One of the most frequently asked questions in the Entry Sheet (ES) and interviews during job hunting is What did you put effort into when you were a student?'' Many students choose stories about their club activities’’ or part-time jobs,'' but if you just tell them that you just worked hard’’ or ``contributed to sales,’’ you will be lost among other job hunters. In this article, we will explain tips on how to convey your message to turn an ordinary experience into an attractive point of appeal.
What companies want to know from “Gakuchika”
First of all, the main premise is that the interviewer is not interested in the size of your circle or the sales volume of your part-time job. There are two things companies want to know:
- Your personality and values: What motivates you, what difficulties do you encounter, and how do you overcome them?
- Reproducibility: Can the strengths and ways of thinking cultivated through that experience be demonstrated even after joining the company (work)?
It doesn’t have to be a brilliant achievement such as “winning a national championship.” It’s the ``small ingenuity’’ you make in your daily work that can be a great way to appeal to others.
Composition format for appealing communication (STAR method)
If you structure your anecdotes logically using the STAR method, it will be easier to understand them to the interviewer.
- S (Situation): What kind of organization and what role did you play?
- T (Task): What kind of problem or goal was there?
- A (Action): How you thought and acted regarding the task.
- R (Result): What was the result? And what did you learn?
Specific examples and points of appeal
1. Examples of part-time work experience
❌ Bad example: “I worked hard at serving customers at a part-time job at a cafe, and as a result of serving customers with a smile, my sales increased.” (Anyone can say this, and I can’t see any concrete actions)
⭕️ Good example: “I worked part-time at a cafe and focused on increasing the number of regular customers (Task). I created a unique memo to remember customers’ faces and ordering preferences, and proposed and implemented a system to share it among staff (Action). As a result, the repeat rate increased and I was able to build a relationship where customers called me by name (Result). From this experience, I learned the importance of anticipating the needs of customers and acting proactively.” (I am able to highlight my specific ideas and independence in my work.)
2. Examples of circle activities
❌ Bad example: “As the vice president of the tennis circle, I brought everyone together and made the tournament a success.”
⭕️ Good example: “There was an issue in our tennis club that the participation rate in practice was low (Task). After hearing the results, we realized that there was a difference in motivation between beginners and experienced players, so we devised a new practice menu for each level that beginners could enjoy while improving (Action). As a result, the participation rate increased by 0% and a sense of unity was created among the entire team (Result). From this experience, I gained the ability to analyze organizational issues and implement solutions by involving those around me.”
Summary: Talk about “process” not “result”
What is important when promoting a club or part-time job is not the size of the result'' but the thought process that led to that point.’’ Dig deeper so that you can explain in your own words, Why did you want to tackle that problem?'' Why did you choose that solution?’’ and appeal to companies as your unique strengths.