On April 29th, ABSA held an exciting event with UNIQLO! Our guest speaker was Albert Tran, the West Coast College Relations Recruiter at UNIQLO.
Meet the Speaker!
College Relations Recruiter at UNIQLO
Over 3 years in HR and recruiting experience in various industries
UC Irvine Alumni
Q&A
Can you explain a little about your position as a college relations recruiter at UNIQLO and what led you to choose this position?
Albert’s position consists of recruiting college students and postgraduates and connecting them with opportunities at UNIQLO.
Why did you choose to pursue a career in HR recruitment?
Albert had multiple reasons why he chose his career path. When he was still in college, he took one of those tests where it tells you what a suitable job career for you in the future is, and he ended up getting HR. He knew he wanted to pursue something in the corporate business world, and recruitment was a liaison between sales and HR. He is also an extroverted person and gets lots of energy from interacting with people, so HR was a good fit for him as he gets to interact with people and present job opportunities to individuals.
What kind of technical or interpersonal skills are the most useful for your HR recruiter position?
Technical Skills: ATS (applicant tracking system), Workday, sourcing software (e.g., LinkedIn recruiter, Handshake), Boolean Search, understanding compensation laws
Interpersonal Skills: organization (being able to wear multiple hats), time management, relationship management (building connections with partnerships and university relations), communication
What does a day in your life look like at UNIQLO? Are you working in-person, online, or hybrid?
It depends on the season! Usually, it is hybrid throughout the year, but during busier seasons like fall or late spring for recruitment, it may be more in-person. During peak recruiting season, Albert travels on a biweekly basis.
Were there any experiences in college (ex: extracurriculars or projects) that helped you accelerate in your career?
He mentioned that group projects in class were helpful, as it was a good way to work with people with different communication styles and personalities. Joining clubs is also a way to connect and meet new people outside the classroom. Any kind of entry level job role can be helpful, whether it’s an internship or part-time job. His first role was a customer service retail role at Macy’s, and it helped him strengthen transferable skills that he applies to his career now.
What opportunities are there for college students or post graduate students at UNIQLO?
Currently, there are two internships available for sophomores and juniors (one is focused on store management and the other is about sustainability). The location for both will be in New York. There is also a new grad role available.
Check out their website for more info: https://www.uniqlo.com/ph/en/spl/careers
What advice would you give to students who are interested in breaking into the business side of the fashion industry?
The first piece of advice is to accumulate customer service experience. The fashion industry serves one person which is the customer, and everyone needs customer service in the fashion industry. Any customer service opportunities, whether that is food or other retail stores, is valuable to succeed. It helps with building valuable transferable skills and understanding the customer buying process. The second piece of advice is to join student RSOs and clubs that focus on fashion (some UW fashion RSOs include Muse at UW, fitted, etc.).
What is a fun fact about UNIQLO that most people do not know about?
The brand name UNIQLO stands for “unique clothing.” When the founder was deciding on a name, he liked the combination of “unique clothing” but accidentally misspelled the c in “clothing” as a q and preferred the look of the q as the brand name.
Thank you for reading this week’s blog post! Stay tuned for more event recaps in the upcoming weeks! 😊
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