job hunting
Interview
*Image is for illustrative purposes only.
High rate of career decision making
Aoyama Gakuin University has a high career decision rate of 88.2%. Many students are able to continue their studies or find employment with a high level of satisfaction. Our university knows the career paths of almost 100% of students after graduation.
Taking advantage of their studies, experiences, and job-hunting support at our university, they are choosing a career path that satisfies them. We asked four students who received job offers last year about the key points of job hunting.
*Data as of May 1, 2021
*Image is for illustrative purposes only.
Q&A for prospective employees
Our unique support system and Aogaku Gakuin Mindset
It helped me to achieve my goal.
Key points for successful job hunting
- Based on my experiences in high school and what I learned at university, I imagined my career
- Utilizing the university's career support to improve output skills
- The leadership skills I gained through my experiences were also appreciated during my job search.
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Job Offer
Shiseido Co., Ltd.
Daisuke Iwai
School of Business Department of Business Administration 4th year
Tokyo, private Aoyama Gakuin Senior High School From
Q. What inspired you to imagine your future career?
In high school, I was devoted to soccer, and there were many times when I witnessed how mentality, rather than technique, determined the outcome of a match. From that experience, I was strongly attracted to the field of marketing, which is a business administration field but where psychology plays a major role, even when studying at university. During my university life, I explored marketing through theory in classes and seminars, and through practice in project planning and management. As I learned from both perspectives, I came to realize that in the future I wanted to work as a marketer, involved in deciding the overall direction of market projects, and to work in a job where I could provide value to people all over Japan and the world.
Q. What kind of support did you receive from our university's Career Guidance and Employment Center and the people around you?
The job preparation course at the Career and Employment Center was very helpful in understanding the flow of job hunting and the necessary preparations. I think I also improved my ability to output my opinions by having the opportunity to appear as a panelist and expressing my thoughts in "individual consultations" with career counselors and staff. Aogaku has many open-minded seniors with excellent communication skills, who gave me kind advice on preparing for job hunting and interviews.
Q. Please tell us about the learning experiences unique to our university that have led to employment opportunities.
In a project with SBSL, a student group within the faculty, I collaborated with a watch manufacturer to launch a brand. Creating something from scratch was extremely stimulating, and I was able to understand the significance of my learning up to that point in a practical setting. Although I am Department of Business Administration, I also belonged to a seminar in Department of Marketing, and from my third year I focused on research activities on the theme of "optimizing how to greet customers". This enabled me to develop skills that will come in handy in the marketing position I will be working in at the company. As both activities were undertaken as a team, I was able to acquire servant leadership skills that drive things forward while seeking the consensus of all members. I believe this ability was a valuable evaluation point during my job search.
By pursuing my interests and passions,
I now have a clear focus for my job search.
Key points for successful job hunting
- Pursue your interests through club activities and research labs
- Set "what do you enjoy doing" as the focus of your job search
- Balancing job hunting and studying while sharing worries and information with friends
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Job Offer
NTT Docomo, Inc.
Yukina Yamakawa
4th year, Department of Department of Mechanical Engineering College of Science and Engineering and Engineering
Graduated from Osaka Toin High School, a private school in Osaka
Q. What made you narrow down your industry and job type?
Since I was in the Department Department of Mechanical Engineering and belonged to a manufacturing-related club called the Hybrid Rocket Club, I had vaguely imagined working for a manufacturer or IT company. When I started job hunting, I asked myself again, "What do I enjoy doing?" I came to the conclusion that I wanted to contribute to manufacturing through programming, and narrowed my career path down to IT companies. I then looked for companies that offered a fun working environment.
Q. Tell us about some of the challenges you faced in your job search and how you overcame them.
What was difficult was juggling my studies with job hunting. In particular, in January and February of my fourth year, I had company applications and important tests to decide my laboratory assignments at the same time, and I felt anxious because I couldn't concentrate on job hunting. However, I talked to friends in the same situation about my anxieties and worries, and realized that I wasn't the only one having a hard time. We encouraged each other to concentrate on studying because we didn't have much time. By helping each other out, such as sharing tips on how to proceed with job hunting and points to keep in mind when writing application forms, we were able to juggle job hunting and studies.
Q. Please tell us about the learning experiences unique to our university that have led to employment opportunities.
He is a member of the "Hybrid Rocket Club" and is working with JAXA in his research lab to promote research into space robots. He believes that the experience he gained in manufacturing and team development while at university was what earned him recognition from companies. He believes that he was able to achieve this thanks to the favorable environment in which the Faculty of College of Science and Engineering campus is located near JAXA's Sagamihara campus. In addition to his university activities, he also enjoys making games and trying his hand at 3D modeling as a hobby, and his attitude of continuing to learn independently was also a useful selling point.
Learning from experience
Make it your own unique strength.
Key points for successful job hunting
- I gained confidence by achieving my goal of gaining the right to study abroad at a partner university.
- Through studying abroad, I was able to get a clearer picture of my future career.
- Converting lessons learned from experiences into unique strengths
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Job Offer
Sapporo Television Broadcasting Co., Ltd.
Hinako Nagahara
4th year student, Department College of Economics Department of Economics
Graduated from Sapporo International Information High School in Hokkaido
Q. Please tell us why you applied to the company that offered you the job.
Through my experience studying abroad, I realized the importance of "words," the value of "expressing my thoughts in my own words," and "using words with a deep understanding of their meaning." I began to aspire to a career in which I could disseminate information in my own words and work with many people to advance my work. I wanted to work in my hometown of Hokkaido, so I applied to the local media industry. At the TV station where I received a job offer, I would like to try my hand at sports and selling overseas programs.
Q. What do you think were the factors that led to you receiving a job offer?
I think that discovering my strengths from the experiences I had accumulated as a student and being able to honestly and enthusiastically communicate my thoughts to the other party led to my job offer. In the interview, I highlighted my long-standing alpine skiing and volleyball experience, as well as my experience studying abroad at university. I didn't just talk about my memories and impressions, but also talked about the unique strengths I gained from those experiences and how I would use them in my work.
Q. In what ways do you feel you have grown especially during your time at university?
Through studying abroad, I have acquired the ability to overcome difficult situations and the attitude of continuing to make efforts to grow as an individual. The process of obtaining the right to use the partner school study abroad program was very meaningful, as was the time spent studying abroad. I continued to make steady efforts every day to maintain my GPA (Grade Point Average) and achieve the standard scores for the English Proficiency Test and IELTS (International English Language Testing System). Achieving my goal of studying abroad, which I had had since I enrolled, in a long span of time also gave me confidence.
The experience of taking on challenges independently and enthusiastically
An opportunity to determine the future direction.
Key points for successful job hunting
- After starting a business and meeting people while still in school, he decided to work for an IT company
- "The practical leadership experience gained through project exercises has been a great asset
- Express yourself with the confidence and sincerity you gain from university life
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Job Offer
Rakuten Group, Inc.
Ryo Niki
4th year, School of Social Informatics Department of Social Informatics
Graduated from Seikei High School, a private school in Tokyo
Q. Please tell us why you chose the industry you are interested in.
Ever since junior high school, my dream has been to become an airline pilot. While studying to become a pilot at university, I started a business with a friend in my second year. As I was searching for a career path during the job-hunting period, I had the opportunity to talk to a pilot who pointed out to me that I would be better suited to being an entrepreneur or businessman. I was a little shaken at the time, but I decided to follow my current interests and aptitudes and pursue an industry that excites me. My experience in business management made me realize the importance of IT, so I began job hunting with a focus on IT companies.
Q. Please tell us about the learning and support unique to our university that led to your job offer.
The "Project Exercises", a class unique to the School of Social Informatics, had a major impact on my future choices. In the exercises, I took on industry-academia challenges as a leader, making presentations to companies and supervising team members. The fulfillment and learning I gained from practical experience allowed me to express my enthusiasm more realistically during my job search. In addition, a joint information session for students of School of Social Informatics brought together companies specializing in academic fields, providing a useful opportunity to deepen my corporate research.
Q. In what ways do you feel you have especially grown during your time at university?
I think I especially grew in terms of gaining self-confidence and sincerity. Because my university's environment emphasized independence, I acquired the mindset to proactively take on challenges that interested me. By considering failure as proof of trying, the number of failures I had led to was something to be proud of. And during my job search, I learned to approach everything with sincerity from my experience of becoming overconfident and failing. From preparing for the interview to learning the proper etiquette on the day, I never neglected any process and I think the accumulation of such sincerity led to me receiving a job offer.
Job Hunting Interview
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College of Education, Psychology and Human Studies Department of Education 4 years
Sakiya Suzuki
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Using what I learned at university in club activities, my experience in job hunting came in handy
4th year, Department of Marketing School of Business
Rikuta Yao
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The key to getting a job at a bank is communication skills and online interview preparation
4th year, School of Social Informatics Department of Social Informatics
Shunsuke Fukai
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My experience on the newspaper editorial committee enriched my student life and led to my job search
4th year, School of Social Informatics Department of Social Informatics
Momo Fueda
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Learning arts management at School of Cultural and Creative Studies is an exciting experience
4th year student School of Cultural and Creative Studies Department of Cultural and Creative Studies
Yui Akagi
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Self-analysis during job hunting reveals "strong will" and "becoming the silent hero"
4th year, Department of Department of English College of Literature
Nao Koike
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By working hard and steadily, he realized his dream of becoming an actuary
4th year Department of Industraial and Engineering College of Science and Engineering Technology
Saruwatari Sachiko
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During job hunting, he participated in an overseas internship, fulfilling his dream of working on a global stage
4th year student, Department College of Economics Department of Economics
Sotaro Kimura
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*The years of employment, Position, activities, etc. of the individuals appearing are from the time of the interview (2020).