Career Profiles

I work for Origin Data, an internet marketing form specializing in customer acquisition.  I do this through strategic search (pay-per-click campaigns) and co-registration. So we will manage companies’ search campaigns, track the clicks, find out where they are coming from, how far along in the acquisition/registration process they got, etc…..

I’m just starting the job, so it’s a steep learning curve for me. I’m liking it so far, but it is a sales job, so it always has its ups and downs. I found it through a client from my old job (mortgages) who thought that I would be a good addition, so they poached me away.

I’m not using my Japanese so far, but I hope to expand the company worldwide in the next few years, so I may have an opportunity to use my Japanese yet.
-Chris Murphy, Atlanta

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Post-JET,  I moved to NYC to start the Masters of Architecture Program at Columbia University.  Three years after returning from Japan, I began working at the architecture firm of Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM).  We do large international and domestic projects and have over 1,000 employess in Europe, Asia and the U.S.  In the past two years, I have been fortunate to work on many different parts of the design of the Freedom Tower at the WTC.
-Julie Hiromoto, New York

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I work at the New York subsidiary of Mizuho Trust, a major Japanese bank that administers offshore investment funds  primarily for Japanese institutional investors.  I’m an attorney who spent two years in commercial litigation, but I wanted to do more transactional work.  I now coordinate the documentation for the setup of funds, usually coordinating parties across the globe from Japan to Hong Kong, to the Caribbean, England, L.A., and New York.  Most of my spoken interaction is in Japanese and about 1/3 of the e-mails, etc.  It took me about two years of looking but I got the job after I met a headhunter casually, who hooked me up with a bilingual job the next week.  The interesting thing is the job is perfect for me, but I would not have taken it out of law school since I thought I wanted a job in a law firm.
-Brian Hersey, New York

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I am currently a Strategic Sourcing consultant for a start-up boutique consulting firm.  I found a career in consulting upon my return from the JET Program in 2001, when I spent time in Tennessee consulting for a Nissan supplier.  One thing led to another and I ended up in Chicago at the Huron Consulting Group, where I worked for three years for a multitude of clients.

As a strategic sourcing consultant, we look at our clients’ indirect spending and identify areas where the client can improve discounts they are getting based on spend volume and market research.  It is a great feeling when you can show a company a million dollars in recurring savings.  This career choice is extremely interesting since I am always learning about new industries. It is very challenging and rewarding.  Next year, I plan to continue consulting in Japan and have a goal of setting up an office in Tokyo.
-Clinton Fairbanks, New York

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I’ve been working as an in-house web designer for the past 10-11 years and for the past three in a huge corporation, Safeco Insurance.  I am the visual designer responsible for the look and feel of our main website.  I maintain the standards and do internal consulting with various departments.  I also do the design work for big marketing pushes online. I truly enjoy what I do and have always felt lucky to get paid for my work.

I got this job through networking with friends. At the same time I interviewed here, I interviewed with Amazon and MSNBC, all the result of networking. My first job back from JET, though, I got through the newspaper.  For designers, the most important thing you can do is to SHOW you know how design – do that by making your resume presentation unique and creative. You MUST also have a self-promotional website.
-Gabriela Pedroza, Hokkaido, Kurisawa, B.S. in Art/ Graphic Design, Oregon State University

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I’m the Assistant Director, Graduate Division Career Counseling, NYU School of Law, though I was just promoted to this position at the end of August, so I can’t say for sure what I love/hate about it yet.

What I can say is that I am in charge of all of the career counseling and career programming (resume workshops, networking sessions, mock interviews, on-campus interviews, etc.) for all of the international students at NYU School of Law. I also oversee career counseling for the tax law and other specialized graduate law programs (these are students who already received a basic law degree and are now getting additional training in a specialized area).

I moved up to this job from my prior position after completing my degree in international education and expressing to my supervisor a very strong desire to work closely with international students. As the sole full-time career counselor for the entire graduate division at the law school, I get to meet personally with a wide variety of students from dozens of backgrounds. In addition to being able to work with so many wonderful students, they also keep me on my toes by coming up with new questions and scenarios every minute — never a dull moment!

My previous position (util 8/06) was Senior Placement Assistant, J.D. Division, Office of Career Services, NYU School of Law.  I honestly began this position as a way to get free tuition to a graduate program at NYU’s School of Education, where I was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in international education.  I also had some inkling that I might enjoy working in Student Affairs, so I figured this job was a great way to get free tuition while also gaining an introduction to the field of student affairs.

It turns out that I really enjoyed working in Career Services. NYU itself is a very friendly, warm and supportive place to work, so it has been a great place to learn the ropes of this field. I found the job through NYU’s HR site, but I’m fairly sure it was my personal connection to the school that got me the interview. Not only am I an NYU grad, but once I applied for the position, I reached out to everyone I was still in touch with at NYU to ask for advice/opinions about working at the school. I actually didn’t get the original position I applied for at NYU, but so many people knew what I was looking for at that point that it wasn’t long before my resume found its way to the hands of my current employer.
-Clara Solomon, New York

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I’m a Vice President at MWW Group, one of the top ten PR firms.  I work in corporate communications and public affairs, specifically with education related organizations and in economic development.  The work can be intense at times, but I really enjoy it because I’m a social person and I am constantly interacting with people and helping them communicate their ideas and strengths.  One of my clients is the Scottish government, and I help them by promoting business initiatives in Scotland as well as coordinate U.S. media opportunities for government officials.

Until recently I had been freelancing, but I joined a firm again to have more professional interaction and work with larger projects.  Freelancing was a challenge, but I use a lot of what I learned in my job today — especially in networking for media and new business opportunities.
-Tamara Boorstein, New York

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Earlier this summer, I completed a two-year program called the Rotary World Peace Fellowship at one of the Rotary Centers for Peace and Conflict Resolution. There are seven centers in the world — mine is at International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan.  Although it is not a “job” per se, it was a fully-paid two year master’s in Peace and Conflict Resolution.  I got the scholarship through a recommendation from the Consul General of Japan at Kansas City, where I worked from 2002-2004.  That job was clearly a result of my experience as a JET — I got the job announcement through a JETAA mailing list when I was living in Los Angeles.  If you’re interested, check out the www.rotary.org/foundation/educational/.  It’s been a great way to get back in touch with Japan and see many other parts of the world, too.
-William Nealy, Kansas City/Tokyo

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Since I returned from Japan in April ’04 (Oita City CIR), I’ve been working for FIREBORNE Corporate Awards (www.fireborne.com).  It’s a family business.  I design and maintain the website and am involved in nearly every aspect of the business.  I enjoy being in private enterprise as opposed to government work, both in Japan and in Texas where I lived before Oita.  There’s more creativity and enthusiasm, more highs and lows.  I like the glass, the colors, and hearing from jubilant clients after their events.  What I don’t like about it is the risk of failing, but that’s tangled up in the rest of what I like about it!  To supplement this work, I’ve been working part-time at the Kinokuniya Bookstore since March ’06.  There I enjoy the opportunity to occassionally speak Japanese and help customers.  It’s been a favorite place in Seattle for me since I was a kid.
-Ardis Burr, Seattle, WA

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After spending 3 years in Japan, I came back stateside and was not excited about purchasing a vehicle and/or paying the steep insurance prices that I was going to have to pay because of my three-year hiatus. Therefore, I just borrowed from friends and relatives when I needed a vehicle.  But, even though I always filled up the tank, washed it spotless and even provided barley and hops in exchange for these rentals, the relationships started to suffer as I kept mooching off them.

Then it happened. I saw a Flexcar parked on the corner near where my brother lived. I then went to their website and learned all about car-sharing.   So, I joined and have still not bought a vehicle since coming back from JET 6 years ago.  And because it was so good to me and I was so passionate about the concept, when they had a job opening two years ago, I applied and now I am living and working for this amazing concept called car-sharing.  Check it out!  Both Flexcar and Zipcar are expanding fairly rapidly so they may have openings in a city where you live or want to live.
-Toby Weymiller (JET Alum, Hokkaido, 1997-2000), Seattle