Senpai Tips

Hello,
I'm Li Sheng

Marketing Technology Center (MTC) Global Development Group

HAKUHODO

Schools of Foreign Language, The Department of Japanese Language

Nanjing University, Peking University Graduate School

2014

Japanese・Chinese・English

Hello,
I'm Li Sheng

Marketing Technology Center (MTC) Global Development Group

HAKUHODO

Schools of Foreign Language, The Department of Japanese Language

Nanjing University, Peking University Graduate School

2014

Japanese・Chinese・English

Company

Discover more about this company including job opportunities and company information on JPort Match!

Company

Discover more about this company including job opportunities and company information on JPort Match!

About Li Sheng

My name is Li Sheng and I am from Tianjin, China. I started studying Japanese during my first year of junior high school. Through a homestay program during my freshman year of high school, I had the opportunity to stay in Chiba and Kyoto in Japan for the first time. After that, I participated in an international exchange program between the Japanese and Chinese governments as a Chinese student representative. This experience made me realize my determination to work as a bridge between the two countries in the future. 

My major at university was Japanese, and I also spent a few years at graduate school doing research related to Japanese translation. During my studies, I also had the opportunity to partake in a one-year exchange program in 2009 at Keio University. Through these experiences, I believed that during my job-hunting, I would be able to make use of my Japanese language skills, which had always been one of my greatest strengths. As I had no formal study abroad experience as a full-time student in Japan, I thought I could use my job as an opportunity to try living in Japan. I attended a career forum in Shanghai where I met Hakuhodo, one of the leading companies in the advertising industry. Fortunately, I received a job offer from Hakuhodo, and from there, I decided to challenge myself at the company.

What did you do during college?

What I put the most effort into • my most memorable experience in university

Gathering information about Japan

  • Besides studying for my major, I actively collected information and knowledge about Japan. Most Japanese majors focus on grammar, vocabulary, and rely on memorization,but I had already mastered the basics because I had studied Japanese since junior high school. So, instead, I used to read the internet news and watched a lot of Japanese TV programs like  NHK documentaries andGaianoyoake (ガイアの夜明け). I also joined a Japanese language club at my university, challenged myself at a Japanese speech contest, and participated in many other events.

Long-term internship

  • When I was in graduate school, I did a long-term internship at a Japanese think tank company in Beijing. I was in charge of a project on internet media and was researching the advertising industry when I first came across Hakuhodo. I found out that Hakuhodo is not only one of the biggest companies in Japan, but also has a strong influence in Asia that pursues social significance as well as profitability. Looking back now, I think it was at this point that I began to develop an interest in Hakuhodo.

*A think tank is a group organized for interdisciplinary research with the objective of developing ideas and providing advice on a diverse range of subjects through specialized knowledge and networks.

 

What I wish I had done during university

I think I should have participated in business contests to present ideas. Especially from the perspective of my current occupation, it would have been better if I had been more business-minded and more aware of business schemes when I was a student.

What career advice would you recommend for job hunters?

Think about the essence of what you want to do

As someone who has been working in a Japanese company for about 8 years, I feel that the working environment has transformed significantly since I joined the company. Every industry in Japan is undergoing a period of change, and the digital transformation, also known as DX, in society is becoming stronger. When I was doing job-hunting, the industries in Japan were more stable. Now, no one can predict what the future holds for each industry. So, I think the important thing is to think about what you really want to do and what your values are. When thinking about their career, I recommend students to consider the essence of what they want to do as a key criterion of their career choice, not just the signboards of the companies they apply to and what the world thinks of them.

What are the beneficial skills needed for working in Japan?

Japanese Language Proficiency

  • I think Japanese is a prerequisite to working in Japan. Even if you are an international student, you should make an effort to be able to speak Japanese at a proper business level. 

Information Gathering Skills

  • It is a good idea to make use of your native language by actively gathering information about different countries. Especially with the internet, nowadays, you can get a lot of detailed and valuable information. As I think the ability to collect information is a skill that can be used during job-hunting, it is better to enhance it during your school years.

Basic Digital Knowledge

  • In this digital age, I believe that science and humanities students alike would do well to have some basic knowledge of technology, such as the ability to handle data.

What does Marketing Technology Center (MTC) Global Development Group Do?

Current Job Description

I am currently working in a department at Hakuhodo—specifically the global team—that does research and surveys related to marketing technology. When there is a new innovation related to marketing in a foreign market, we try to put together an appropriate scheme using it, look for collaborative partners, and experiment with the solutions we find, all while using our own budget.

 

Hurdles and Challenges

A job with no right answer

When I first joined the company, I expected that it would provide relatively ‘correct’ solutions that customers wanted in the fieldwork that would directly lead to sales. However, in my current position, I have to gather a lot of information from around the world, acquire a wide range of knowledge in new areas, as well as determine whether our proof of concept (POC) and research are actually meaningful for the company. Thus, there is no ‘right’ answer to this job, as I need to be flexible in my judgment and decision-making.

Work Environment HAKUHODO

A free and diverse company

  • The company culture is that of freedom. Hakuhodo respects the values and motivation of each and every one of its employees and provides an environment that allows them to take on new challenges. During the coronavirus pandemic, we encouraged teleworking and gave our employees the option to choose where they want to work. It is up to the individual themselves to choose the way of working that is most efficient and convenient for them.  

  • It is also a diversity-oriented company, which is a suitable environment for a foreign national. Everyone treats you warmly without prejudice, as it is a company that values ideas and a place where people with different and unique backgrounds can flourish.

 

Future Vision

In the near future, I would like to utilize the knowledge I have accumulated in my current department in the field. It would be interesting in working in my current company based in my home country, but I nonetheless would like to be active globally.

Recommended Job-hunting Resource

  1. JPort

  2. Bizreach Campus

  3. Mynavi (マイナビ)

  4. Career Forum Net