I decided to study abroad while still a high school student, after a few exchange students came to visit my home, which inspired my interest in other cultures. Although my English was not bad, the English used in the place where I studied abroad, Alabama, has a unique accent, which caused me much trouble when conversing at first. Never being one to admit defeat, however, I persevered, working at a part-time job as a janitor at the university dorm, and eating with the local students, which greatly helped me improve my English.
As I immersed myself in English while living in Alabama, I often missed Japan, and since the environment was full of Japanese products, this gave me the idea of introducing living Japanese culture to those around me. During my sophomore year at the university, I started a Japanese society, and we held a Sakura Festival event each April in order to introduce the local people to Japanese calligraphy, food, the Awa Odori dancing of my hometown, and so on. This festival was very popular among professors and students, and this showed me how high the level of interest in Japan was. I think it was my time living abroad that made me feel my identity as a Japanese person so strongly.

When came the time to look at prospective companies where I could enjoy a steady career, I looked for a Japanese company with a global presence but where I could still work as a Japanese person. During my time studying abroad, I was surprised by how many Japanese products such as cars and electrical goods had found their way into daily life, and the sense of pride it gave me led me to seek a career at a Japanese manufacturer where I could rest assured that my efforts were contributing to the enrichment of society.
I considered Hitachi as a prospective company from the beginning, and of the several companies I took interviews at, Hitachi was the one gave me full and thorough answers to all my questions. At the end of my first interview, I asked the interviewer for a little time to let me think about whether I really wanted to work there, to which the interviewer replied: "It is your future, so spend as much time as you need , and if Hitachi stays in your mind, please come back and work for us." The kindness and thoughtfulness of his approach made such a good impression I felt like it would surely be a place where I could find something worthwhile to do, and with people who were pleasant to work with, so in the end I decided that Hitachi was indeed the company for me.

First, in order to find out how to go about finding a career, I went to in the Boston Career Forum, which was held for exchange students in October of my junior year. I also went to the orientation session at the Tokyo Career Forum in April the following year, where I also attended a number of interviews, one of which was with Hitachi.
During this first interview , the interviewer and I got into a vigorous discussion and he told me that "your vigor shows that you are keenly conveying your ideas," and with that I passed the first interview. This left me with the impression that Hitachi is an interesting company. After that, I spent about a month during a trip back home during summer vacation actually visiting Hitachi and several other companies, taking written exams and being interviewed, until I received an offer. The Internet was my main source of information during my career search on this occasion, and I visited many recruiting sites aimed at students.