In Japan, it is customary for university students to find a job before they graduate from university.
Therefore, international students who desire to find a job in Japan need to carry out active job hunting. Sojo University provides its international students with job search guidance, private consultation, and other support tailored for job hunting in Japan.
We also provide consultation not only on job hunting, but also regarding advancement to higher education. There are many international students who advance to Sojo University Graduate School and other national and private university graduate schools.
Employment Support with a goal of “Absolute Satisfaction”
We provide more generous and sincere employment support than other universities do in order to satisfy our students. The employment support by Sojo University is totally unique.
Since 2013, Sojo University has maintained a high graduate employment rate of over 98%.
In addition, the quality as indicated by the number of students employed by major companies throughout Japan and the high level of students’ satisfaction is also worthy of note.
What makes this possible is our extraordinarily generous employment support system that starts immediately after students enter the university.
Main support provided by the Employment Section
Employment guidance is provided effectively throughout the year.
Through guidance provided in a step-by-step manner, awareness about employment is developed and maintained. Beginning with a lecture about basic career information, our guidance offers assistance on various matters ranging from the flow of job hunting and reception/business manners to industry analysis and work experience. We offer an environment where students become conscious of job hunting at an early stage.
Employment guidance for international students
For international students in our university, we periodically provide employment guidance including employment status of international students, important aspects to consider, and procedures for changing status of residence for job hunting.
Career counselors conduct interviews with all students several times a year.
Two career counselors, several external counselors, and the career adviser in each department provide multilateral support. As exemplified by 1834 total student interviews in a year by Career Support Division, we thoroughly help each student find a job that suits him or her. The enthusiasm of teachers is another reason why our employment rate is high.
We let students participate in in-house joint company information sessions to increase their motivation.
We hold a joint company information session at the university. In the 2018 academic year, 312 companies gathered from all over Japan. We distributed materials on the session in advance to students so that they could efficiently visit the booths of the companies they wanted to visit. In February, we held an industry-based information session. We also hold personal interviews so that students can participate in the information session with an increased sense of motivation to get an unofficial offer for employment at an early stage.
Holding of human resources development workshop
The staff of Career Support Division and teachers of departments who instruct students also conduct research on job hunting. They proactively interact with companies by inviting personnel from companies to seek their point of view on personnel affairs and, conversely, by briefing them on the details of the faculties and departments of the university, all in an effort to broaden their view for smoother guidance on job hunting.
Professional hair/make-up artist and photographer assist with resume
The impression provided by the photograph on a resume is also an important factor for job hunting. At Sojo University, we hire a professional photographer and, in combination with a hair/make-up artist, have them shoot ID photographs for students’ resumes. They also give advice on hair and make-up for job hunting. As the university support group provides a subsidy for these activities, it is possible to get a resume picture at a reasonable price.
Bus tour for finding and analyzing attractive local companies
Career Support Division organizes a bus tour two or more times a year. Students join the bus tour to find attractive companies in Kumamoto Prefecture or Kyushu and learn about their attractive features. The tour is very useful for knowing the true strengths of companies that cannot be found only in information sessions as well as for studying about corresponding industries.
Specific lectures on know-how for success
We provide guidance mainly consisting of lectures on specific ways to achieve employment and distribute a “PLACEMENT GUIDE” (handbook for job hunting) when students advance to the third year.
Course for obtaining employment as a public employee with support for acquisition of a qualification/license
Each department offers a course for acquiring qualifications/licenses and proactively gives support for such qualification acquisition, enabling students to acquire a variety of qualifications. For example, we hold a police officer employment examination course and a patent officer course every year.
Implementation of internships
Internships allows job training in desired companies, and the number of participants in them are increasing year by year. As the motivation of students increases after job training, it greatly helps students’ activity for employment in desired companies.
We also recommend participating in an internship to international students.