I will start by introducing myself. I'm Kotomi Kotomi, a first-year student at the Faculty of Liberal Arts, International Christian University, and a member of TEDxICU. Thank you for your time today.

I'm Haruka Aizawa, also a first-year undergraduate and a member of the sponsor team. please.

I'm Fujii, and I'm a member of the Human Resources Department's New Graduate Recruitment Team. As for the content of my work, I plan and execute measures as public relations activities to let students know about PwC. thank you.

Now let me ask you a question. First of all, I'd like to ask you about your work in detail, Mr. Fujii.

That's right. My current job is my second company after graduating from university. is.

It's was so. Last year's interview article with your company (You can see it here), I felt that it is a workplace where it is easy to express opinions regardless of age, and when I saw the website, I felt that it was an environment full of diversity. , Do you feel that you are actually working?

I agree. PwC has a culture of Speak Up, where people can express their opinions regardless of age or position, and I can sense that this culture is rooted in our daily work. What I think is the best thing about this company is its attitude of respecting the will of each individual as much as possible. Think about what the company can offer. This is put into practice through a coaching system in which each employee is assigned a coach to discuss their duties and career paths, and an open recruitment system in which employees' wishes are respected. I feel very comfortable that there is such a system and culture that respects individual intentions.

It's very attractive. I believe that PwC has a global network, but I read in last year's article that each country operates independently. Does that mean that the PwC Japan Group has no connections with overseas member firms and is completely within that group?

No, although we have connections with PwC member firms in other countries, we can make management decisions ourselves. PwC currently conducts business in 152 countries, and we are able to make extensive use of the PwC global network by not only sharing information but also working together with members in each country.

Thank you very much. Next, I would like to ask you to tell us about the characteristics and uniqueness of your company.

First of all, I think it means that we have a global network. One of the major features is the exchange of human resources and information with PwC member firms in various countries. Also, this may sound a bit conceptual, but under the Purpose of "building trust in society and solving important issues," we have implemented a management strategy called "The New Equation" throughout PwC. I think it's also characteristic that you're raising it. The New Equation expresses how we support the sustainable growth of our clients and stakeholders by multiplying the strengths of technology and the value that diverse human resources can create. Also, I am currently in charge of PwC Consulting, and PwC Japan Group has companies with various specialties, such as PwC Aarata LLC and PwC Advisory LLC. I feel that one of PwC's strengths is that people and information are actively exchanged between these corporations, and that various specialists are working in cooperation with each other.

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Thank you. I was very interested in the fact that even within the PwC Japan Group, there is a strength in being able to collaborate across corporations. That's it for my questions. thank you very much.

Next, I would like to move on to questions about job hunting, which is a topic of concern for us university students. First of all, Mr. Fujii, you are currently in charge of human resources at PwC Consulting.

The important thing for me is to make decisions based on intuition. I think I choose based on my intuition rather than the content of the work, such as whether I can get excited about working at the company, or whether I can get an image of working together with people I met at interviews. Having said that, I do think that when you have to make a choice, you will be troubled, so if you are troubled, you can make a decision based on your intuition first, and then if you work hard at the destination you choose, you will be able to make the right decision.

I see, I thought that I had to gather a lot of information and think about various things before making a decision when I was looking for a job. It's very cool that you're going to make the road correct. thank you. The next question is, have you had any difficulties in job hunting?

It wasn't when I changed jobs to PwC, but when I was a university student, I had a really hard time looking for a job. That's because I couldn't get a job offer. I applied to various places, but all failed, and I couldn't even go to the company I wanted. One of the things I struggled with was that job hunting never ends. If I told a first-year student something like this, they might despair (laughs). There is a deadline for exams, and if you pass the exam, it's over. If you want to continue, you can continue as much as you want. In that sense, it was very painful to not be able to see the end.

Thank you. Next, as Mr. Fujii probably knows, ICU is strongly required to cultivate critical thinking skills, and I have heard that in the consulting industry, logical thinking is required. Do you actually work at PwC and feel that this kind of logical thinking is required?

I feel it. A consultant's job is to work together with clients to solve the problems they face. Under such circumstances, it is important to organize the situation logically and create an environment that makes it easy for the client to think about the issue. Therefore, I feel that logical thinking is a basic skill for consultants, and I think it is also an important part of job interviews.

You say that it is important from the time of the interview, but what can you do as a university student to cultivate that logical thinking?

Well... I think you'll be fine if you study hard (laughs). For example, even if I write a report, I think that it cannot be written unless it is logical. First of all, you have to write a summary, and then you have to make sense of the body paragraphs and conclusions, so if you do your best in the normal study process, you will learn some things. After that, I think that science students can proceed with research while formulating hypotheses and demonstrating them, but that is exactly what consultants do. For that reason, rather than doing something consciously from now on, I think that if you do your best in your regular university studies, you will be able to acquire it to some extent.

Rather than thinking about studying and job hunting separately, it is important to cultivate such abilities while studying from this point on.

I agree. Also, job hunting is important, but I think it would be better to spend time on things that can only be done at university or at ICU.

Thank you. That's about it for job hunting. Let's move on to the next question. This time, we have set Bloom as the theme of the event we are holding, and our goal is to make the individuality and ideas that have been closed due to the corona crisis bloom. So my question is, do you feel that you were able to bloom (individuality, etc.) precisely because you are in the PwC environment?

As I mentioned at the beginning, PwC has a support system in place that supports what I want to do, so I was able to take a leave of absence last year to study abroad. Studying abroad made me aware of my strengths and weaknesses, and this experience has become my asset. In the first place, various people in the company supported me in taking a leave of absence. Without this kind of support, I would not have been able to study abroad, so I am glad that I belong to PwC.

Thank you. This is the end of our questions.
 

I think that most university students today have been suffering from the corona virus since they entered school, so I would like them to experience things that can only be experienced face-to-face and enjoy face-to-face events. I think that TED is an event where you can make new discoveries by participating and get energy to work hard from tomorrow. I would like you to fully enjoy the energy from the speakers and the atmosphere of the entire venue that you can only feel at the venue, and I will support you to make it such an event.

Thank  you. Thank you for your answers, I learned a lot. This concludes the interview.

Thank you very much.