Students engage with corporate representatives during the annual career fair at the West Gym on March 29, 2024.
Temple University, Japan Campus (TUJ) facilitated its annual career fair on March 29, 2024, drawing the largest number of participating companies, with 17 firms in attendance. The event was moved to the West Gym, near TUJ, to accommodate more students, offering them a valuable opportunity to engage with employers.
The career fair served as a platform for participating firms to discover TUJ’s well-rounded and talented student body. Students seized the opportunity to explore various career paths by networking with prominent industry professionals face-to-face.
Participating companies, listed alphabetically, included Accenture Japan Ltd, Bloomberg L.P, BLUED Co Ltd, Borderlink Inc, ByteDance, Computec Engineering Ltd, DSV Solutions, HDI Global SE, LIXIL Corporation, Mnk Niseko, Nitori Co Ltd, Nouvelle Media Co Ltd, The Peninsula of Tokyo Ltd, PTW Japan, Section L, Square Enix Co Ltd and Yaruki Switch Group.
As Japan’s leading home furnishing retailer Nitori has strategic plans to expand its overseas operations, Kiriya Kawata of the human resource department, elaborated on the potential of recruiting TUJ students to their global workforce. He highlighted the diverse and globally-minded nature of TUJ students as an important asset for Nitori.
“I feel there’s a great match between our firm and TUJ students,” Kawata said. “Many of them showed high levels of competence and initiative, having ventured to Japan from overseas and considering employment in Japan. During our information sessions, their responsiveness stood out. I sensed a genuine interest in our company. TUJ students appeared more engaged compared to counterparts from Japanese institutions or local students from Japan. In that sense, we have high expectations for TUJ students.”
Paula Kaye Gerhold from Square Enix’s localization division expressed her satisfaction with the increased student turnout at this year’s fair, held in a larger venue. “I believe there’s a good fit (between TUJ students and Square Enix) in terms of their interest in our work,” she added, emphasizing that having genuine interest is perhaps the most crucial factor for excelling in game development and localization, which is the firm’s primary objective.
Several TUJ alumni, representing their respective companies, took part in the event, introducing their organizations and sharing their experiences with the current TUJ students. Mariru Suzuki, an assistant manager of market management at German insurance firm HDI Global SE, Japan Branch, stressed that her academic experience at TUJ played a pivotal role in her career development at HDI.
Suzuki, who graduated from TUJ in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in political science, looked back at the vibrant academic atmosphere during her college years. “I engaged in numerous discussions at classes with diverse cultural backgrounds when I was at Temple. Given HDI’s global presence with branches in 39 countries, I felt comfortable communicating directly with people around the world. This kind of academic environment gave confidence in me, allowing me to seamlessly transition into the workforce right after graduating from TUJ.”
Current students expressed their satisfaction with the event, highlighting the friendly atmosphere that facilitated meaningful engagement and information gathering across various industry sectors.
Avery Scott, a senior majoring in international affairs and Japanese, was positively surprised by the immediate hiring opportunity offered by some companies. “It was a lot more flexible than I had thought,” Scott said. Having transferred to TUJ from a college in California two years ago after the pandemic, Scott is considering applying for a position at one of the participating companies and intends to stay in Japan after graduating from TUJ.
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