How I Landed a Job in a Prestigious Investment Bank Without a Degree in Finances

I benefited from the "Gaijin complex" in Japan

GoFunds Inc (*name changed) was a Japanese investment bank among the most prestigious banks in Japan.

And despite never studying finances, I landed a job there simply because I was a foreigner who could speak Japanese. There is a name for that in Japan: the “Gaijin complex.”

Westerners who speak Japanese are put on a pedestal by the Japanese and can greatly benefit from it. Famous people like Carlos Ghosn also did. Based on this example, I should have understood that the Gaijin complex is always followed by a fall…

So how did I land a job in a prestigious investment bank in Japan without a degree in finances? Read through and learn why you should never do what I've done.

The Gaijin complex

In the mid-1800s, white American men with firearms forced Japan to open its ports to foreign trade despite years of isolation.

Impressed by the tall and strong men who were stepping on their soil, Japan soon developed a fascination for the confident Westerners. Since Westerners in Japan have been glorified.

“If they could change the history of Japan, they could do anything.”

Westerners became a symbol that “nothing is impossible for the white man.”

Japan's Soft power: anime and manga

On the other side, Westerners are romanticizing Japan.

My dream of living and working in Japan had grown from the fantasy that Japan was a better country than France.

Like many other French teenagers in search of an escape from the boredom of their life, I had fed myself with anime and manga, Japan's soft power of influence.

The colors and textures of these cartoons contrasted with the grayness of the French sky, and the Japanese school uniforms seemed cool, too. The very short skirts and high socks of Japanese high school girls fascinated me; nobody seemed to find them inappropriately “sexy” for their age.

So early Japan became my promised land of freedom — the freedom to be young and cute.

I started learning Japanese at 16, motivated by the desire to move to Japan and I became fluent by the time I got hired by GoFunds Inc. It is natural that I was ready to do anything to make my dream come true and I felt on top of the world when it happened.

The joy, however, was short-lived.

The job interview

Impressed by the charisma of a French woman speaking fluent Japanese, GoFunds Inc. didn’t care that I was new to investment banking.

During my interview, I convinced them to give me a chance by showing them a picture of me standing next to the French president.

“I know important people,” I said.

This was a lie; the picture was a random one. I had met the French president by chance at a start-up event we were both visiting. I didn’t know the French President, per se.

However, GoFunds Inc. was completely oblivious.

They loved my boldness and my seeming network, so they didn’t check the veracity of my fact and hired me after the first interview.

Learning to become the “Wolf of Wall Street”

During my probation time at GoFunds Inc, I was given a couple of books on Mergers & Acquisitions to read. But officially, my assigned mission was to learn “how to act and talk like a banker” rather than how to sell and buy a company.

I read those books carefully and spend most of my time in front of the mirror, practicing how to act like a banker.

It was easy; I watched the “Wolf of Wall Street” over and over until I learned how to act like a confident jerk.

Three months later, GoFunds Inc. thought I was ready to meet with my first client and close an important deal.

Unfortunately, foreign bankers were harder to fool than my Japanese peers. They knew I wasn’t a real banker. My youthful and fragile appearance, on top of my gender, didn’t help me be a tough banker.

They did not take me seriously, and nobody wanted to sign a deal with me.

I returned to the office whining, attempting to explain that my 108 pounds and 5’2 feet were a barrier to the “real” world. In reality, I simply lacked skills in sales, finances, and public relations.

GoFunds Inc. didn’t take this as an excuse. I was a Westerner and “nothing was impossible for the white woman.”

The fall

Soon, working for this prestigious investment bank became a stressful job. The job involved a lot of paperwork and documents to fill up, coupled with tons of small talk with clients to build relationships and help me build credibility.

Reality is, I wasn't good at small talk and I had poor financial skills. I was unable to understand the logic behind P&L, cash flow statements, or balance sheets and was always mixing up numbers.

Exhausted and frustrated, I would return home and watch weird Japanese TV shows that taught me that the Japanese love to suffer, watched by millions of Japanese.

In a show, two men sitting in a room were answering questions; nothing unusual until now, right? However, the reward for answering these questions was not money. It was escaping physical harassment by a group of five men dressed like ninjas.

If they'd give the wrong answer, the poor participants were beaten with baseball bats covered with foam until they cry.

I was shocked.

Not only was I losing a good number of gray cells watching this dumb Japanese TV show, but I also realized that it was what was happening to me at the bank.

I was becoming an emotionally numb woman who needed to be beaten up so that she could feel the lively emotions of fear and pain.

What I learned when I pretended to be an investment banker

It might sound like a good motivational tactic to "fake it till you make it", but from a psychological perspective, it is terrible advice.

Here’s why:

1. It’s dishonest

Pretending to be something that you are not is called manipulation. It goes against ethical values.

Authenticity and honesty are crucial for building trust and strong relationships. Being fake can make others question your integrity and damage your reputation.

2. It's mentally exhausting

Pretending to be confident, knowledgeable, or successful when you are not is mentally exhausting.

You have to constantly wear a mask and monitor your behavior to maintain the fake image you project.

This, in terms, leads to feelings of anxiety, stress, and burnout. In contrast, being authentic and truthful can be liberating and empowering.

3. It hinders growth

Faking confidence or knowledge may help you get ahead in the short term, but it can hinder your growth in the long run.

By pretending that you know everything, you miss out on the opportunity to learn and grow from others.

Similarly, by faking confidence, you may avoid situations that challenge you or help you develop your skills. Acknowledge your weaknesses and work on improving them to truly achieve success.

4. It leads to imposter syndrome

Imposter syndrome is a phenomenon where individuals doubt their abilities and feel like they don’t deserve success.

The more you pretend to be something that you are not, the more likely you are to feel like a fraud. This can lead to feelings of anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem.

Rather than focusing on faking it, it is important to embrace your strengths and weaknesses and work on them to achieve success.

5. It creates a culture of superficiality

Last but not least, when we value appearances and personal gain over substance and ethics, we contribute to a culture of superficiality.

It is harmful to individuals and society. Instead, we need to value authenticity, honesty, and genuine efforts toward our goals.

Moral of the story?

Don’t fake it until you make it. No dream is worth lying or pretending being someone else.

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