It is the preeminent
career forum for bilingual Japanese-English fresh graduates to look for
employment with top firms in Japan. It is held in November every year in
Boston, and many executives from top firms come here with the sole purpose of
giving out job offers during this time. It is also open to mid-career
professionals as well, although most of the positions being offered are geared
toward new graduates or young professionals.
The recommended qualifications
are:
•Japanese-English
bilingual (minimum conversational level) and one of the following: •Graduated
from or currently enrolled in a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Ph.D. program outside
of Japan
•Graduated
from or currently enrolled in a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Ph.D. program in Japan
including at least one year of study abroad
•Mid-career
professionals
In the most recent BCF
in November 2015, 195 companies participated including some of the biggest
names out there such as Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Deloitte, Sony, Hitachi,
Toyota Motor Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui, Mitsubishi Corporation, McKinsey,
Konica Minolta, Softbank, and others.
I attended the forum as
a graduate student a while back, and I was able to secure a couple of
interviews with consulting firms and financial institutions which eventually
led up to additional rounds of interviews but, unfortunately, no offer. My
biggest weakness at the time was my complete lack of Japanese skills. I only
knew a few words, but I had a desire to live and work in Japan as my wife is
Japanese and I wanted a new experience.
