STORIES2021/03/26
I have finally found a workplace I could belong to.
UT Toshiba
Gouki Kishimoto
PROFILE
Gouki joined UT Toshiba in 2012. Now 44 years old, he has worked in a variety of positions, at a help desk for PCs and networks, and in local offices of the government and local branch offices. His hobbies are guitar and the Instagram posting of his pet cat Korekiyo, which has more than 500 followers.
Introduction
After quitting his first job, three years after he started, fresh out of college, Gouki was a job hopper for nearly 20 years. He then had to move to Mie Prefecture and came across an opening that led to his current job, which he has been doing for ten years. What makes him continue working at the current job?
On the national road construction worksite as a part-time day worker
Looking back, I was young and thoughtless up to when I was 44 years old. It all started when I quit the company. I was hired fresh out of college as in-house system engineer and stayed for three years. I wanted to try various other things, such as to go to a school for music producers, go into editorial production, register with an Apple consulting company, or work as a network engineer at an audio manufacturer.
In my mid-30s, I moved from Kanto to Mie Prefecture due to family circumstances. At the beginning, it was hard for me to fit into new surroundings. “You are an engineer from Tokyo, and don’t even know this?” I wanted to be free from my past career and I even became a day worker. I went to the office by 5:00 a.m., went to the worksite if I got a job for the day, or volunteered to drive back and forth the workers to and from the worksite if I couldn’t get a job. The worksite was for repair of a national road in Mie Prefecture. I couldn’t even do making holes with a shovel well. One day, a veteran worker couldn’t stand looking at my struggling, saying: “Kishimoto-san, you can’t stay here. There must be a better workplace for you!”
Thanks to the words, I felt I’d got over a lot of things. I thought I had to commit to working with a dedicated attitude. That was when I encountered what became my current job. I saw a help wanted ad that said “Workplace: Government agency engaged in management of rivers and national roads, Hiring position: Information processing equipment help desk.” This would be the most solid workplace I could ever find… I made up my mind then.
I am advancing my career in the job I got hooked.
The help desk I was in charge of is in a local office and responds to inquiries from about 100 employees, such as “I do not to know how to use a PC or printer,” “something is wrong with my PC,” or “I cannot go online.” On days without a call, I try to acquire new knowledge and create a mechanism to make things easier to understand. I have a bit of a nosey personality, which makes me good for this job. One time, the office manager told me:
“Kishimoto-san, is it just a year since you came here? I thought you were here for three or four years.”
I had been job-hopping but when I got hooked on a job, I could continue to do it. Moreover, I could feel that I was of help to others, which was so rewarding to me. Three years later, I was assigned to be responsible for a large office with about 150 employees, and five years later, I moved from a regional office to a regional branch office—the upper organization in Nagoya. Since I had been interacting with those in the branch office, it was a place where I was interested for some time. I had told so to my contact in UT, who was constantly checking whether any position there will be vacant. If you’re seriously trying hard with your work, luck may come on your side. I feel a curious coincidence because I used to dig holes on a national road, and now I support people who maintain and manage that road.
The transfer to Nagoya also brought me a nice happenstance at the pet shop on my commute. This is the Meerkat I named “Korekiyo” just like the same name of a famous confection of Nagoya. I want to enrich my life even further, with the support of my wife and Korekiyo.
