A Day in the Life as A CST at AlphaSights: Daiki Yoshioka

Fun fact - AlphaSights is not the first company for which I work full-time!

Previously, I was at an HR SaaS start-up in Tokyo for a few months and was responsible for account management. As I wanted to work in a more fast-paced, challenging, and global environment, I started to look for the next step and found out about AlphaSights at the virtual Boston Career Forum in 2020.?

In case you wonder - I was born in Japan and was raised in China and Japan. I graduated from Binghamton University in the United States where I double-majored in Comparative Literature and Philosophy.?

I joined AlphaSights in November 2020, and have been working as the Client Service Associates (CST). On weekends, I work and volunteer part-time for non-profit organizations in Tokyo, study French, and explore cafés with friends. Today, I will walk you through my typical day at AlphaSights!?

Morning

05:30 AM: I’m a morning person, so I usually like to start my day early! Since my commute takes an hour, I have a quick breakfast, grab my pre-packed backpack, and head to work. I catch up on news (the Economist and Nikkei are my best friends) and read books whilst I commute.?

07:00 AM: Some enjoy free time after work, and some enjoy it before work! I leverage this 2-hour slot to work on my personal projects and study the subjects that I care about. If necessary, I give quick rings to experts who are based in North America before they go offline.?

09:00 AM: Our team officially comes online at 9:00 am. I quickly align with my trainee on her strategy for a day, give feedback, and create her game plan together. I also go over my inbox and check the status of projects and strategize my day accordingly. Our team meets at 9:10 am for a quick strategic meeting, so we can get the most out of the day as a team.?

09:30 AM: I usually spend 5-10 minutes preparing my morning coffee whilst chatting casually with my colleagues to energize myself (FYI: coffee and snack are provided free!) I then go back to my desk and start my day officially.?

As the global leader in knowledge on-demand, every day is different for CSTs at AlphaSights. So I structure my desk time based on urgent tasks and priorities. In the morning, I prioritize engaging with the experts based in the Americas as they are only online in our morning time. Between the calls, I respond to the emails from the client and experts, allocate work between the team, and call clients.

11:00 AM: This is when the majority of experts in the Americas go offline (except for these night owls), so I switched my focus. I start engaging with experts based in Japan and the APAC.

I also proactively reach out to experts outside of our network and recruit them. I enjoy onboarding experts to our network and inviting them to our mission of connecting the best knowledge to key decision-makers!

12:00 PM: I pause my work, take a deep breath, and go grab my lunch! Hibiya has great restaurants and eateries, and it is my hidden hobby to explore different cuisines. We have a kitchen and a rooftop garden, so depending on the weather, I invite colleagues for a casual catch-up.?

12:45 PM: I usually wrap up my lunch earlier and kickstart my afternoon. To share some extracurricular activities that I do at AlphaSights, I’m also serving as the Impact Associate for our social impact program called Knowledge for Good!

We serve impact investment firms and non-profits pro-bono. Since I’m leading the partnership building and project management in Asia, I review the partner lists and the status of projects to make sure that we are serving our clients in the social impact sector well.?

Afternoon

2:00 PM: Our team convenes again for a 10-minute strategy alignment. We share our progress of the day and the strategy for the rest of the day. I also align with my trainee and catch up briefly.?

2:15 PM: Whilst I keep engaging with the experts, I leverage my afternoon hours to shadow my trainee more closely. I analyze her work, assess her performance, and share feedback, if necessary.

As an experienced trainer, I can say with confidence that helping newly joined associates is very rewarding! Not only have I built a strong bond with them, but I have also guided them to grow as an associate and as a professional. Seeing their growth day by day is a huge motivation for me.?

3:30 PM: This is where the experts from Europe start coming online, so we call them! If I’m lucky, I have a chance to utilize French. Also, I start planning how to wrap up the day and begin updating the clients and closing the loop with some experts.?

5:00 PM: We have our final team meeting. Since it is close to the end of the day, we look back at our day and share wins,? learnings, and struggles.?

6:00 PM: We formally wrap up our work and start going home! If you wonder, I usually go to bed by 9:30 pm, so I swiftly go home, eat a quick supper, and go to bed for another great day of working as a part of the global leader in knowledge on-demand.

Interested in joining our mission and having a fast kickstart of your professional career? You can see openings in our Tokyo office HERE! Please also feel free to shoot me a message anytime, would be happy to answer any questions and share my experience.