Zentern Internship & Cultural Program in Japan

Through my internship through Zentern with Rigel Jewelry, I’ve been able to have a small taste of what it’s like working in advertising and social media, ultimately organizing and executing a 2 day jewelry photoshoot.

While my typical day varied as the photoshoot planning progressed, I was trusted with ample creative freedom and responsibility which allowed me to grow in confidence and take ownership of the projects that I worked on. In the beginning, most of my work involved research via instagram and pinterest on different jewelry photography trends and concepts. When I presented my findings and how I thought these ideas could be incorporated into Rigel Jewelry’s own marketing to the jewelry company owner, to my pleasant surprise, he left practically all of the creative decisions up to me. This trend continued as I shopped for props, found models and a location, and even on the day of the photoshoot, most decisions were left up to me. While it was overwhelming having so much responsibility for the first time, it was also empowering and helped me build both confidence and a sense of personal accountability for the project which I think are valuable principles to carry into any job or school environment.

While internships sometimes get a bad reputation for being boring or not as exciting as other summer activities, my internship had the perfect mixture of fun and work.

My internship was an amazing experience that allowed me to grow in many ways. My mentors were very kind and gave me time to become familiar with the workspace, and allowed me to work on projects that I was passionate about. I ended up making a lot of progress and completing the project I was assigned in the given time. I learned that it is important to get to know your mentors and colleagues well because they can assist you in many different ways and feel more welcome. Also, make sure that you are having fun, and spending your time working on something that you are interested in is a big role in how well the internship goes.

I found this internship to be a very good experience for me. As a had a lot of time over the summer, I think that it allowed me to be very productive and learn new skills. Finding the internship for me was a very smooth process as I was accepted to the first place that I interviewed at. Then internship overall was also very easy as the people at Haloworld were able to give me tasks that were just to my level. Even though I did run into some technical issues, I think that I was able to help the company with a new robot that they were creating. I was not sure that to expect when I first signed up for this internship but I was very happy with how it turned out.

From March to July I worked at a young, English speaking company. There I focused on replacing a plastic part of an electronic fluid analyser with a paper part. I got to implement my knowledge of environmental sciences and additionally I learned a new skills in 3D modeling, working with laser cutters, 3D-printing.
Luckily Zentern found an English speaking company because my Japanese is very bad. The initial experience with Zentern and the proces of finding an internship went very well, there was a lot of contact and they listened to my requests very well. They found two possible companies for me to choose from, I decided for the first one and I wasn’t disappointed.
Japan is a super interesting country to do an internship. When living in Tokyo you really get to know how Japan is, instead of being a tourism where you only get a glimpse of Japan and see mostly the touristy places.

My experience was quite unique since I worked in a very small company in direct contact with my employer. He was incredibly helpful in sharing all of his insights about the job to make me grow more confident each day and by the end of the internship he offered me the position of English teacher in his school. The support from the program made my stay smooth and comfortable and the group of interns provided me with a network to socialize in the free time. In conclusion It was a great opportunity all around.

Getting to explore the depths of Tokyo was an incredible experience for me. More than anything the experience is what you make of it. The opportunity provided to you is a wonderful work environment, smart and friendly people and close working support that really gives you everything you need to have a profound and permanently life altering experience. You'll be able to make friends with and meet people from around the world and experience one of the world's greatest cities while being embedded deep into the culture and lives of people who call Tokyo their home.

My own teary farewell to the people that I'd worked with was testament to how close of a relationship it is possible to build despite some difficulties with language. At the same moment however if you give it the time and effort it deserves you'll find your ability to speak Japanese will come along in leaps and bounds, being given the best possible soil for it grow in.

I hope that you embrace the opportunity if you can and you give the Zentern staff the opportunity to get you there.

I would say that my experience with Zentern was extremely pleasant. We had our fun events, while I did not go for all of them, I am not a big fan of skiing, I still had a lot of fun. Though the best part was the Zentern always having my back. Making sure that when my company had management issued that I came out okay and when my dorm had issues with my rent, they made sure that the issue was solved. I would gladly recommend going on an international internship to anyone, especially those looking for new experinces.

I am 19 and I come from Hong Kong. Though I haven't graduated from the university yet, I am always panicking about not being competitive and my knowledge at the moment is way not enough to fulfil the requirements of my future employers. My university provides 1 and a half month semester break in between two semesters, so I decided not to waste it and find something to enhance myself.
Finding a suitable internship agency is hard. Not only does it need to be professional, but it also need to meet up my own expectations. The main reasons I chose Zentern at last is because of their friendliness and quick response (no My internship coordinator is amazing!). They replied my inquiries patiently and never send a robotic message, which I found them taking good care of every Zenterns. They also found me a good internship place which I met many new friends and explored a lot on Japanese cultures and Marketing and Event Planning field.