JAPAN: More than a thousand Japanese students scream and sing at rally aimed at whipping up enthusiasm for Japan's annual job hunt

Record ID: 213881

  • Title: JAPAN: More than a thousand Japanese students scream and sing at rally aimed at whipping up enthusiasm for Japan's annual job hunt
  • Date: 13th February 2013
  • Summary: CHEER LEADERS BOWING AND LEAVING STAGE
  • Embargoed: 28th February 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Employment,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA1XRSSUTC40EHRDX1UO7GW6UQ9
  • Story Text: More than a thousand Japanese students gathered at a rally on Wednesday (February 13), screaming, shouting, and singing to muster enthusiasm for the annual job hunt.
    They said they hoped this rally, arranged by a group of local colleges, would be the boost they needed to make it through Japan's tortuous job-searching season.

    "It's a real struggle to find a job at the moment - the economy's not doing so well after all. But I'm hoping my enthusiasm will help me succeed," said 24-year-old Shunetsu Minato, a student embarking on the gruelling application process for Japan's civil service.
    Almost every major Japanese company participates in the annual mass-hiring ritual that dates back to the country's post-war economic miracle when skilled workers were in short supply and companies began hiring graduates in bulk.
    Between early December when big companies start advertising entry-level positions and April when they make offers to fourth-year students, each student will typically send up to a hundred or more applications, attend dozens of presentations and endure multiple interviews with 20-30 prospective employers.
    Students typically don black suits and white shirts, lining up en masse outside company headquarters ahead of their interviews.

    "I'm really bad at answering the questions I get asked in interviews. So I'm kind of stuck at the moment about how I can improve that," 19-year-old Haruka Takahashi said, clad in standard job-hunting attire.
    Competition is fierce. Last year just nine jobs awaited every 10 of the 381,000 students graduating and looking for work, with the most coveted positions with the likes of Toyota or Nomura even more scarce.
    Unemployment in Japan currently stands at 4.2 percent.
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