TIEC as a Real-Life Employment Forum?!
Within each building at TIEC, there are bulletin boards next to elevators that take residents to the upper floors. On the boards are many posters of events, seminars, and, often, jobs. Some are part-time language teaching jobs, some about one-day international exchange support, but some can represent the first step to long-term careers.
My experience with the little “employment forum” on these bulletin boards speaks volumes. I was first introduced to my part-time job as a foreign experience “teacher” in many major Japanese firms through a little posting on the board. And later on, working full-time for the Tokyo office of a major business risk consultancy, my posting on the board led to the hiring of several coworkers on a part- or full-time basis.
The success of the TIEC bulletin board in employing foreign students reflects the general trend of the demand for foreign employment in Japan. In recent years, many Japanese companies have launched new initiatives involving foreign clients and business partners. Yet, these same businesses often have little prior knowledge of the foreign markets they are venturing to, and little experience interacting with people from those countries. Many such companies have come to consider grassroots-level exposure to non-Japanese people as the necessary first step of venturing abroad, but just as many have found it difficult to find and hire foreigners to work with them. TIEC, in some ways, provides a simple solution.
Indeed, TIEC is unique in that it offers a ready congregation of young foreigners, of various ethnic and academic backgrounds and varying levels of language skills, concentrated in one place. A job posting on the TIEC bulletin board may not be searchable as an online ad and get ignored by many, but it does get exposure to thousands upon thousands of young people with a real and urgent need to consider their immediate future after their soon-to-be graduation. Even a few residents scrupulously reviewing the flyers can lead to a high success rate of hiring. The needs of the foreign residents and the demand of Japanese companies often match up very well through these little flyers.
Many TIEC alumni are currently working in businesses that require foreign support, even if only temporarily. Many of these alumni found their jobs through flyers on TIEC’s various bulletin boards. As such, if you are looking to hire someone, it is worth asking the TIEC office to put up a small flyer, telling TIEC residents about available employment opportunities. You will never know just how quickly you might get a positive response!
By: Xiaochen Su (Graduated with a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Information Studies from the University of Tokyo in 2021. TIEC resident from 2017 to 2019)
https://xiaochensu.blogspot.com/