This is a record of one person’s experiences, written for those aiming for a position at Shinra.

Job hunting can entail many different things, but behind each person’s search lie some deeper questions - “What do we look for in a job?” “What is a job?” “What does it mean to work?”

While pondering these matters, I’ve made my way to the city of mako, Midgar. Prompted by an article I read on one of my favorite sites, I’ve come to learn about Shinra - a company I’m interested in working for - and the profound impact they’ve had on the city.

To me, the ideal working professional is someone with a pioneering spirit who is always growing. Someone with intense determination, who focuses their drive into making sure everyone can enjoy a life of abundance. My strengths as an individual, honed through my experience managing a student organization, include good communication skills and the ability to see how others view things. I’m positive I’ll be able to help provide services that fulfill people’s needs.

But to truly realize my potential, I think I need to work for a major firm like Shinra.
I’ll be going on the company tour today, before taking a wider look around Midgar later on.

Shinra tours cover company philosophy and mako operations

The moment you set foot inside the building, you’re blown away by the magnificent lobby and cool structure.

It’s a massive, wide-open space, with a reassuringly large security presence. Most companies simply can’t offer such high-spec, large-scale facilities. And if Shinra expands even more in the future, there’ll be plenty of room for all the employees.

Here’s the statue of the legendary President Shinra, who transformed his small-scale weapons manufacturing company into the world-leading force it is today!

Alongside the statue was an exhibit covering his achievements, with a model of his golden gun, and his much-loved cigars. What I’d read in the article was also illuminated by a booth explaining mako energy’s importance to Midgar.

Particularly astounding was the booth covering Shinra’s development plans. The department heads also had their own exhibits, where each offered frank and colorful insight into their work.

Nearest to the entrance was an extensive display of military hardware - the domain of the Advanced Weaponry Division led by Scarlet. Palmer’s Space and Aeronautics Division also had an exhibit, although their operations are currently on hold.

Further along, I heard a talk from Professor Hojo of the Research and Development Division, and saw a display with the uniforms of Heidegger’s Shinra Public Security Forces. After that, I heard about the schemes for future plate development from Reeve Tuesti from the Urban Planning Division.

All this information helped me understand just how incredible Shinra really is. It may be an energy company, but it’s also constantly expanding and developing its incredibly varied operations - things like core city maintenance, materia development, and space exploration. At the same time, they challenge themselves to produce fresh ideas and services.

What an amazing model. The company really is handling the mako energy supply for the whole metro area...

Shinra’s crowning glory - the city of Midgar

As I plan on taking the Shinra entrance examination, it seems like a good idea to learn about the city they built.

Midgar is split into two sections - the city above the plate, and the one below. The former is sprawling yet arranged systematically, and well serviced by trains. This triumph of urban planning wouldn’t have been possible without the mako energy which Shinra discovered and supplies with their reactors. Thanks to them, upper plate residents are able to live their lives in safety and abundance.

First, I’ll take a look around the upper plate. The cityscape here is vast yet well laid out, with residential areas for Shinra employees, and commercial areas providing shops and theaters.
Sector 8 has a particularly elegant feel to it, thanks in part to the presence of a theater where you can catch performances of Loveless, a favorite among the people of the city.

I think I’d really thrive living in such an electric place. If I can get a job here, life’s bound to be exciting!

The world below the plate, where the lack of oversight feels strangely reassuring

Next, a visit to the Sector 7 slums. It’s a jumbled mess, true, but it can also be a pretty cool place at times. The unique and retro vibe definitely has its fans. After all, diversity is important, right? We ought to keep open minds about others’ way of life.

In the public square, one sign in particular stands out - “Seventh Heaven.” It looks to be a bar or something like that. Like anywhere else, the locals need a place to relax and let off steam, I suppose.

The interior is on the simple side, but has a certain kind of appeal. I bet holding meetings in a place like this would be surprisingly conducive to lively, productive discussions.

I found myself a bit taken aback by the charming and beautiful woman behind the bar. She rocked a midriff-bearing top and miniskirt, and looked like a keen gym-goer (with the abs to prove it). But I didn’t want to stare like a creep...

The next place I visited was the Sector 5 slums. Some of the people here live in concrete pipes and abandoned buses. I suppose you could say it’s an environmentally-friendly existence, in a certain sense.

An old church at the edge of the slums caught my attention, and I went ahead and entered. The building had definitely seen better days, but there was a special atmosphere about the place... And I found some beautiful flowers in bloom, in a spot where the outside light managed to stream in. Someone must be diligently taking care of them.

Continuing my walk through the slums, my eye was caught by a cheerful woman selling flowers. She really seemed quite fond of her wares, which were beautiful.

Her pink dress and plaited ponytail really suited her, and she seemed to just be about the same age as me. But when she smiled from time to time, there was a certain innocence about her, like that of a young girl. That smile itself was lovely, like a flower in bloom.

...Oh, and I spotted a man in a suit who may have been a Shinra employee.
I seriously considered striking up a conversation, but decided against it. He seemed rather busy, after all.

Leaving the church, I followed the passing chocobo carriage until I suddenly found myself in the middle of a bustling area, surrounded by walls on all four sides. I’d reached the famous entertainment quarter known as the Wall Market.

Here you’ve got an inn, an item store, a clothes shop, a diner, a pharmacy, a bar, a gym, a hand-massage parlor, chocobo stables, a materia store, an underground arena...and the Honeybee Inn, a nightclub where passions run wild.

Even among the bright neon lights of Wall Market, a place where people flock regardless of age and gender, the Honeybee Inn is a particularly popular place to be. It’s crowded and bustling, with bee costume-clad employees known as “honeygirls,” I’m told. If I’m able to join Shinra you might catch me here too at times, unwinding after a particularly busy day. And I bet a bit of the buzz those girls are offering from time to time wouldn’t hurt... I’m positive that’d relax just about anyone.

There’s just something about this place that corporate warriors find thrilling. You can trust me on that, I’ve got something of a highly sensitive antenna for these sorts of things.

I’m glad I was able to get a sense of how all the different establishments here cater to a vast range of customer wants and needs. I’m sure I’ll be referencing these experiences next time I’m working on marketing content or business models and the like.

Shinra and Midgar’s growth will only continue - there’s no doubt about it!

My company visit and walk about the city left me inspired and excited. Something clicked for me here at some point, and now I’m dead-set that this is the city and company for me! It goes without saying that my time with Shinra and Midgar was even better than I had imagined.

I really feel like I’ve gained a clear idea of my path to getting a job with the company!

The Shinra Electric Power Company looms overwhelmingly large in this world, a true giant. And I’m positive that it’ll develop even more mako infrastructure throughout the globe moving forward. The people at Shinra aren’t going to just rest on their laurels and allow themselves to be satisfied with the knowledge that they’re the only true player in the mako energy industry. They’ll continue working to expand their operations, and help build a better world.

There’s no reason to think Shinra won’t continue its incredible economic growth moving forward, and I intend on working my hardest to join them and be a part of that. I’m hoping for the chance to engage in work at that massive scale, to put my eager attitude and work ethic to use, and help make a wide range of contributions to our society.

(End)

(All screenshots shown here are from the Japanese version of the PlayStation®4 edition of the game.)

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