Intern Interview: Masahito Yamasaki | Temple University, Japan Campus

Student Intern Profile

Name: Masahito Yamasaki
Country: Japan
Major: International Business Studies
Internship at: Texas Instruments
Duration: Summer 2014

Q1: What are some of your projects/responsibilities at the internship?

Masahito: My responsibility at the internship is to execute quote requests from sales people and distributors according to pricing guidelines. I also worked on quote approval and input the data into SAP. It is a job with a lot of responsibility because I need to communicate with external business people and maintain win-win business relationships among customers, distributors and Texas Instruments Japan (TIJ).

Q2: What have you learned from the internship?

Masahito: I learned how individuals in different departments contribute to the company in different ways to achieve the overall goal. TIJ provided me with great training about each department and opportunities to interview with many top managers and executives. Everyone shared their experience and knowledge with me through the training. The time I spent with the people at TIJ will be invaluable in my future career.

Q3: What was the biggest challenge you faced during your internship and what did you do to overcome it?

Masahito: My job carried a lot of responsibility and required a detailed understanding of the process, but I was totally new to the operation and situation. So every single day was my biggest challenge because I needed to absorb professional knowledge and information for my work. The people on the team I worked for were always very friendly and open. Questions were always welcomed. This great working environment helped me handle the biggest challenges.

Q4: Please tell us your future goals or your plans after graduation.

Q5: How do you envision your internship experience helping you in the future?

Q6: Would you recommend this internship to other TUJ students?

Masahito: I highly recommend an internship at TIJ to other students. TIJ will give you many opportunities and support when you need it. It is not only about a job but also about your career. I especially recommend women to intern at TIJ as they have great gender equality. I believe TIJ is one of the best places to learn correct business manners and the importance of the working environment.

Masahito's Daily Schedule

Time	Activity
9:00	Arrive at work; check e-mail and schedule; work on SPR (Special Price Request)
11:00	Attend workshop with TIJ Sales
12:00	Lunch with pricing team and younger TIJ employees
14:00	Weekly meeting with pricing team
16:00	Training and interview with TIJ managers
17:40	Finish work

Interested In Sponsoring Our Students?

Interview with Masahito's Internship Sponsor

Things have been done the Japanese way, but we're a multinational company. To increase the level of communication, speaking in English is important, and that's where I believe having bilingual interns can help.

—Gavin Reid, Controller, Texas Instruments Japan

Interview with Masahito's Internship Sponsor

When we talk about projects, it's really about timing. It is fortunate that we had a project that we could get the internship student to be involved in both last year and this year. That's very exciting, but I think even without a project, we will be able to provide an experience that actually gets into the day-to-day work execution.

—Yuko Nuki, Manager, Marketing Pricing, Texas Instruments Japan