I have a job
Saturday, June 30th, 2007Finally it is done. I have decided.
After a long process of doing interviews, failing some and nailing others, last week I had two job offers left to decide on. A couple of days ago I decided for one, after lots of decision angst. The two offers were very similar in many ways. They are in the same industry (management consulting), they will pay pretty much the same level of salary, and both offer similar development opportunities. Only in two areas do the two offers really differ in any significant way. One has a stronger brand, no question about it, and plenty of my friends working there. The other has arguably more interesting projects (of course very subjective). Working on interesting projects felt more important to me, so I chose the one that offered that. The company I did choose is Capgemini, and the one I didn’t choose is Accenture. Right or wrong? Let me know what you think in the comments. I am convinced I made the right choice, and I’m very happy to be starting work in Stockholm on the first of October.
It’s going to be very weird to leave Japan - I really like it here. At the same time, the feeling I have after probing lots of companies and connections is that it is pretty tough to start working here. Fine if you get sent out as an expat, or work in the finance sector (like Micke), but otherwise it’s hard.
One of the things I will miss the most is the amazing food - I don’t think you can get better food anywhere in the world. For example, last night me and Adri went to Shinobu-tei in Ebisu for a nice dinner, catching up after a week of basically not seeing each other more than for breakfast. This place is an excellent example of how fantastic japanese food can be, from the kanpachi sashimi, via the slightly weird and soupy (but one of Adri’s favorites) 伊達鶏と茄子の卸し煮 to the 合鴨と千寿葱のロースト. Also, for lunch yesterday, me and some colleagues went to the even more fantastic Roku Roku sushiyasan at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo, for the best sushi I ever had. It was the farewell lunch for one of our colleagues who is moving on to a new jobs, lunch courtesy of our gourmet boss. Sushi in Stockholm is unfortunately not quite the same culinary experience.
So, what can we do about this lack of japanese-style culinary development in Sweden? Me and Adri have started doing our part, by attempting to (and almost succeding in) convince our local okonomiyaki guys at Non to move to Sweden and start a branch of their restaurant there. The next step would be to introduce japanese service levels in Sweden. Let’s see if something comes from it :-)