What to consider when you’re attempting to hire Japanese workers
Posted by: admin, October 31, 2018
Understanding the ramifications of increased demand vs. limited supply of Japanese professional workers is only part of the big picture. For a company that is just now entering the Japanese market, attracting and hiring the “right” candidate is the primary hurdle.
In most other companies, it’s mostly a matter of listing a job position and then sorting through the applications that are received. Not so, in Japan. For one thing, if the job advertisement isn’t in the Japanese language, expect a very low response rate. Even if the job ad has been translated into Japanese, you’re still looking at a relatively low response. Because of this, it takes careful consideration when planning a hiring campaign in Japan.
Since Japan tends to be rigidly structuralized, you can also expect that same rigid structure when it comes to establishing a career there. For example, in Japan, like in the U.S. many years ago, there is a working culture that emphasizes life-long employment. Basically, a Japanese student graduates from school/university, then applies for an appropriate job and works there until retirement. Most Japanese workers tend to be employed by one or maybe two companies during their total career.
This fact, combined with other cultural mores, tends to make the Japanese adverse to risks. If you can’t convince a potential Japanese professional that your company is solid and stable, that person won’t want to work for you. This is drastically different than the common scenario of “job-hopping” found in many other countries.
In addition, one of the cultural traits that assisted the Japanese to become so successful after the end of the Second World War is their ability to work in unison, as a single organized entity. Because of this, a “me first” attitude is discouraged and the “mission” of the entire organization is valued above anything else. Therefore, the Japanese tend to attach a stigma to workers who are considered disloyal to the company that they are currently working for.
All of this adds up to a major challenge when it comes to attracting Japanese professional talent. A company that is in the process of hiring must have a procedure that is fine-tuned and applicable to those in the Japanese workforce.