My six-month product design internship in Tokyo

As a student of product design in Germany, I wanted to gain my first real work experience. Since I'm half Japanese and pretty fluent in Japanese, my university teachers suggested that I do an internship in Japan. As I am very interested in Japan and always wanted to experience, what it is like to work and live there, I accepted this challenge.

Internships in Japan are still somewhat uncommon and it is very difficult, especially for someone from abroad, to organize it by yourself and to gain the desired internship in your field. There are a lot of uncertainties; whether in application, job interview, or the working conditions. For this reason, I initially also considered to study abroad at a university in Japan. But firstly I rather wanted to finally gain real work experiences as a product designer and secondly, it is super expensive to study there. I was in a quandary and was trying to find solutions. Then I figured out that there are internship agencies like Zentern Internships, focussing on exactly what I was looking for. I compared, contacted and even spoke with three different agencies and clearly decided for Zentern Internships. The pricing was the best and they had a selection of interesting product design companies in Tokyo. Getting to know the Zentern team was very pleasant and I felt like, they understood very well, what I was looking for.

Zentern provided excellent support in preparing for my internship, helping me craft my CV and prepare for my interview. I was surprised and super happy that my first job interview in Japanese with my internship company went so smoothly. Zentern also helped me with the complicated visa registration and with organizing the fitting accommodation. Thanks to their expertise and support I was perfectly prepared for Japan. There was no way I could have handled all of this so well on my own.

The internship itself was very exciting, versatile, and fun, but at times also quite challenging. You get to experience the Japanese politenes and friendliness but also their strictness, high ambitions and their well known work culture and mentality. As an intern they don't expect from you to do any overwork, but their schedules can be tight and their expectations can be high. Yet, these were exactly the things I wanted to learn about Japan — what it is like to work there and how I would like the lifestyle in Tokyo. Throughout my internship, Zentern always offered me great support and advice, especially in challenging situations. They were incredibly friendly and I felt very well looked after and safe. In the end, I was able to experience everything I wanted, acquired new skills for product design and am very grateful for the valuable insights. I have gained more self-confidence and now have the certainty that I am able to live in Japan and work in a company with my Japanese language skills.