In Boston, on October 22-24 Japanese companies will hold a Job Fair to recruit bilingual (Japanese and English) young professionals. For 20 years this event has supported people dedicated to their goals, believing that where there is a need, there is a business.
Their invitation reads as follows;
? 130 companies and institutions will gather for 3 days from October 22nd (Fri) to 24th (Sun) to recruit university students, graduate school students, researchers, and professionals from all over the world.
? While we understand that many of you plan to remain in universities as researchers or faculties, many top companies in and outside of Japan gather here to offer variety of positions not only to new graduates but also to people in specialized fields, engineers, and researchers.
? This Forum is a great opportunity for those who consider working for private companies as part of their career.
? We have travel scholarship for participants who are traveling from long distance. Please check the web site below for information and registration.
? It is a great pleasure for us to offer you variety of career information and opportunities.
The list of participating companies and information on travel scholarship are posted on the website. Similar events are also held in London, Tokyo (Summer and Winter), and Los Angeles this year.
A little more about the event:
What have some of the outcomes of Job Forum been over the past 20 years? How have the jobs been of the people who found opportunities through the event? Just recently I heard that even now, Japanese companies have had young non-Japanese professionals sit idle at their desks everyday from 9am to 5pm in order to “get them used to the Japanese business system” rather than utilizing their talents or qualifications. This is hard to imagine but it happens.
Excluding Western companies, I am curious how these companies have treated people and whether those people have been held outside the standard “seniority-based promotion system”. Or, were these talented people subjected to those rules, where time spent in employment counts more than your performance? I hope not!
I understand that it is a very difficult time now for students in Japan to find jobs. People have different views on this issue, perhaps believing that education’s sole purpose should be to enter directly into the work force. But I think what we need now is to broaden basic awareness. I wonder what Japanese companies expect of students. Ater they have made informal offers to students during their third year at university, how do they expect the students to spend rest of their college career? Are they expecting them to start preparing for the new job? Do they expect them to stop exploring their interests? I certainly hope not!
I hear that even at the University of Tokyo, the parents accompanying students to the graduate school education briefing demand explanations and methods on how their children should find employment after graduation. (in Japanese). What kind of society is this? Both parents and students are lingering to other people’s support. They are by no means independent, self supporting individuals. Regarding this issue, I recommend reading the blog posting (in Japanese) by Professor Iiyoshi of MIT who specializes in education and authored ‘Learning by the Web (Web de Manabu). We must recognize that the Japanese society of ‘life long employment and huge pensions” is quite over.
The media reports that the number of researchers studying abroad is also declining (in Japanese), (and Ｉ intend to analyze this on another occasion…). In the meantime, I think it is a good option for young people today to go abroad for higher (graduate school) education and to pursue careers showcased in overseas recruitment seminars as I have introduced to you above.
The younger you are, the more potentials and options you have for your future.
‘Because This is the Time of Uncertain Future, Be More Courageous’ is my message to you.
