Turning Down a Job

Most of my mail is from people struggling to find a job, so I was happy to get one from a guy who has the opposite problem: that of too many job offers to choose from. If you use a recruiter, this problem shouldn't occur, since they are supposed to prep the employer beforehand that...

Newsletter:

How to Become a CEO of a MNC in Japan Part Three : Examples

I would like to present some unnamed examples of people I've known who have started their careers as regular employees in companies here in Tokyo and have aspired for more and risen accordingly. Let's start close to home. As an entrepreneur...

Newsletter:

How to Become a CEO of a MNC in Japan Part Two : The Strategy for Stepping Up

Most foreign CEOs I know who were appointed here in Japan as outsiders to the company, started off their CEO roles in smaller businesses first. It is surprising that wannabe CEO candidates don't understand this. I meet many interesting people who turn their noses up at...

Newsletter:

How to Become a CEO of an MNC in Japan Part One : The Facts

Not so long ago, a long-term friend with extensive Japan experience called me from Silicon Valley asking if there were any CEO jobs going here in Japan. I have personally worked with this guy and know him to be an outstanding leader, communicator (bilingual), and technologist. But while I would hire him in an instant, for...

Newsletter:

Gotta Love Those CIRs - Part Two – Covering the Shortfall

You'll recall that I was interviewing the very well presented Mr. K., a CIR from Miyazaki. We'd already checked his language skills to our satisfaction. After 3 years in the sticks, we find that most CIRs acquire a high level of polite spoken Japanese. Mr. K. was no exception. He'd explained to us that...

Newsletter:

Gotta Love Those CIRs Part One-Meeting Mr K.

This weekend I happened to be going to Kyushu and one of my managers asked me early Friday morning to interview a candidate living in Miyazaki. We were to meet in Hakata, and I wasn't too happy about interrupting my break until she told me that he was a CIR (Coordinator for International Relations). You see, in our company the letters...

Newsletter:

Marketing/designer Job Hurdles Part Two: Ideas

I continue my article about the US graphic designer looking for a job in Japan before becoming fluent in Japanese...This week I suggest some ideas to improve his chances of being able to land a decent job that earns enough to support his wife and young child...

Newsletter:

Marketing/designer Job Hurdles Part One: The Reality

One of the business world's most interesting job categories is design and marketing. And yet the opportunity for English-only foreigners to pursue this career path in Japan is extremely limited - mainly to positions servicing export companies, where the materials...

Newsletter:

Job Hunting Japanese-style

Today we relate a tale of one foreign reader who decided that it was important from a life experience perspective to work for a Japanese company, and furthermore, one far away from any of the major cities. He gives lots of good advice, in particular taking care of details...

Newsletter:

Hiring Spirit-Part Two

I find that both managers and our customers fall into the trap sometimes of trying to find staff who are a perfect fit for the task at hand. "Get me some experienced bilingual engineers!" I'm told, "But don't be charging me full fare for them." Well, unfortunately, with the increasing influx of foreign firms wanting to take advantage of Japan's economic turn around, the demand for bilinguals has never...

Newsletter:

Pages