Although receiving little media focus, the recruitment industry is facing one of its toughest times yet. What options are left for the struggling industry?

By Sarah Noorbakhsh -- How changing attitudes toward careers are revolutionizing Japanese employment patterns. -- Japan’s traditional lifetime employment system is in a state of flux as droves of younger employees are quitting their jobs at some of the country’s biggest companies, about 62 years before they’re expected to. So many are walking out in fact that the newly coined key-phrase, san-nen san-wari (three years, 30%), is hot on the agenda at HR departments all over the archipelago. The phrase comes from startling statistics that confirm this new social problem; the Ministry of Health, Labor and Wellness states that in 2004, 36.6% of university graduates had quit their jobs within the first three years of employment, up almost 10% from 10 years before.

Derek SchneidermanBy Alan Malcolm -- A former recruiter looks at the industry in Japan asking the question, has the bubble burst? -- With the need for strong, foreign executive recruiters having been created through the demand to move high-caliber professionals, often within tightly knit industries, a lot of the demand has come on the back of strong financial optimism and forecasted growth. -- Interview with Derek Schneiderman, Recruitment Industry Investor, Chairman and CEO, IA Global Inc.

By Peter Harris -- Three views of the human resources process: candidate, recruiter, employer -- We explore the job-hunting game from three different perspectives and expose five sneaky tricks that some recruiters employ.

The labor market in Japan is difficult to get a good view of, partly becuase of the distortions created by reliance on World Bank or CIA statistics. Using alternative sources for figures, the labor market in Japan seems to be relatively competitive in regional comparison. Read Now