Last week we ran a letter from a reader who was having trouble getting interviews in his desired career segment – he wants to be an investment banker. His first working experience was tainted by a bad experience in a job that knocked his confidence and he now finds it difficult to interview confidently, locking himself into...

Today’s article is a request from a reader to diagnose why he is having trouble getting interviews in his desired career segment. His first working experience was tainted by a bad experience in a job that required him to work 14 hours a day. Although he is now working part-time elsewhere, he has been finding it hard to break out of a...

Last night I had dinner with an old friend and ex-employee named Ranjith. I haven’t seen Ranjith since 1998, although we’ve been in touch all these years, and I’m pleased to say that he has aged well in that time. He is from Sri Lanka and currently works for one of the major banks there as a special...

About four years ago I wrote an article of appreciation to my Personal Assistant (PA), “H-san,” about what a great job she was doing. As I wrote, she was one of the best schedulers, salesman deflectors, and mind readers in the business. We developed a business relationship where she felt...

My article on the receiving end of ageism in Japan and finding work when you’re over 50 obviously struck a chord in a number of readers, and I appreciate all the emails coming in. I thought I’d share two of these emails, with the author’s respective permissions, about their take on being over...

The recruiting business is kind of like a funnel. At the top, at the widest point, you have the job boards and paper media. These companies serve as the first stop in your job search, providing quantity of opportunities, market pricing, and variety. This is good if you’re simply doing research, or getting into the job market for the first time. The idea is to go...

Apart from a pile of cash, the most tradable commodity in the Japanese business world is a strong personal network. You see successful networkers in this country all the time, creating relationships based on both friendship and interpersonal IOUs – “giri”. Look this word up on the internet; it is usually defined as obligation and...

Next month I turn 49, one year away from the big “Five Oh” and most certainly at least half way through my life span. Although this is a time for reflection on achievements and how to build for a shorter future, I’m often reminded of the fact that I’m now also 4 years past the age where I’m...

With all the media hype going on about privacy of personal data and court actions against those companies that breach the law, it is easy to think that such rules extend to your own private communications at your place of work. However, in Japan at least, this is far from correct and as an employee you should know that your company is legally allowed to access...

While internships are not for everyone, for Mr. A.M. it helped open new doors and opportunities. He explains here that finding the right company is not an exact science, and since he was hoping to be hired on strength of personality and commitment, he had to find a firm that would hold these qualities as...