Sharing experience working at a Japanese konbini

I. Job application process: 

In Japan, when supermarkets and konbinis are recruiting, there will be posters stuck outside of the entrance announcing that they are recruiting, as well as a contact phone number. If you can speak Japanese to a certain extent, you can actively contact them to apply for the job.

At that time, I was in my second year of university. As the konbini was relatively close to my house, as well as the pay was quite good, I directly contacted them, saying that I wanted to apply for the job. Then, I need to prepare a resume (called Rirekisho). The resume form can be taken free of charge at the area in front of the job guidance room at my university, purchased at 100 yen shops, or printed after filling out an online form. 

You will then be scheduled to come for an interview. At an interview, people will often ask questions like:

• Where do you come from?
• What are you currently studying?
• What do you want to do in the future?
• How many hours do you expect to work each day, and from what time to what time?
• How many days can you work a week?
• Do you have any wishes or requests?

These questions are so that the employer can test your Japanese language level, confirm whether the time that you are available for work is what they are looking for, as well as how you are as a person. In Japan, people often ask these types of questions in job interviews, no matter how big the company and the type of job it is. 

Oftentimes, the recruiter will tell you that the results would be out a week after the interview. You will be coming back to sign the contract a week later if you pass. In that case, as you are a foreigner, you will need to prepare the following documents: 

• Residence card
• Passport
• Personal stamp (hanko) 
• My number card

After bringing those documents, the Konbini was the party declaring tax and I had to specify the time within a day and how many days a week you will be working (for a 1-year contract). However, sometimes, the actual time when you will be working might not be similar to what was stated in the contract, as there would be days when I had sudden class schedule changes. In such cases, I was able to take the day off. This is because I worked in shifts, and when I was unavailable, there would be other people there to replace me. There used to be a time when I took a one-month break to return to my country, and yet my employer was still very supportive of it. Overall, the working hours are very flexible. 

In case you fail the interview, there would be no notifications from the employer. 

II. Main features of the job: 

In general, the work is quite easy. However, depending on the shift and the konbini that you work at, the order of things you need to do at work will vary. 

At the place where I worked, cleaning (wiping the floors and glass windows, etc) is done in the morning, which I would do on the days when I have morning shifts. More specifically, I would wipe the glass, bring a broom and dustpan to clean, as well as wash the ashtray (that is located in front of the konbini). 

After having finished cleaning, all that is left is checking out for the customers. Additionally, I also had to check the shelves where the products are no longer full to bring out the goods in the warehouse to stock them back. Products that expire first would be placed on the front, whereas those that expire later would be in the back. Therefore, when you re-stock the products, you’d have to take everything out to put them back in that specific order. 

Overall, the work until 7-8 PM is just to check out for the customers, and restock the goods when there are no customers. 

In addition, at konbinis, there are ticket issue machines (for example concert tickets), printers, and photocopiers. Sometimes, there would be old people who don’t know how to use those machines, thus it was necessary for me to know how to use them in case I needed to guide someone.

In Japan, the process of checking the expiration time of goods, especially food is very strict. For example, if a product expires tomorrow, you have to throw it all away from today. The expiration times of each item is different. For example, lunch boxes expire in the evening, whereas rice balls expire in the afternoon. So every time when the expiration date is near, I have to check which type is close to the expiration date to throw them out, and then double-check everything in the evening.

To throw it away, you have to bring it into the computer system, press the button to report haiki and read the product's barcode. Then the system will recognize this product as haiki. For shops where the owner is easygoing after the product is confirmed as haiku, you can bring it home for free. For international students, this is a great way to reduce spending.

(There are also some konbinis that do not allow this. Thus, if you work at a konbini, you can check whether your senpais working before you take them home or not and do the same thing). 

III. Working schedule and salary: 

I used to work twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays since I didn’t have class on those days. My working hours were from 9 AM until 6 PM including a one-hour break from 12 PM to 1 PM, in which I wasn’t paid during break hours. 

At work, there is a fingerprint scanner, a nameplate, and a code. Upon arrival at work, you will have to use the code scanner on the nameplate to scan your fingerprint. The same thing goes for when you take a lunch break and go back to working in the afternoon. 

There are usually 2 people working the same shift. The average salary in the countryside ranges from 820 yen per hour, whereas that of bigger cities like Tokyo and Nagoya would be roughly 1000 yen per hour. As the work is quite simple and clean, its pay is also relatively lower than that of restaurants and other jobs.

Overall, I did not run into any sorts of difficulties working there. However, those who are not proficient in Japanese are very likely to have a hard time, since you would be meeting a lot of people while working, and not everyone is nice and kind - there are also rude and difficult customers, making it much harder to converse to in comparison to other customers. Additionally, how an object is called in conventional Japanese might differ depending on the dialects and age of the customers, thus it is also important to know the different ways in which the products are called as well. 

IV. Some cautions: 

In Japan, there is the notion of “Egao” - a smile, cheerful face, and energetic attitude, which is something extremely important when it comes to working at konbinis. For example, when encountering difficult customers, a bright smile would help soothe their attitude. In fact, I was even taught how to smile before going to Japan. Though it may seem a bit unnatural to some, when it comes to working in the service industry, it is always better than a grumpy face and gloomy attitude. 

My boss really loved to chat. He would often ask me about how my school and life were going. The chats were very pleasant, which made the whole working process much more comfortable. 

Additionally, ningenkankei - the relationships between you and your coworkers are also of vital importance. Japanese people are less likely to open up to others. Thus showing your sincerity, or/and maybe cracking jokes with them if your Japanese is good enough would definitely help improve your relationships. 

You can also chat with your Japanese coworkers while refilling the shelves. You can start by introducing yourself, then move on to other topics such as life or family. Basically working without talking to anyone for the whole day is kinda sad, in which I also treated this as an opportunity to practice my Japanese. 

Even though my shift started at 9 AM, I usually get there a bit earlier, for around 10 to 15 minutes. Getting to work right on time is rather rude, and the Japanese also consider that to be late for work. The work is pretty basic, and you can always ask for help from your coworkers when something new comes up. When you start working, you will definitely be paired up with another coworker who had been working there for a long time. 

For example, things such as ordering goods that are almost out of stock will not be done by full-time workers, not international students and part-time workers.  

Japanese people don’t mind guiding or showing you how to do things, but it is best to only leave it to the first time and not ask the same thing the second or third time. Therefore, I recommend bringing a pen and a small notebook to take notes when necessary. 

It is best to inform your boss of your quitting one month prior, as well as thank them and your coworkers. After that, you only have to return your uniform. 

V. Good memories 

I received presents from my coworkers on Valentine's Day, a gift card as a birthday present, as well as lots of books and pens from my boss. I was also quite close to a coworker of mine and she would sometimes drive me to hang out in far locations. 

Above is the experience working part-time konbinis shared by an international student in Japan. 

Working part-time is a great way to earn money, as well as practice and hone your Japanese skills. However, remember not to focus too much on working and neglect your schoolwork! 

If you have any other questions about working part-time in konbinis, feel free to comment down below!