Like many college students who gathered at a Tokyo forum earlier this month, Tomoe Yoshida believes becoming an intern at a company will help her find out what career she wants to pursue.

"I am interested in so many things and still don't know what kind of job is best for me," the 21-year-old said while flipping through the leaflets of firms participating in the internship forum.

For university juniors, the job hunt starts around November, but many students feel they can get a clear advantage if they do a summer internship.