The first Monday in April — April 2 this year — sees tens of thousands of 生き生きして元気な新入社員 (ikiiki shite genki na shinnyū shain, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed newly hired company employees) — also referred to as フレシュマン (fureshuman, freshmen) — decked out in their new navy blue suits and dresses, heading for banks, offices, stores, factories and so on, for their first day of work.
As a part of their 就職活動 (shūshoku katsudō, job-hunting activities), most went through the process of 入社試験 (nyūsha shiken, written tests) and 面接 (mensetsu, interviews). Once the intention to join up is 内定した (naitei shita, tentatively confirmed), workers may be expected to provide additional materials, including a 保証書 (hoshōsho, letter from a personal guarantor), and undergo a 信用調査 (shinyō chōsa, personal background check) and 健康診断 (kenkō shindan, physical examination).
Some, while still in university, may have already spent several months at the company as インターン (intān, interns).