So I'm Kazuma and I'm a university student from Japan. And I was on the exchange program at the University of Wollongong in Australia. I was studying there for one year. And I came back to Japan just two months ago.
In my home university, I studied German and international area studies. But in Australia, I studied programming and editing videos, and like designing.
So somehow I started my YouTube channel and then fortunately got an internship opportunity. And now I'm invited to this podcast. So I'm quite happy to share my story , and I hope to give you some good insights. So thank you for having me today.
Yeah. So getting an internship during the study abroad program was a very big goal for me. So from the first month in Australia, I started searching for an internship. And I joined a career seminar at the university, they had some support.
So I learned Linkedin is used in Australia. That app is not used in Japan, so I was not familiar with that app at all. So through these seminars and the career support, I familiarised myself with that app.
Then I applied for the internship, then I got it. So that's the brief explanation.
Yeah, so it was a goal because I was not sure about my career path. Like, during my study in Japan, I studied German, as I said, but I realised, I don't know if it's my interest or passion, but I was not sure what I want to do next. So maybe getting some internship during my time in Australia will help me find new passion and open a new career path. So that's why I wanted to get an internship.
It was the first time. In Japan, I just did some part time jobs like working at McDonald's. But not like, you know, a serious internship. So that was quite a special experience for me.
Yeah. So I was working at Altitude Tea. This company is based in Sydney. And this company sells tea products like tea leaves and holds Chinese tea ceremonies.
It was a digital marketing internship. So I used my phone, I used my DSLR camera and then took some footage and photos of the products and tea ceremonies. Then I edited those videos and posted on Instagram, Linkedin, Facebook to get some prospective customers with digital marketing.
I think it was quite rare. So I was living in the accommodation of the University of Wollongong and then there I could interact with so many exchange students and international students. And I did not meet even one student who had an internship as an exchange.
And even for international students, when I talked about how I got the internship, they were so surprised. So I was quite lucky.
It was an unpaid internship. I just got free lunch and you know, experience. And sometimes that company holds tea ceremonies at other companies like Activision, which is famous for creating the game, Call of Duty. So I went to the office of Activision and then I could interact with the people there. So I was so excited.
Yeah, definitely. It's a life-changing experience. Yeah. I, yeah. So before the internship, as I said, I was not sure about my career path.
But like from the beginning of my study abroad, I started a YouTube channel. Thanks to that YouTube channel, Altitude Tea found me interesting. “Oh, this guy is doing YouTube.” And then that company was hiring a digital marketing intern.
So it's kind of similar, right? Yeah. I use SEO knowledge and video editing. So those skills are applied for that internship. And then because of that internship, now I'm passionate about digital marketing and content creation.
So that experience definitely changed my career path and it gave me insight about what I want to do in the future.
Yes. Yes. Yes. So the first digital marketing internship in Australia, then now another digital marketing internship in Tokyo. So it connects, you know, the story has some consistency.
So the first thing is definitely confidence about my proficiency in English because I was living my whole life in Japan and then suddenly came to Australia and started an internship so it was at first very scary. Like when I got the call from her, I was nervous. But after that three month internship, I realised that, oh, I can handle like, you know, professional business stuff with my English. So that's the first thing – confidence about my English.
And the second thing is marketing skills. It's kind of, you know, detailed stuff. I mean, I used some tools for email marketing and I learned some like digital marketing analytics too. Like, oh, this post gets more reach than this, oh what's the reason. Or like hashtags, this one works or this hashtag doesn't work to get views. So I got more used to using those tools and then learned how digital marketing works.
So as I mentioned, I went to the office of Activision and I was taking videos of that tea ceremony. Then afterwards, I edited them and posted them on LinkedIn and more than 10,000 people watched that video. And I was quite surprised about that outcome. Yeah. So that's the coolest thing.
But basically, each day I go to the office, what I do is take a video and analyse the results. So those maybe might sound boring, but for me it was very cool.
Ah yeah. In Japan, working is more strict. For example, when I talk with some boss, like a senior, I have to use some more polite language in Japanese. Yeah. But here in English, there is no difference, right? So I could be quite friendly with the boss, but that was totally different from Japan. And then I prefer that much more.
In my case, I was so worried about my English. I was not sure I could handle everything with my English, but now it's not that big a deal. So I think if some exchange students want to do an internship, go for it. It's going to be really okay. Not so big a deal.
So when I apply for internships, most of them do not reply at all. So I sometimes send a follow-up message on LinkedIn like “I'm still interested in this opportunity. If you have any updates, could you reply,” but still they don't reply . So maybe the difficulty is to get the first interview. So maybe applying for as many internships would be one solution.
Maybe some of them would reply, but sometimes there might be some scam. Like I applied to one. And they asked me to pay money for that internship. So be careful about that, but apply for as many as possible, then you get some good internship opportunities and then go for the interview.
I think finding some internship that aligns with your interest is also hard. Some internships are done online and I preferred onsite internships because I wanted to interact with people in person. And when I tried to find internships related to digital marketing, like only a few internships pop up on LinkedIn. So maybe finding an interesting internship for you is also hard.
Yeah, I used LinkedIn, sometimes Indeed, and then the Career website of the University of Wollongong. So there's a website that introduced some internships and the employer wants to get some students specifically from the University of Wollongong. So that's easier for University of Wollongong students to apply for.
LinkedIn is the most powerful one. Many internships are out there.
Yeah, I think so. Because there's an option of “Easy Apply.” So I just created a resume on Canva and then sent that resume and my email address. That's it. And then I can just contact the employer through the LinkedIn app instead of sending email. It's more casual.
So I applied for that internship on LinkedIn, and at first she didn't reply to me. So I just sent a follow-up message on LinkedIn. And then I told my phone number. So she called me and then we scheduled the interview. Then I got it.
Yeah. Like basic information, like address and email address, phone number.
And then besides that, I explained my interest, like I'm doing YouTube and I'm interested in digital marketing. That's why I want to apply for this. So those interests and my academic background. Like I studied international area studies in Japan and I'm on the exchange program now, like that.
And career history, like how I was working at McDonald's. So, you know, not that special. I just added necessary information. My best friend and my career support centre at the university gave me a lot of advice and then I could create that resume.
For me everything was the best advice because I didn't even know how to, you know, start creating the resume. In Japan, we have a specific format for resumes. So we have to just fill that up and then I don't have to think about what to write or like the design of the resume.
So thanks to them, I knew the app Canva, how to use it and how to design the resume and what to write. I think for exchange students, especially from Asian countries, they don't know how to write resumes well, I guess, because it's a totally different system to apply for jobs.
Like in Japan, I have to put my photo on the resume, but my friend mentioned, I do not have to put my photo. That's totally different as well. So that's another tip.
So it was, I think, kind of unique. First step is easy questions, like a tentative weekly commitment or timeline. How long do I want to do this internship and when to start?
And the second one is like, why do I want to do this? Like, why am I interested in that opportunity? And she asked about my YouTube channel.
Then the third step was quite unique. So as I said, it was a tea ceremony company, right? So she actually demonstrated how to do a Chinese tea ceremony in front of me. And then she gave me some tea. And then she asked some questions, like “Where are you from in Tokyo?” and “What do you do normally?” Sometimes she asked a more professional question like how I organise projects or how I make a plan for content on YouTube. So she asked some questions related to that internship. Yeah. But besides that, it was a very comfortable interview, enjoying the tea ceremony.
So in five years, I envision myself maybe working in Australia or a different country or working in a foreign company in Japan. I really prefer the working environment and working habits of Australia compared to the Japanese one.
And another short term goal is now I'm a senior student of the university. So in the next year, the job hunting will start. It's also another big cultural difference. So in Australia, like each student has a different schedule and then they can do job hunting on their own schedule. But in Japan, every single student will start at the same time, like May or April.
So I have to maybe focus on that because after I graduate, I definitely want to get a job. Yeah. So I will get a job with a Japanese company, then change to working in Australia or working in a foreign company. That's the plan for now.
Yeah, definitely. I'm now working in another brand marketing agency in Tokyo engaged in digital marketing. I would like to continue this job.
Yeah. So I came back to Japan two months ago and then I used LinkedIn again. It's kind of an interesting story. I applied for some internships on LinkedIn and on some other platforms. And then I found one opportunity, which was a media company. And then I had an interview with them.
But as we have a conversation, they realise that my interests do not align with what they are actually doing, but they know another company that is doing what I want to do. So they introduced that company to me and that was the company where I'm working now.
So what I'm doing in this current internship is mainly video editing and content creation. So one day I take a good camera and then start filmmaking, like shooting the footage of the client's project and then sometimes behind the scenes.
And after that, I'm working on post-production using Adobe Premiere Pro. I edit those videos for our own media, like YouTube or Instagram, or sometimes I work on the client project. Yeah. That's what I'm doing now.
Yeah. So like the company I'm working for now is creating advertisements for other companies or for other brands. It's quite creative.
Some people are designers and design the logo of the other company or create some commercials for other companies. Yeah. So that's what the company is doing.
Yeah, it's quite helpful to have some working experience in Australia or in other foreign countries. Because being able to speak English is not so common in Japan. So some students who can work in an English environment would be prioritised. Yeah. So having that experience on a resume is quite cool.
Yeah, I have one thing, but it's not like something I could change now I have more skills. Like I can use Adobe Premiere Pro. Like I used to use iMovie. It's not that professional editing software, but I can now use Adobe. And now I have more knowledge and then skills about digital marketing, like SEO and social media marketing or like scheduling tools or analytics tools. I'm quite familiar with that.
But at that time when I was in Australia, I was not that familiar. So now, yeah, I can give more advice to like, you know, old myself. But yeah, I could do better. I do not regret that, but I could have learned a lot more like on Udemy or on Coursera and on those online schools to get more of those skills. Then I could output more in that internship.
So if I can go back to that time, I recommend myself to get more input on online courses and output at the internship.
I think taking action. So I was at first not expecting to get an internship. I did not even know how I could reach that goal.
But somehow, because I did a YouTube channel and then because I found an opportunity and I went to the career support centre. Because I made a best friend who supported me a lot, because those dots of taking action finally connected and then led me to that internship.
So it's hard to find a one way path to that goal. But if you take action, those dots will be connected in the end and you can get the internship opportunity. If you want to make something happen, taking action is the best advice, I guess.
If you’re interested in getting an internship or graduate job in Australia as an international student, check out the opportunities on our site!