Employee Spotlight: Yuka Sakuma

This week in our Employee Spotlight series, we meet Yuka Sakuma, who discusses her career and experiences at JERA. Don’t forget to like the JERA page for more employee stories and to keep up to date with our latest position openings.

Please tell us a little about you

?My name is Yuka Sakuma. I’m a member of the Recruitment Unit, a part of the HR Management Division. I joined JERA as a new graduate in April 2022. I just began my second year at the company. I am from Hyogo Prefecture, near Kobe. When I joined JERA I moved to Tokyo alone and am still getting used to that life, especially cooking for myself.

I majored in English at university with the goal of using my English skills in my work one day. I recently went on my first overseas business trip to Singapore and was inspired by the senior employees working there. As for hobbies, I have been dancing since I was a child, and even now as a working adult, I still go to the studio after work on weekdays to relieve stress.

What is role at JERA and what do you enjoy the most about your role?

?As a member of the Recruitment Unit, I am mainly in charge of the recruitment of new university graduates. More specifically, I am involved in the planning and operation of internships, recruitment public relations, and industry-academia collaboration events. What I enjoy most is having the opportunity to work with people from all walks of life. I am able to communicate not only with students, but also with people of all ages and positions both inside and outside JERA. This work keeps me motivated and inspired every day.

What attracted you to JERA as a company?

?I think the most attractive thing about JERA is the people. I also appreciate that with JERA being newly established, individual employees have the opportunity influence the company culture. When I was job hunting, I had the chance to talk with JERA employees at information sessions and interviews and appreciated hearing about their passion for their work and subsequently decided to join the company. My opinion of JERA has not changed since I joined, and I really enjoy the atmosphere where we are free to share our opinions regardless of age or position.

What has been the most transformative experience you had since joining JERA?

?My most memorable work to date has been overseeing a robot workshop at our Family Day event last November. That was my first opportunity to oversee an event and I was responsible for all the required external meetings and prep work. Until that point I had primarily only followed the directions of my superiors, but this event was my first opportunity for autonomy in a project, so if I didn't understand something then I had no choice but to solve it myself. It was a difficult but educational experience. I learned how to solve problems and to conduct meetings.

What’s one piece of advice you would share with your younger self?

?I would tell my younger self before I joined JERA two pieces of advice: to broaden my perspective with knowledge and to travel more. I think that I didn’t actively pursue learning about topics that interest me as much as I could have. My advice is to always have your antenna up and ready to seize any opportunity to learn that comes along. As for traveling, when I am on business trips, I often take advantage of my free time to travel alone. You can learn a lot about yourself that way. I was a student during the pandemic, so I didn’t have much opportunity to travel, but going forward I would like to travel to many unfamiliar places.

What would you tell someone that is interested in joining JERA?

?JERA has a culture with opportunities to work in all corners of the energy industry. You can try something once and then change your career path along the way, so even if you don't have a clear idea of what you want to do now, you can always change course. I would encourage anyone who is interested in the energy business to consider JERA. I am still in the process of thinking about the course of my career, so let's think about our futures together.

We hope you enjoyed getting to know Yuka and learning about her journey at JERA. If you are interested in learning more about?#LifeatJERA ?or you’re looking for a new challenge this year, check out the open positions under “Jobs” and stay connected with us by following the JERA LinkedIn page. We’re Hiring, with some position linked below, so check them out!