The Innovator and Inventor Development Platform (IIDP), an organization that provides Tokyo Tech's graduate-level students with career development education and support, hosted a two-part online career support seminar for international students in February.
Approximately 40 percent of international students who complete their doctoral degrees at Tokyo Tech subsequently find employment in Japan. This figure exceeds the ratio of international students who find a job upon returning to their home countries or regions, according to fiscal year 2022 data.
Some international students, however, are unable to find suitable employment in Japan due to a lack of knowledge about job hunting activities in the country, insufficient Japanese language skills, or missed opportunities due to daily research and other commitments.
In light of this situation, IIDP hosted a two-part seminar consisting of an info session and a mock job interview in Japanese to boost the abilities and preparedness of doctoral students seeking employment.
Program for Part One of Career Support Seminar
Part One: English career support seminar on February 6
The first part of the event, which included some experiences shared by alumni, focused on general information on job searches in Japan and career path trends among Tokyo Tech students.
To kick things off, Waka Fukuoka, a career advisor at the Student Support Center's Student Success Support Section, spoke about career paths chosen by doctoral Tokyo Tech graduates at companies and other organizations. She touched on the importance of Japanese language skills, the timing and methods of job hunting in Japan, and the actual job search experiences of past Tokyo Tech graduates.
Career advisor Fukuoka during her online presentation
After this, Tomonori Fukasawa, president of Emerging Technologies Corporation, spoke about job hunting among doctoral students. Fukasawa dedicates himself to career support specific to PhD holders and PhD students from the perspectives of academia, industry, and government. He talked about the timing of job hunting in Japan and shared details on the expectations from companies towards doctoral graduates. He also touched on ideas for career development among PhD holders, specific methods for international PhD students to find jobs in Japan, ways to explain research summaries, and the need for Japanese language skills.
Fukasawa speaking about careers in academia
The session ended with talks by two alumni who completed their doctoral course at Tokyo Tech as international students and then found employment in Japan. They spoke about the reasons they chose their particular place of employment and the need for Japanese language skills during the job-hunting process and at their actual positions.
The session ended with many questions from roughly 100 participants who joined the session. There was not enough time to answer all the questions on the day of the event, but replies were compiled and shared with the participants at a later date.
Question from participants
- When should students who graduate in September 2025 apply for jobs in Japan, and when do they actually start in their new position?
- I heard that it is difficult for doctoral students to find a job in Japanese companies because they tend to hire master's students rather than doctoral students. Is that true?
- I am interested in an academic career path. Which tenured positions require teaching experience? If I held a position in academia in my home country and gained teaching experience, could I move to a tenured position at a Japanese university? Or should I start again in a non-tenured position?
- Is it possible to work in industry as a researcher instead of doing a postdoc and then apply for higher academic positions?
Comments from participants
Based on a post-event survey, over 90 percent of the participants found the session helpful. Comments included the following.
- The information about academic positions was really helpful for me. I can now replan my work in the future.
- The guidance on how to write the application sheet and the research summary was very useful.
- The info on Japanese language requirements and the unique hiring system in Japan was helpful.
- Learning about the general hiring schedule in Japan and people's personal experiences was great.
- The experiences shared by researchers were useful.
Presentation by Dr. Jian Wang, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Class of 2013, Metallurgy and Ceramics Science, Graduate School of Science and Engineering)
Presentation by Asst. Prof. Haonan Liu, School of Materials and Chemical Technology (Class of 2021, Chemical Science and Engineering)
Part Two: Mock job interviews in Japanese on February 15 and 16
In Part Two of the seminar, IIDP and other Tokyo Tech faculty members conducted mock job interviews on approximately 20 doctoral students.
Based on the content of the first session, the participating international students were asked to prepare in advance an assignment sheet in Japanese, in which they described their research, particular innovations in research and breakthrough experiences, and achievements and abilities obtained through research activities. They also highlighted companies where they wanted to find employment in the future, and the reasons for applying to these companies.
After explaining the contents of their assignment sheet, the interviewees practiced answering interview questions and received advice on the spot from the interviewers. An interview evaluation sheet was returned to each student so that they could use it in their future job-hunting activities and career development. Participants were particularly grateful for this feedback.
In addition to providing employment information through guidance and other means, Tokyo Tech supports students in realizing their envisioned careers by responding to students' increasingly diverse career plans. The Institute continues to provide support activities that expand the horizons of doctoral graduates and international students.
- Note: Organization names were accurate at the time of the event.
