On January 13, the annual Job Festa took place at NAIST in the Millennium Hall. This event is aimed to NAIST doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers who are interested in doing research for a company after graduating. The attendees could freely walk around the booths and talk with the employees of 20 different technology companies for about three hours.

Among the companies that attended the event this year, we could see big names such as Sony, IBM, NTT, NEC, Panasonic, Hitachi, and Mitsubishi. Also, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) did not miss the opportunity to participate. These companies and institutes are eager to hire talented students and researchers that are interesting in working at their research laboratories.

Once students entered the venue, they could see the company booths lining up waiting for them. In each booth, company employees were ready to explain about their research and answer the students’ questions. In fact, many of these employees are NAIST alumni, so students could talk to them directly about their experience after graduation.

We asked some students about the experience. One of them commented:

“This event helps you to decide what to do you with your life in the future. By talking directly to the companies, you realize better what your abilities are, and how can you put them into practice. Even if you are not sure if you want to enter a company or work in academia, participating in this type of events helps you to expand your vision about your possibilities. You do not need to be shy when interacting with the employees. They are very nice and polite, and through dialogue you may realize what you really want to do in the future.”

Interestingly, many of these companies were looking for international students to incorporate into their ranks. In some cases speaking Japanese was a must, but for others it was not a requirement to enter the company.

This is not the only job hunting event at NAIST, so if you want to find a job in Japan do not hesitate to attend!