide.
In fact, those kinds of test ensure a certain job security even you get order, that’s why it draws test takers an often lot.
Privileges are you can gauge where you are, at the same time able to grasp your week points as well.
To the contrary, however it’s quite deplorable when you take a look at your work place, where you can see people who are almost indifferent to seeing the different world, like learning new things.
There used to be some efficient workers around those whom could be looked up to, but in hindsight, they had found it was silly enough to playing the games. It was not long before they vanished in the haze.
What if us remainder, who are in hands of incapable managements?
Some are still safe, because those are playing the devil's advocate, or pretending to be apple polishers. They would be the last people who are kicked out of it.

Our firm is likely to reverse the trend as if it were back in 1970s or 80s, whereas others are in the middle of globalization.
Take the Matsushita electronics groups, for instance.
Currently there are so many versatile staffs both at home and abroad, the firm is thriving even more rapidly ever than before due to its cutting edge of international communication.
They’re now focusing Chinese as their second foreign language, because Chinese market is now growing at a breakneck speed over a decade.
“Being yourself bilingual at your work place is no longer scarcity value these days. Thus we implemented Chinese on our job training, because we currently targeting out there. China has more”, says one of the chief executives.

Given that you were already knowledgeable, at the same time able to conduct 3 languages in the business world, it’s no doubt you are amazingly valuable wherever you go. Your co-workers may be astonished your competence, even may hide a shamelessly covetous look in their eyes. So if you are having troubles with your current circumstances, don’t linger, stay away from it.
Were it not for a certain security at your work place, how come you stick to it?
Come on, get away and see the different world.
It’s not too late to get started. With your passion, enthusiasm, and your slight courageousness to knock the door are sure enough to change your life.
Ok, talk to you later.

take393