Temporary Staff Interviews（４）

Ms. Oshima, Public Relations Support

In my career so far, I’ve experienced a variety of work styles, including working as a full-time permanent employee, part-time employee, and independent contractor. Although ensuring time with my family had always been a priority, as my child grew older, I felt an increasing desire to place a greater focus on my own career and take on new challenges. This was what led me to start working as a temporary employee.

For about six months now, through PERSOL I’ve been working as a member of the public relations team at an IT consulting company specializing in the public sector. In actual fact, before starting this role, I had no previous experience either as a temporary employee or in public relations. However, I’ve always enjoyed writing, editing videos, and creating things, so as I searched for a job, I became increasingly interested in the world of public relations. Although many public relations positions require previous experience, I was fortunate to find my current workplace, where I was able to start in the role despite not having prior experience in the field.

While I started out managing social media accounts, my role has gradually expanded to involve a wider range of corporate communications duties, including updating the company website and creating new content. Gradually expanding the scope of my work while learning about new tools and gaining new knowledge related to website development and management has been an extremely rewarding experience.

I’ve been interested in generative AI for some time. In my public relations work, there are a number of simple but time-consuming tasks that need to be performed regularly, such as editing text and images for posts on the company’s social media accounts, or organizing and managing website access data. I soon began thinking, “It would be great if I could use generative AI to handle some of these tasks, giving me more time to spend on other projects.” However, my experience with generative AI had been limited to experimenting with it as a hobby, and I didn’t have a systematic understanding of the technology. I also knew that there were issues such as security and copyright, so I never imagined that I would be able to use generative AI in earnest at work. However, Microsoft Copilot was available for use at my current workplace, and I had always thought that I’d love to try it if there was the opportunity. That opportunity came when PERSOL introduced me to “Code; Without Barriers,” a talent development program designed to help temporary staff use Copilot to improve the efficiency of Excel and PowerPoint -based tasks. I decided straight away to take part in the program.

When I first started learning, I sometimes worried, “I’m gaining a deeper understanding of generative AI, but will I really be able to use it to make my work more efficient?” However, as I learned practical techniques for applying generative AI in real-world situations—something I had wanted to learn for some time—including prompt engineering, I became increasingly motivated to put what I was learning into practice in my work as quickly as possible. This motivated me to keep learning, and as a result I made steady progress.

My first “success story” after starting to learn about generative AI was creating a macro for Excel for the first time with the help of Copilot. I knew how useful macros could be, but I had given up on using them because I thought they were too difficult for me. Then the thought hit me: “Perhaps Copilot could help me program a macro.” I decided to automate the process of transferring specific data from an Excel sheet to a PowerPoint presentation using a macro.

Of course, I didn’t get it right first try. I explained to Copilot what I wanted to do, checked its proposed solution, and when there was a problem, I explained it again. Through this process of trial and error, the macro I wanted to create gradually began to take shape. When it finally worked properly and automatically completed the data transfer process, I was so happy that I said to myself, “Thank you, Copilot!” Today, I also use Copilot to help me draft and check text.

What I learned through studying generative AI is that, contrary to what I initially thought, generative AI isn’t a teacher that simply gives you the answer. It’s more like a partner that works in tandem with you to find a solution. And depending on the way I ask a question, the quality of the solution I get back from my partner can change significantly. I feel that the experience of working with generative AI to find solutions through trial and error has made me better at organizing my thoughts and thinking about how to find better ways of doing things. On a more personal note, another thing that makes me happy is that I can now discuss generative AI with my husband and high school aged son on an equal or even more advanced level!

Before consulting with PERSOL, I had a somewhat preconceived image of what working as a temporary staff member was like. I had assumed that, like the temporary workers portrayed in TV dramas, temporary staff generally kept their distance from regular employees in the workplace. However, once I started working, I realized I’d been completely wrong.

At my current workplace, the other employees have fully welcomed me as a member of the team. In addition to managing social media and updating the corporate website, I’ve recently also taken on the task of creating web articles introducing the company’s employees. For a consulting company, people are its most important assets. Being entrusted with the responsibility of communicating what makes our employees special to people outside the company has made me feel even more strongly that I am a member of the company.

My interactions with PERSOL’s staff have also changed my perception of temporary employees. I never imagined that I would receive such frequent and attentive support from PERSOL’s representatives, even after starting my job. The encouragement and advice they have given me has also been very valuable. One thing my agent told me was that the core of their temporary staff are workers in their 40s and 50s. Until then, I had assumed that it would be difficult to build a new career at my age. However, after hearing several examples of people around my age working actively in a range of roles, I began to feel that perhaps I should consider my future career options more broadly than I had initially imagined.

In addition to prioritizing time for my family, as I have always done, I would also like to place a little more emphasis on my own career. At the same time, rather than trying to acquire new skills as quickly as possible, I feel that my current work style—four days a week, with three days working from home and one day in the office—is the perfect fit for me.

I’m still relatively new to public relations, so for the time being, my aim is to accumulate practical experience in the field and gradually expand my abilities. I’d like to get comfortable using a range of tools that are useful for public relations work, such as website management and image and video editing software, until I reach the point where I am able to create a wide variety of content exactly the way I envision it. The same applies to generative AI—I plan to learn new ways of using this technology and incorporate these new skills into my work.

In the past, I felt a little anxious about taking on challenges in new fields. However, through my experience starting out in public relations and the “Code; Without Barriers” program, I’ve seen for myself that taking the plunge is the first step to expanding my abilities, and this anxiety has turned into confidence. Going forward, I want to continue actively learning new skills. My goal is to reach a point where, for example, five years from now, I can say with confidence, “I am a public relations professional.”