Hikaru Saito (commerce)
Hikaru Saito, a fourth year Gustavson business student, completed an international co-op as a Summer Intern for Apex K.K’s sales department in Tokyo, Japan. His role focused primarily on the executive search of mid-senior management positions in global pharma/healthcare companies operating in Japan. Over the summer, he successfully managed around ten client recruitment projects.
A new work environment
“I would say the work environment was very flat as a mid-sized company of 100 employees. Unlike Japanese traditional companies, my president, Brock, was working in the same office and in fact was always sitting behind me.
Every Friday, Apex held a company meeting and we would often celebrate placements made by colleagues to motivate each other. Overall, Apex was such an exciting place to work.”
Bringing in his cultural perspective
Despite being originally from Tokyo, Hikaru discovered new activities during his four month work term, saying, “I enjoyed exploring new lunch restaurants in my workplace Ebisu everyday with my buddy Lauren. Around the office, I tried very nice Korean BBQ, Sushi, all-you-can-eat bread & soup, Ramen and so on. They were all $10-15 and I became a ‘local gourmet’ in Ebisu over the summer.”
As a Japanese student, Hikaru encountered unexpected cultural barriers in his work environment. “During the internship, I felt some of my colleagues expected a higher level of formality in my communication compared to what they otherwise would expect from other students interning that had no cultural backgrounds in Japan.
Working in an intercultural environment in Japan, a country known for its high power distance, I realised that I should have been aware of nuanced types of power distance and showing respect to others is important no matter where I work or who I work with. I believe this experience made me realise the importance of respectfulness.”
Cultural growth
Recognizing the value of leveraging his bilingual and bicultural skills in an international setting, Hikaru’s biggest takeaway from this experience was profound.
“Working in a diverse team at Apex underscored the significance of respecting cultural differences, even in seemingly flat work environments. This newfound cultural awareness became a valuable aspect of my professional growth, emphasising the universal importance of respectfulness in fostering positive and collaborative work environments.”