Hiring in Japan
It has been estimated that the size of the Japanese employment market is at about 33 million while the size of multinational company talent pool is about 610,000. Japan is typically one of the hardest markets to recruit in due to their vast cultural differences. The main language in Japan is Japanese and this makes it more challenging for international startups to find the right talents due to the limited size of talent pool with strong English communication skills. In this article, we have noted the common recruitment occurrences and tips that can help FinTechs that want to succeed in the Japan market.
Common Recruitment Occurrences
Top talents in Japan prefer large and stable Japanese companies which results in international businesses and startups feel the pinch from labour shortage.
As a hiring company in Japan, you should focus on presenting an attractive offer to your prospective candidates while selling the stability and attractiveness of the job. Leveraging on your company’s employer branding is also a useful way to gain trust and motivation in your candidates.
Japanese candidates think that leaving jobs create an impression of something is wrong with them rather than with the company.
Understand that Japanese candidates are more apprehensive and less active on the job market. When interacting with Japanese candidates, it is helpful to emphasize on the long-term career path, the progression of the role and the company stability to maintain their interest and ease their concerns.
FinTechs with international footprints often require candidates with English fluency.
Hiring companies often neglect the fact that fluency in English does not equate to the capability required to excel in the role and that only a small portion of the Japanese population is able to speak the English language fluently. To increase the available talent pool, opt to lower the requirement of English fluency if it is not a requirement to get the job done.
Japanese companies are huge believers in upskilling individuals rather than focusing on their professional background as compared to non-Japanese companies.
This makes Japanese companies more attractive to Japanese candidates as they would be more motivated to work for a company that believes in moulding them into better professionals. Hiring FinTechs in Japan should focus on critical priority skillset and experience rather than expecting a candidate that comes to them with all the boxes checked off. This would help to increase the talent pool size that fits the criteria of the role rather than limiting your candidate options to a limited pool of talented yet inaccessible talents.
Storm2’s Recruitment Tips When Hiring in Japan
As a global FinTech recruitment marketplace, we have identified some critical recruitment tips that will help to improve your recruitment strategy to find hiring success in Japan.
Reach out to references in early stages of the process
Conducting preliminary third-party sourcing via a trusted network can help you understand at the beginning of the process how your candidate is perceived in the market. This help the hiring team to save time by managing expectations and eliminating any unqualified or mismatched talents.
Local hiring team involvement is key
You wouldn’t want to involve unnecessary individuals within the process as this can cause the interview process to lengthen and result in candidate dropouts. However, involving the local team will help you evaluate if the candidate is suitable in the local team.
Emphasize on value proposition for candidates and establish a strong onboarding process
With a well=designed onboarding process, it can facilitate a smoother assimilation to the company culture and structure. This is very helpful for companies that are not based in Japan and would understandably be fundamentally different from a typical Japanese company.
Be strategic when identifying and attracting FinTech talents
Understand that the Japanese market is very different from most markets due to the culture, as the hiring team of your FinTech, you will have to identify trends while combining them with the expertise of both global and local hiring teams to personalize your recruitment approach to find recruitment success in this niche yet valuable market.
How Storm2 Can Help You Achieve Recruitment Success in Japan
As global FinTech recruitment marketplace, we have worked with clients to scale their teams and achieve success in their recruitment process within the Japan market. As Japan holds strong potential and unlimited opportunities for FinTechs to grow in, FinTech talents are critical to succeed into a new market. We are experienced in connecting FinTech talents in Japan with emerging FinTechs like yourself. Get in touch with us to find out how we can help with your recruitment gaps.
