A Foot in the Door: Gaining an Edge in the Japanese Job Market

It isn’t easy to move to a different country and jump into a labor market. One way to get your foot in the door is by acquiring new skills, such as through an MBA program. At GLOBIS, students can apply what they learn in class to real business situations, thanks to collaboration with over 90 corporate partners.

Here are three GLOBIS graduates now working in Japan who got their start with internships. Mico Geronimo, Katrina Vinluan, and Sabine Schoellhorn wrapped up their MBA experience with an internship at the Tokyo headquarters of IBM Japan. Here are their impressions from their time as interns there.

Mico Geronimo, The Philippines

“As an MBA intern, people expect you to hit the ground running on week one. There’s definitely pressure to deliver not only because you carry the name of the school but also because you’re more than just a regular intern.

This internship was a great opportunity to get out of my comfort zone. My work has an actual business impact, and there’s still a sense of freedom to explore and experiment in a new domain. It’s interesting to see first-hand how a large, western multinational company has created its own unique corporate culture here in Japan.”

Sabine Schoellhorn, Germany

“This internship at IBM gave me insight into the future of digital marketing, as well as the opportunity to be actively involved in a challenging project with third-party vendors. These two-and-a-half months have been an exciting journey with lots of new discoveries and business learning, which will assist me in my post-MBA career. I am grateful to experience a demanding but very nurturing corporate culture with wonderful people and can only highly recommend this experience to future students.”

Katrina Vinluan, The Philippines

“IBM is in the process of transitioning to the ‘new way of marketing’ where data analytics and other IBM core competencies will be made more relevant to buyers. It’s interesting to be immersed in a situation where I can see how big data can be useful in generating more effective Marketing Created Revenues (MCRs). It’s challenging as well to be plunged into actual campaign planning and campaign management of existing projects. The corporate culture and the great, thoughtful, and supportive people there are the reasons why the internship experience is worthwhile.”