I was happy, surrounded by kind supervisors and colleagues, so in that sense, it might have been easier for me, both mentally and physically, to remain at my first Japanese company. However, even if it meant leaving that rather sheltered environment and entering a more demanding one, my desire to do more rewarding work where I could use English continued to grow.
As I entered my late twenties, for someone like me who had missed the opportunity to get married, it may have been quite natural to devote myself to work. It seemed that the Lord was thinking about my career plan over a long span of time. I would like to share about the selection process at the company, which I still remember very clearly.
I applied to an American company for a secretary position. The requirement stated, “someone who can write natural English.” I had no experience as a secretary, and I had only written things like an English diary, so I am not sure why I felt like applying, but I passed the document screening.
The first examination consisted of an interview with executives and a written English test. The test was so difficult that I think I could only do about half of it. I felt embarrassed, thinking how presumptuous I had been with such limited ability. I thought I would never come here again, and out of embarrassment, I left the place as if I were running away.
While I was waiting for the result of the first examination, four or five people prayed for me at a morning prayer meeting at church. After the prayer, Sister M said to me with a smile,
“While we were praying, I saw a vision of Moses parting the Red Sea. S-san, your exam will be fine.”
Even when I was told that, I thought it was absolutely impossible, because I was the one who had taken the test. However, for some reason, I received a notice for the second interview. I wondered if there had been some mistake.
On the morning of the second interview, when I woke up, I had a very strange feeling. My heart was overflowing with joy, and I was filled with gratitude. I did not understand the reason myself, but of course, the Holy Spirit knows things that I have not yet seen or understood. Being filled with the Holy Spirit, tears began to fall, and I could only say,
“Jesus, I do not understand yet, but thank You. Thank You. Thank You.” I offered a prayer of thanksgiving, being led by the Holy Spirit.
When I went to the second interview, the secretary position had already been filled by someone else, but they told me that the man in charge of trade had just left, and that there was an opening there, and asked if I would be interested. The top person there seemed to take a liking to me because I was attending an English school while working. The number two person also said, “We will teach you exports from scratch. Since you have been doing imports, if you learn exports, you can become an expert in trade. Why don’t you try working with us?”
If it had been imports, I was thinking of declining, but I was interested in exports, and since they spoke so enthusiastically, I decided to go there.
It was also a blessing that when I negotiated my salary for the first time in my life, I had happened to hear the market rate for foreign companies from a person at an employment agency, so I could use that as a reference. Then the top person asked me, “Why that amount?”
Normally, I would explain my experience and skills, but I did not know how to present myself or use any techniques. Even now, I laugh at how childlike my answer was, but I replied innocently, “Well, I want to continue studying at S Academy, and since I have not been able to save any money at all until now, I would like to start saving, and I want to move to an apartment with a bath, so I need that amount.”
If it had been another company, I might have been rejected, but once they had a favorable impression of me, they did not take it badly, and the amount was accepted smoothly.
I realized that the reason I had been filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit that morning was because of this. I realized how wonderful God’s plan is. In a way I could never have imagined, He led me to work there.
As a side note, it seems that the top person remembered what I had said about the apartment, and after some time, he said to me with a smile,
“HS-san, have you moved to an apartment with a bath?”
------ to be continued -----
にほんブログ村
にほんブログ村
多言語学習ランキング
