Photo: a scene from the panel discussion

“Please tell them how you got there from here.”

Professor William J. Swinton, Director of International Business Studies, asked the group of alumni presenters, pointing to 100+ current TUJ students gathered in Mita Hall for the fifth annual “Life After TUJ” event on October 7.

Temple University, Japan Campus (TUJ) regularly hosts career-related events. At “Life After TUJ” eight alumni shared tips on how to launch a career. While half of the students in attendance were soon-to-graduate seniors, about 20% of the participants were first-year students.

“We want to build a community,” said professor Swinton who helped initiate this series with Kentaro Sawa, Manager, Career Development Office in 2010. “One of the most important career assets is a strong network. Connecting with alumni is a great way to build that network.”

Photo: alumnus discussing life after TUJ in panel discussion one

Photo: alumna giving advice on job hunting in panel discussion one

The first of the two alumni panels, “Diverse Pathways: Options for Non-Profit, NGO and Government Careers” was moderated by Sarajean Rossito, an NPO consultant and TUJ instructor. Later, Swinton led a discussion on “Climbing the Corporate Ladder” with alumni from AIG, Ernst & Young, GE, Google and Microsoft. Both panels delved straight in to Q&A: job hunting tips; networking advice, personal branding. Students asked: “Do the things you learn at TUJ matter when you start working?” and “Did you know what you wanted to do before you graduated?”

Photo: alumnus sharing his job hunting stories in panel discussion two

Photo: recent graduate sharing his job hunting stories in panel discussion two

“Network. Network. Network” was Charles Harris’ response to the question, “What has had the most impact in getting you to the position you have now?” Harris, (Business Management, 2009) works at the US Department of Defense and participated on the first panel. “Every day you must network.” Everyone on the panel agreed. Jon Clemons (Economics 2009), who has worked at several startups, including Groupon and is now at Google, encouraged students to think of their personal brand, online and off.

Panel discussions were followed by a networking reception where students tried the tactics they just learned.

Organizations which the alumni presenters work for included AIG, Ernst & Young, GE, Google, Microsoft, Playground of Hope, Run for the Cure, and US Department of Defense.

Details of the event can be found here.