[NTQ Rubik] Ogura Haruka and her affinity with Vietnam

Learning from diversity

Working in a typical Japanese office can be serious and quiet, but working with Vietnamese people is more relaxed and enjoyable. Ogura feels energized by the friendly and enthusiastic colleagues at NTQ Japan, who help her adapt to the work quickly. They greet each other every morning and before leaving, share stories during lunch break, and even check on each other when someone is sick. All these gestures make the distance between the two countries disappear.

When asked what she wants to learn more from the Vietnamese way of working, Ogura shares: “It is honesty and directness regardless of the position.” Japanese people respect hierarchy, so when talking to superiors, young people tend to listen more and argue less. However, since working at NTQ Japan, Ogura has changed her mindset completely.

She recalls a situation when she first joined the company, at a weekly team meeting, a colleague disagreed with the boss’s idea, so she expressed it openly and they had a heated debate. Ogura thought that after the meeting, they would avoid each other for a while, but surprisingly, they were having lunch together and chatting happily that same day. Since then, Ogura has been confident in her ability to voice her opinion because she knows that NTQ is “a safe place” where everyone is equal and respectful.

Moreover, Ogura also points out a thing that Vietnamese people can learn more from the Japanese working style: discipline. Discipline is not only about respecting yourself, but also respecting others.

NTQ Solution encourages experimentation

Ogura started at NTQ as a Sales Assistant, helping with translation and document preparation. But soon, she realized that to reach the Japanese market, the content and articles needed to be written by native speakers. She saw the potential at NTQ and wanted to challenge herself, so she suggested moving to Marketing – a position that NTQ Japan had never had before. Her superiors supported her, and she became the sole Marketing staff for NTQ Japan.

After 6 months of work, Ogura is most proud of two technology exhibition projects in June and October. As a newcomer to the company and the industry, Ogura faced many difficulties and had to work overtime. But she also learned a lot from her seniors: how to plan from Ms. Dinh Huong in Vietnam, how to set up event booths and logistics from Ms. Cat, or how to attract customers to Uncle Eddie’s booth. The support and friendship from everyone around motivated Ogura to keep trying.

Unlike the first experience, which was confusing, the exhibition in October went more smoothly and received positive feedback from everyone in the company. Ogura handled every stage by herself, from creating the booth concept, preparing documents and materials, working with the construction team, communicating with the sales team, making reports… Of course, there were still some unexpected situations. But Ogura believes that these are all useful lessons for her to improve every day.

Regarding her future plans, Ogura wants to create many innovative ideas for the company’s marketing activities, and she is also open to trying new opportunities that match her strengths.

Thanks Ogura for her sharing. We hope Ogura’s journey at NTQ Japan will be full of new experiences and achievements.

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*This article is part of the series: “NTQ Rubik – series about NTQ people across the globe.”

As a Global IT Service Provider, NTQ Solution aims to create a working environment that brings together diverse technological talents with a shared passion, ambition, and unity to innovate and propagate numerous values. At NTQ Solution, we empower our employees to “shine” by providing them with a diverse, free, and flexible space to hone their skills and conquer the global market.