Yuka Shimada, Director and General Manager of Human Resources and General Affairs, Unilever Japan Holdings Co., Ltd.

■ Profile

After graduating from Keio University in 1996, he joined Pasona Inc. In 2002, he received a Master's degree in organizational psychology from Columbia University Graduate School. He worked as a human resources manager at GE Japan. After joining Unilever in 2008, he became Director and Head of Human Resources in April 2013. In April 2014, he became Director and Head of Human Resources and General Affairs, a position he holds to this day.

"Purpose" and "Passion." These two "Ps" are particularly important keywords for students aiming to work for foreign companies.

■Please tell us about the characteristics of the industry and the appeal of your company.

　One of our company's defining features is "being yourself." We place great importance on the phrase "Be Yourself," and even new employees are encouraged to express their opinions as professionals. Everyone is encouraged to come up with ideas, discuss them, and speak out what they think is best. Unilever is a global company, so religion, language, culture, and other factors differ from country to country. When diverse employees freely express their opinions, there are of course occasional clashes. However, when we explain "why we do this job," we can unite toward our goal. This is because employees all over the world share the common understanding that we are working to achieve our purpose (purpose or reason for existence), which is to "make sustainability a part of everyday life."

■What kind of people are you looking for?

　I like people with passion. People who are passionate about the things they love. And people who can take the next step. A lot of things happen in life. Things don't always go smoothly. It's fine to complain, but we need people who can still take the next step. If you don't have that, working at Unilever is very difficult, because no one will tell you the solution. I don't want you to work that way, and there are no absolute "right answers" in the world. Even if you hit a wall and have a hard time, you need people who can move on and think, "Well, let's do this!" You can't do that without passion, so I want to work with people who have these two qualities.

■Please give us a message for university students

　I hope you don't feel like you have to do something. Things like, "I have to get a job" or "I have to join a good company." I'm sure there are people around you who want you to be happy and are advising you to "join a stable company." That's certainly important, but while you listen to them, I want you to really ask yourself what you personally think is best and what resonates with you. University life is an incredibly fulfilling four years. I don't want you to spend those four years thinking only about finding a job. I want you to use university life as a place to think about your life, not just for job hunting. I also hope you will carve out your own path and enjoy life.

Student newspaper October 2020 issue Nihon University 3rd year Seinan Ohashi