Date of publication: Jun 24, 2019

Aleksandar Pavlovic

Founding member & Associate Director: Huxley Japan

Date of birth: Nov. 8, 1987

Hometown: Belgrade

Number of years in Japan (cumulative): 7 (as of June 2019)

Q1: What was your first encounter with Japan?

When I was eight years old I started practicing aikido; I was influenced by Steven Seagal movies. During my university days, my major covered Japanese history, culture, economics and the language itself, and it all resulted in me coming to Tokyo as a Waseda University Ph.D. exchange student. I initially arrived on Sept. 5, 2012 on what was supposed to be a one-year exchange. I’m seven years in and still here.

Q2: Please state your motto in life and why you have chosen it.

“It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!”
Life will always put challenges in front of us. Either on a personal, or professional level, or both. I am a strong believer that all those challenges serve a purpose of us becoming better in what we are passionate about.

Q3 : Over your career, what achievement are you the proudest of?

I started my career in recruitment when I was 25. Over the next four years, I was lucky to get the opportunity to work with many industry professionals in Tokyo and learn from them. Setting up a new branch in Japan at the age of 29, starting the business from scratch, hiring, training and developing people with a minimum churn rate are definitely the highlights of my career so far.

Q4 : What are your goals during your time in Japan, your current position or in life?

My ultimate goal is achieving financial independence and balance across different areas in life. Having a successful career with a partner that you are excited to come back home to. Adding a few kids and a golden retriever to the mix will definitely ensure fun weekends!

Q5 : What wisdom, advice or tips can you give to people living and working in Japan?

Japan is one of the rare places in the world where you have a perfectly set up system that doesn’t limit your growth. The number of jobs by far exceeds the number of candidates, and for anyone who is hard working, motivated and committed, career opportunities are waiting. At the end of the day, it is not all about work — try to travel as much as possible, use the weekend escapes out of city and network as much as you can.
Also, if you are a foreigner who just arrived, try to learn the language — it will help you with truly understanding Japan.

Curriculum Vitea (Website)

Last updated: Jun 24, 2019