Asian Studies Alumni Spotlight with Oliver Ormrod

Interested in what you can do with a degree in Asian Studies? In our Alumni Spotlight Interview Series, we ask our alumni about their career paths, how they became interested in Asian Studies and for any advice they would give to current students. This Interview features Oliver Ormrod, UBC Asian Studies BA 2002. Oliver is currently a Worldwide Corporate PR at UNIQLO.

Please tell us a bit about yourself. Where do you live? What are you currently doing?

I currently live in Tokyo, and work on the Corporate PR team for UNIQLO holding company Fast Retailing. I am also elected to the Board of Governors for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Japan (CCCJ).

How did you start working abroad?

I studied in Japan as an exchange student in high school, which lead me to major in Asian Studies at UBC. In third year, I did an exchange to Korea through UBC for a year, which allowed me, after completing my BA, to secure a scholarship from the Korean government to pursue an MA in Korean Language and Literature, with a focus on intercultural communications.

After completing the MA, I began working with Burson-Marsteller, an international PR consulting company, in Seoul. After two years, I moved to Tokyo with Kreab Gavin Anderson, another international agency, specialized in corporate/financial PR. After accumulating experience there, I moved across to Fast Retailing, to support worldwide corporate PR.

In this process, the support of friends and contacts proved invaluable, in facilitating introductions and exploring the options. Person to person connections really made all the difference.

How is working and living abroad as a foreigner?

Working in communications allows me to act as a bridge between my host country and home, which is very rewarding. It is kind of like diplomacy for the private sector.

Tokyo is cosmopolitan and fast moving – there really is always something new to discover. It takes time to build a local community for yourself, but that is part of the adventure.

Any Advice for other alumni that are hoping to go abroad? 

In my experience, you add the most value by understanding where you are, while remembering where you are from – thus fostering communication between your adopted home and your place of birth. Many Japanese businesses are focused on opportunities for overseas growth, and Canadian candidates can be attractive, given our multicultural nature. It is worth highlighting this in exploring opportunities, as it is a real differentiator.

Japan offers a lot of diversity, and where you land plays a big role in your experience. Although many of the jobs are in Tokyo, some find living outside the big city initially the best means of learning the language and getting a sense of the more traditional social values.

More than anything, make friends, and help people when you can. What goes around, does come around.

What is one of your funniest or awkward mistakes as a foreigner?

I am sure I have committed many that people have just been too polite to point out. One that comes to mind is, in learning Japanese, I assumed at first that if someone uses casual language with me, I am free to respond in the same way, even if they are much older than me. This is of course not the case, and lucky for me, people have been generally pretty understanding, and I have never gotten myself into significant trouble.