The story of how I became a "Failure Teacher" in an executive interview after spending my days on video production where I "became someone else"

In the "#FavoriteProgram" post project we held recently, I read the posts gathered from everyone and realized that programs are things that deepen our love for our favorites, make us laugh, and sometimes even change our lives.

In this "#WhatITalkedAboutToGetHired" feature, we will introduce the episode of M-san, a third-year employee, who faced an executive interview by paying homage to a famous popular program.

If a presentation isn't interesting, is it over?

“If a presentation isn't interesting, it's over.”
That was the fixed idea I held when I faced the executive interview at SKY Perfect JSAT. However, that fixed idea became, in a good way, the material to appeal my passion for SKY Perfect JSAT, and that is why I am working at SKY Perfect JSAT now.

Since high school, I had vaguely wanted to enter the media industry, so I chose a university department specializing in media. When I became a third-year university student and internships in the media industry started early, I realized I wanted to work in television within the media industry. However, when I say television, I didn't mean mass-market program production like terrestrial TV stations, but rather I wanted to be involved in live broadcasts of music and events (live content). While researching pay broadcasting that handles many live broadcasts, I learned about the existence of a company called SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation.

At the time, as a task for the executive interview, we were given the topic of presenting "Why SKY Perfect JSAT?" in a free format for 5 minutes.
However, projection via PC was not allowed. I think it would have been fine to use the standard approach of creating materials in PowerPoint, printing them out, and handing them to the executives, but when I saw this condition, I immediately thought, "I'll be rejected if I just do a normal presentation."
“What kind of presentation will other job seekers do...? A picture-story show? Explain while showing off a special skill? Or will there be some fierce people who will give a passionate speech without any preparation through sheer power play?”
The reason I thought so strategically was because I had no particular merits. I had no outstanding special skills, and the student activities and episodes I wrote on my entry sheet were commonplace. But, I had passion. Even though I only had ordinary episodes, I was desperate to have them think, "This person is interesting."

Days of video production where I "became someone else"

What helped me in that situation was the "presentation method of becoming someone else" that I cultivated through seminar activities.
From my second year of university, I belonged to a video production seminar, which was one of the reasons I aspired to the department. For the first year, we were assigned themes such as news programs, dramas, music videos, and a culmination project (homage to a TV program), and I spent almost no time off working on video production.
I encountered this seminar when the professor and students of the seminar visited my high school. At the time, a novel titled "Hibana" by Naoki Matayoshi was being adapted into a drama, and when I watched that video, I was shocked by the quality and attention to detail that I couldn't believe was produced by students, and I aspired to the department to join the seminar because I wanted to dedicate my university life to video production like that.

And in parallel with those assignments, the seminar professor gave each team a topic, and we also had to research the history of the topic and present it in front of all the seminar students. For example, if the theme was "love," we explained the differences in communication tools and ways of meeting on dates between the past and the present, and presented points that haven't changed since the past and points that are considered important precisely because it is the modern era.
The professor would absolutely not give a high evaluation just for distributing presentation materials, projecting them, and talking; he demanded extra ingenuity, such as acting to recreate situations or appearing in cosplay.

My team had the theme of "History of Music Live Performances," and there were mysterious roles like DJs and idols, and we even had the girl playing the idol sing a self-made song and produced a simple music video. All the team members had serious personalities, and at the time, they had considerable resistance to fully becoming the characters, and the reception during the presentation was worse than expected, so it is a memory that I cannot say was fun, to the point that I erased it from my memory as a dark history. I wonder what he was making us do, but at least by spending time in this seminar, the fixed idea that "if a presentation isn't interesting, it's over" was born. At the time, I didn't think this presentation hell would help me with my job hunting later, but...

Lecturing to executives as a "Failure Teacher"

Now, let's return to the situation where I was racking my brain over the presentation method for the executive interview.
While I had exhausted all presentation methods and was at a loss, the "presentation method of becoming someone else" that I cultivated through seminar activities crossed my mind. What if the positions of the executive and myself were swapped? For example, like a teacher and a student... That's it! If I pay homage to that program, they will know at a glance that I want to work in media!

What I arrived at was to give a presentation in the style of "Shikujiri Sensei" (Failure Teacher).
"Shikujiri Sensei: Ore Mitai ni Naru na!!" (Failure Teacher: Don't End Up Like Me!!) is an educational variety program broadcast on TV Asahi and distributed on the internet TV service ABEMA. Based on the basic philosophy of "Let's learn 'how to avoid failure' from people who have failed grandly in life!", every time, a celebrity gives a class-style presentation on "the problems and lessons of their own words and actions" using a textbook original to the program. Every time, astonishing episodes that one would not encounter in the life of an ordinary person pop up, but the attractive point is that in the end, you get a lesson that applies to yourself as an ordinary person.
I thought that by becoming a teacher like that "Failure Teacher" and turning the pages of the textbook together, I could appeal who I am without leaving the executives behind. I made the presentation materials look like the textbook used in "Failure Teacher," and tried to make the design of the cover and contents as close to the original as possible. In my seminar activities, I had used Adobe Illustrator and an app called Pixelmator, but I never thought it would be useful for job hunting.

However, there is no guarantee that I will be matched with an executive involved in the media business. They might not notice that I am paying homage to "Failure Teacher." Therefore, before the executive interview, I searched for all the executives of SKY Perfect JSAT at the time on the internet, and made sure to match the faces and names, especially for the executives in the media business department.
On the day, when I entered the executive interview venue, I could tell at a glance that one of the two executives was from the media business department, and the moment I handed out the materials, they noticed, "It's Failure Teacher!" The presentation method of turning the pages together was successful, and the executives were listening to my presentation while nodding and looking firmly into my eyes. I believe that my passion that I want to work in the media industry and that I can achieve what I want to do precisely because it is SKY Perfect JSAT was conveyed.
On the same day as the executive interview, I received a call from the Human Resources Department, and I was able to proceed to the final president interview. Even now, I am glad I did that preparation.

Changing the perspective—her now

Since joining the company, I have been in a team involved in soccer content. Originally, I hoped for the entertainment genre, but now I have a favorite club in the J.League, and I have come to love soccer so much that I go to the stadium on my days off to watch matches.

I don't have any outstanding special skills or abilities, but by changing my perspective a little at that time, I am able to work at this company called SKY Perfect JSAT now. If there is anyone who is worried like I was, I would be happy if this episode could be a reference.

M-san, who looked back on that time, saying she practiced the "presentation method of becoming someone else" because she had no merits.

During job hunting, I think there are times when you compare yourself with the "amazing people" around you and worry, but it might be important to look at yourself precisely at such times.
Wasn't it a presentation that she could only think of because she is an entertainment lover who enjoys "Failure Teacher" and had the experience of "becoming someone else" in a seminar?

Whether you are currently struggling with job hunting or worried about how to give a presentation, looking back on your past experiences and the things you love might just help you find a way to break through.

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