Hey everyone!
February is coming to an end but it looks like we'll have a few more days of brutal cold weather before spring.
Spring in Japan brings promises of warm, leisurely days along riversides under canopies of blossoming cherries, red-faced from sake and laughing with friends and co-workers. It also means graduation theses, job hunting, moving season, and a new fiscal year.
Although the pressure of trying to finish your graduation thesis while preparing for interviews and the SPI can feel like too much to bear, try to make time to enjoy the abundance of natural beauty around you during one of Japan's most magical seasonal transitions. Your physical and mental health will thank you later.
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Congratulations to those of you whom will graduate in 2012 and have already received "naite" notifications from companies. Only one more month before your new life and career in Japan begins. Remember that if your company isn't providing you with a dormitory-type option, that rooms can fill up quickly this time of year so start your apartment search early.
For those 2012 graduates who have yet to receive "naite" from a company, not all hope is lost: you can still extend your visa for 6-12 months in order to continue job hunting in Japan.(See: "Tokuteikatsudo") You'll need a letter of recommendation from your university, and you'll need to prove that you've been job hunting if you wish to re-extend your visa after the initial six months, but the chance is still there. Some small-medium sized companies continue hiring throughout the year or offer additional hiring opportunities in the fall.
On that note, I'd like to take this opportunity to mention a few things our project has been up to lately.
●Last week, Feb. 23 & 24, our project held back-to-back days of company seminars at L-Osaka near Temmabashi station. 8 companies over the two day period presented before groups of 40-60 international students in a small, intimate setting, giving students the opportunity to ask questions directly in order to gain a strong grasp of the company. Japan's top "revolving-sushi" share holder, Akindo Sushiro Co., made a strong appeal to international students as it plans to aggressively target the global sushi market, opening it's first store in Korea later this year.
I'd like to thank all of the students who participated in the seminars. I hope that it was a valuable experience.
For those of you whom were unable to attend, it appears that we unfortunately do not have any more company seminars planned for the immediate future.
● Career Counseling at Osaka University (Suita Campus)
Our project will offer free career counseling at Osaka University (Suita Campus) on Tuesday, March 6 from 12pm - 5pm. This is a great opportunity to get advice on job hunting. Even if you are almost finished with your search, you can still come in to practice your interview skills.
2012年2月27日月曜日
2011年10月24日月曜日
Reflections From a Previous Intern
Hey international students!
How's your job search coming? At this point, you're probably busy filling through hundreds of company profiles on rikunabi trying to find a company that suits your needs.
Finding the right company for you online can be a real challenge. Why not meet several companies at once and speak directly with their HR representatives?
Next January our project will hold a Job Fair for International Students featuring 100 companies that seek to hire international students. We will also offer a one-day internship opportunity to 100 students who wish to polish their business Japanese skills by working directly with HR representatives from one of the 100 companies participating in the Job Fair.
Below you'll find an informative and thoughtful reflection written by one of the interns from our last job fair in June. He is currently finishing up his last year in school and has already accepted a position with a Japanese company. Here's what he had to say:
Thanks for sharing. If anyone else would like to opportunity to be an intern at the upcoming Job Fair for International Students next January, please contact us at: grs_rookies@spice.ocn.ne.jp
How's your job search coming? At this point, you're probably busy filling through hundreds of company profiles on rikunabi trying to find a company that suits your needs.
Finding the right company for you online can be a real challenge. Why not meet several companies at once and speak directly with their HR representatives?
Next January our project will hold a Job Fair for International Students featuring 100 companies that seek to hire international students. We will also offer a one-day internship opportunity to 100 students who wish to polish their business Japanese skills by working directly with HR representatives from one of the 100 companies participating in the Job Fair.
Below you'll find an informative and thoughtful reflection written by one of the interns from our last job fair in June. He is currently finishing up his last year in school and has already accepted a position with a Japanese company. Here's what he had to say:
●○Report of My Internship at Tiger Corporation at the Job Fair for International Students○●
For this event, I participated as an intern at “Tiger Corporation.” The company I would be interning at was announced on the day of the event and I was excited as I wondered which company I’d be assigned to.
However, the company I was appointed to was not one in which I had much interest.
It was then that I realized that the most important thing is not whether or not I’m interested in the company, but rather how I’d make the most of the opportunity. I thought, “Here’s a company that works hard to make a profit and secures employment for many people - does it really matter how we students evaluate the company based on its name or reputation? I thought it rude toward the company to think such a way when we students were the ones seeking employment.
Being assigned a company to which I didn’t want to be assigned I had a big realization.
It became a catalyst which changed the way I would approach job hunting.
During the internship, I did everything from help prepare the company booth to going out and inviting students to come visit Tiger Corporation’s booth. The most fun part for me was inviting students to our booth after receiving a lot of information about the company.
The students walking around the event hall, choosing which company booths to attend, looked exactly like me.
Because of this I thought about what kind of approach would be best for someone like me and invited students to visit the booth I was working at. As I expected I felt joy when students gathered.
In truth, for this internship I was looking for the opportunity to have a long conversation with the HR representative; however he was completely swamped with dealing with other students.
During this internship I was unable to talk to the HR representative about what kind of qualities companies are looking for or what kind of job hunting is the most effective.
However, I realized that the students walking around were just like me and I was able to think profoundly about the concept of a company.
I was also able to see and hear the opinions of students who visited the booth from a different perspective.
To sum it up briefly：
1. For this internship I was appointed a company in which I had no interest.（This was my prejudice at the time.）
2. However, my thoughts about the company, its industry, and even myself changed.
3. I was able to hear the concerns of other students like myself. This was very beneficial for me.
4. Riding home on the train I felt an incredible excitement as a result of having experienced something that changed me.
Many international students are worried as they struggled to put everything into order. I was the same. Like me, I think that this kind of internship will be a good catalyst for others as well. Everyone, please continue this kind of wonderful activity.
I’d like to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart at the Global Recruiting Support Project.
Thanks for sharing. If anyone else would like to opportunity to be an intern at the upcoming Job Fair for International Students next January, please contact us at: grs_rookies@spice.ocn.ne.jp
2011年8月3日水曜日
More Job Fairs on the Horizon: 100 Companies
Hot Enough?
Good afternoon international students and other foreigners in Japan!
With highs forecasted in the mid-30's for the rest of the week, it looks like the intense summer heat isn't going anywhere. And with nationwide efforts to save energy (節電), finding sanctuary amidst the "steam bunning" (yes, I just made that up) heat may not be as easy as walking into your nearest convenient store and collapsing on the magazine rack (OK, maybe it is...). Still, there are ways to enjoy the summer without agonizing over the unrelenting heat.
I recommend finding green space to relax in or taking the train out of the city to the beach on weekends. Instead of dreading the summer months, just sweat it out - enjoy and embrace the heat. Eat ice cream or a cold cucumber, wear a yukata, buy a kiddie pool and annoy your neighbors with a balcony pool party, hold an impromptu invasion of the kamogawa, or work on your "yanki" look and let yourself bake in the sun for the rest of summer. Ok, enough about the heat.
Job Support Osaka held its third job fair of the year yesterday. Although much smaller, with only 5 companies, it provided a great opportunity to get up close and personal with HR staff members. Tsurumi Pump was by far the star of the show, as only one of two companies hiring non-science related majors.
In all about 60 people came out. Less than what we expected, but hopefully someone from the group finds a home at one of the five companies that participated.
Massive Job Fair Next Year
It has been confirmed: In January of next year Job Support Osaka and The Global Recruiting Support Project (Osaka Prefecture/Pasona) will host a job fair featuring 100 companies. I have yet to thoroughly research this fact, but 100 companies may constitute the largest job fair for international students/foreigners in Japanese history! Expect a lot of the same companies as last time (Sharp, Panasonic, USJ, Best Life) as well as many new companies looking to beef up their global departments.
This job fair will be open to students graduating in 2012/2013 as well as recent graduates (*those whom have graduated within 3 or less years). Of course you could still come if you do not fall into one of those categories, however there may be only a few companies that are hiring outside of those guidelines.
Additionally, we will be offering half-day internships for roughly 110 students. Each company booth will have one student intern, with the remaining 10 students working as event staff. Unlike last time, students will be informed of their respective company before the day of the event and may even be required to visit the company beforehand. We hope that increased interaction with the company will provide a smoother, more rewarding experience, as well as increase the company's interest in the intern.
I'll keep you up informed and up-to-date on when the recruiting process for interns will begin. You can expect the first meetings to be held early next month.
Until then, good luck and good hunting.
Good afternoon international students and other foreigners in Japan!
With highs forecasted in the mid-30's for the rest of the week, it looks like the intense summer heat isn't going anywhere. And with nationwide efforts to save energy (節電), finding sanctuary amidst the "steam bunning" (yes, I just made that up) heat may not be as easy as walking into your nearest convenient store and collapsing on the magazine rack (OK, maybe it is...). Still, there are ways to enjoy the summer without agonizing over the unrelenting heat.
I recommend finding green space to relax in or taking the train out of the city to the beach on weekends. Instead of dreading the summer months, just sweat it out - enjoy and embrace the heat. Eat ice cream or a cold cucumber, wear a yukata, buy a kiddie pool and annoy your neighbors with a balcony pool party, hold an impromptu invasion of the kamogawa, or work on your "yanki" look and let yourself bake in the sun for the rest of summer. Ok, enough about the heat.
Job Support Osaka held its third job fair of the year yesterday. Although much smaller, with only 5 companies, it provided a great opportunity to get up close and personal with HR staff members. Tsurumi Pump was by far the star of the show, as only one of two companies hiring non-science related majors.
In all about 60 people came out. Less than what we expected, but hopefully someone from the group finds a home at one of the five companies that participated.
Massive Job Fair Next Year
It has been confirmed: In January of next year Job Support Osaka and The Global Recruiting Support Project (Osaka Prefecture/Pasona) will host a job fair featuring 100 companies. I have yet to thoroughly research this fact, but 100 companies may constitute the largest job fair for international students/foreigners in Japanese history! Expect a lot of the same companies as last time (Sharp, Panasonic, USJ, Best Life) as well as many new companies looking to beef up their global departments.
This job fair will be open to students graduating in 2012/2013 as well as recent graduates (*those whom have graduated within 3 or less years). Of course you could still come if you do not fall into one of those categories, however there may be only a few companies that are hiring outside of those guidelines.
Additionally, we will be offering half-day internships for roughly 110 students. Each company booth will have one student intern, with the remaining 10 students working as event staff. Unlike last time, students will be informed of their respective company before the day of the event and may even be required to visit the company beforehand. We hope that increased interaction with the company will provide a smoother, more rewarding experience, as well as increase the company's interest in the intern.
I'll keep you up informed and up-to-date on when the recruiting process for interns will begin. You can expect the first meetings to be held early next month.
Until then, good luck and good hunting.
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