The Asia Pacific Headhunter

Shift Happens

It seems 2010 is going to be a massive year of career shift for many people. Surveys in most developed markets point to massive numbers of skilled candidates intending to change jobs this year. Some of the results include:

• 60% of US Workers intend to leave their jobs in 2010 (link).
• 25% of employees believe organization morale is low (link).
• 20% of workers plan to switch careers and/or industries within two years (link).
• Only 45% of US employers are satisfied with their jobs in 2009 down from 61% in 1987 (link).
• Only 53% of Singapore financial workers are satisfied with their jobs (link).

It makes you wonder what really happened with all these people, what is it that causes them to have so much suffering at work? I talk with a lot of people in regards to their situation at work, most will admit to wanting more of something. Sometimes when we flesh it out their needs are quite realistic. Other times they are looking for an easier path to a better reward, which unfortunately, rarely exists. Meshing reality with what the person wants is often the biggest part of understanding whether someone really needs to make a job change in order to improve their satisfaction.

This can be really difficult to do alone, even for the most experienced candidates. After all, if you're good at your job you are busy doing that, not analyzing the marketplace and/or your skills and abilities to see whether you are ready for a big move. In order to make the decision on whether the time is right I recommend answering a few of the following questions. Be honest with yourself, anything else is pointless.

• What are my biggest achievements in my current position?
• How have I grown in the last 2 years?
• Am I giving 100% of my effort to the work I'm doing?
• If not, why am I holding back?
• If yes, then is the work satisfying me?
• If it's not satisfying me despite my effort, what are the areas that are holding me back?
• Can I improve on those areas in my current position?
• If I made a job change what are all the areas I need fulfilled to make me happy in a new position. 
• Being that nowhere is perfect. What would I be willing to give up/take on to make that move anyway?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Are you a software developer in Auckland, want to be happier at work? Click here!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How to Manage your Career in Scary Times: A Guide for Senior Professionals

Ian Christie of the excellent resource boldcareer.com has got in touch with me about a report he's put together that is very timely. 

Hi Steven, I recently produced a report titled "How to Manage your Career in Scary Times: A Guide for Senior Professionals" and I wanted to send it to you because it might be of interest to your readers and because I recognize a kindred spirit in your posts.

The 20-page downloadable pdf report includes:
* Getting clear on the idea of career management
* Understanding the 4 common career traps during scary economic times
* Learning strategies to minimize risk
* Exploring how to expand your pool of opportunities
* 8 ways to respond effectively if a layoff does occur
* And learning how to conduct a deep, personal SWOT analysis of your position (including worksheets)

Given the current state of the world economy and the natural career planning that occurs around the New Year, I think the report's message, information and tools are timely and would be of interest to your readers. Please have a look. The report is available to registered members of my site at no cost. 

Ian Christie
Head Career Strategist
www.boldcareer.com
866-484-BOLD

Bilingual Japanese Online Job Boards

Just to add to my previous post Top 15 Japanese Online Job Boards, another generous reader and Tokyo-based search consultant Gary Bremermann of Robert Leonard Consulting, commented on two other Japanese online job boards that are bilingual. In addition to Daijob.com that was mentioned in the Gomez report, Gary recommended:

careercross.com - Tokyo-based online job board aimed at the niche market of bilingual jobs for Japanese and English speaking professionals. They have listings for full-time, part-time and temp jobs.

ecentral.jp - Aimed at bilingual professionals seeking international jobs in Japan and employers requiring bilingual candidates. They've partnered with the ACCJ, the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.

And to add to that:

Jobba.net - a job board aimed at Japanese speakers for jobs world-wide.

Thanks Gary for your input!

 

Top 15 Japanese Online Job Boards

First of all, a big thanks to reader and freelance sourcer Bernd Kestler in Tokyo for generously sharing this find with me!

If you're interested in the Japanese market either as a jobseeker or employer - which job boards would you go to? To help sort through the different online job boards Gomez.com, a provider of on-demand web application experience management solutions, ranked 15 Japanese job boards based on user nominations and for ease of use, volume of information and content, site security and feeling of trust, and comfort in interface and service.

Here's a list of the top 15 job boards in Japan (all sites are in Japanese only except for Daijob!):

1.  Mainichi Communications (http://tenshoku.mynavi.jp)
2. Intelligence, Ltd. (http://doda.jp)
3. Recruit Co. Ltd. (http://rikunabi-next.yahoo.co.jp)
4. PROSEEK, Ltd. (http://www.proseek.co.jp)
5. SoftBANK Human Capital Corp. (http://www.ecareer.ne.jp)
6. Career Design Center Co., Ltd. (@type) (http://type.jp)
7. en-japan inc. (http://employment.en-japan.com)
8. Career Nikkei (http://career.nikkei.co.jp)
9. Mixi, Inc. (http://find-job.net)
10. Create Co., Ltd. (http://www.d-dj.com)
11. I & G Partners Inc. (http://green-japan.com)
12. JS Corporation Inc. (http://shigoto.js88.com)
13. Aidem Inc. (http://www.e-aidem.com)
14. Daijob, Inc. (http://daijob.com) In English see here (http://www.daijob.com/en)
15. Antique, Inc.(http://www.q-jin.ne.jp)

To see the fully detailed report compile by Bernd, you can download here:

Download japanese_online_jobboard_ranking.pdf

Get paid for going on a job interview

Getting paid to go on a job interview... by the company that's interviewing you???! Sounds like a far-fetched fantasy for candidates, but that's what start-up NotchUp.com is basing it's whole business model on. Candidates (preferably happily employed ones) can sign up for free, put up their (LinkedIn) profile and calculate what their interview fee would be with an interview-price calculator. This is based on your industry, job, highest educational degree, years in industry, time in current position, and current salary.

This platform is meant to cut out the recruiters and headhunters. Since companies need only pay the interview fees set up by the candidates they choose to interview, the comparable fees are supposedly lower than the recruiter's traditional placement fee which is a percentage of the new hire's first-year salary. As a recruiter, I should really discredit this model (after all, it's going after my job!), but I'm a fair person and see that everything has its merits and disadvantages.

First off, sure -- throw money into the mixture - and changing the roles of who gets paid, you'll get some interesting results. I'm sure in some cases companies -- esp. start-ups who's future depends on excellent talent can save money in placement fees by paying lower interview fees. Passive candidates (happily employed who are successful at their job) who otherwise would not put their profile up may be enticed to put their profile up if there's money in it for them. In it's best light - it may work well over regular online job boards and with a companies that work with lame recruiters who just slap up job ads everywhere and wait for whatever comes in - only to send out high-volumes of low-quality candidates to their client.

Now, here's where I see the model lacking:

First off, the point is to attract good candidates right? Good people aren't attracted just by a few hundred dollars for their time. They are attracted to good opportunities that help grow their careers and their strengths. I'd say 9 times out of 10 the candidates I recruit are attracted to the opportunity, the challenges, and the company rather than just the money.

Secondly, recruiting and headhunting isn't just about getting the right candidate to the job or vice-versa. I doubt any recruiter would be paid just for that. (Contingent recruiters usually get paid ONLY when THEIR candidate gets hired, and they usually provide a guarantee for up to 3 months - it varies of course). The hard work doesn't end there (which is where NotchUp does). Job interviews don't automatically lead to a job offer. And a job offer doesn't necessarily lead to a successful hire. There's a whole process in making the successful hire go through. Recruiters and headhunters manage people (candidates, HR managers, hiring managers, other decision-makers), people's expectations, timing, and other factors that are crucial in making a successful hire. A lot of wasted time, energy and money (in terms of lost productive work time for everyone) happens not only in the search for getting that first interview, but in the follow-through that happens after the initial job interviews. This is another part of where recruiters and headhunters provide value and service.

In the end, I seriously doubt this online platform will make a dent in the demand for good quality recruiters and headhunters out there who provide very targeted, high quality service for their clients. It certainly won't replace third party recruiters. If anything, this will probably become just another tool for recruiters to use in research.

Crazy Job Trends in Japan

The way jobs work in Japan has always been different, with "Lifetime Employment" and Freeter probably the most widely known work and career styles that continue to be quite uniquely Japanese. But I just read an article from Joi Ito's blog (which is a great read for a variety of reasons) talking about a new company who are really bringing another very innovative work style to Japan. The company is called, "Otetsudai Networks" ("otestudai" is the noun form of the verb "testudau　手伝う" - which means to help or assist someone with a task) and they take advantage of the proliferation of cellphones with GPS technology and also the preference of many young Japanese to work in ways that give them a lot of freedom.

Joi explains it best:

With Otetsudai Networks, if you are willing to work, you sign up for the service with your skills and focus, take a GPS reading on your phone and then just hang out. If you are looking for someone for say... 3 hours to man a cash register or help wash dishes, you just send the request to Otetsudai Networks and within minutes, you have a list of people available. The list shows what each person is qualified for, how others have rated their work and exactly how far away they are. Typically you will receive a list of half a dozen or more people within a few minutes.

The businesses are rated too on a per-manager basis so when you're hanging out with your friends and you get a request to go help at the corner convenience shop, you know how your peers have rated that particular guy who's asking you to come and help. You can also counter the request and say you'd go if they paid you 2000 yen / hour instead of 1500.

As more and more people start using this system, it's liable to start filling a very important gap in the workforce. It's also a perfect example of a location based, peer-to-peer reputation based, mobile behavior oriented product for an aging society.

This is a REALLY interesting idea. For employers (or anyone for that matter) who want 2 or 3 hours of work done for them it creates a great opportunity to get help quickly. For people who have flexible time situations it brings opportunities to them where they are right now. I can imagine this kind of scenario. You have an area you want cleaned and it's too big a job for one person but you only have a couple of spare hours. You look for 3 available people in your area and you could have help within minutes that serves their needs and yours.

The fact that this is all run through cell phones also means you have a way of tracing all those involved to help eliminate any possible fraud. There will be issues with quality of work for some people, but the risk is low since you can start with short periods of time and since the system becomes reputation based over time. The other barriers I can think of are possibly legal in regards to some workplaces having legal requirements for safety training for employees. None of the issues are insurmountable though. I for one will be really interested to see how this grows.

How To (Really) Impress a Headhunter

Link: How To (Really) Impress a Headhunter.

It can't be stressed enough how important strong networks are in building your career. This is essentially the advice given here in Businessweek and something that I agree with. If you're reading this article in hopes of getting calls from the headhunter with the big opportunity you want, I hope you've already been actively working on building your network.

Good advice from this article:

The best way to initiate a relationship with an executive search consultant is to be introduced by a well-connected friend, colleague, industry opinion leader, alumni pal, or fellow association or club member who knows the headhunter personally. For even the most accomplished and widely respected executives, the power of the personal reference simply can't be understated. . .

The quality of your personal and professional networks will preordain the messenger and the caliber of leadership recruiters to whom they might provide you access. This alone should serve as a reminder of why smart executives continually build, expand and, when necessary, leverage their networks. If you don't have one, you better build one.

I'd liked to add that while strong personal references will most undoubtedly lead a headhunter your way, nothing speaks louder than your performance and achievements. If you perform well, achieve high goals for your company, and basically are outstanding at what you do, you should be found.

Having said that, it's just as important that you make yourself easy to be found. Aside from the high-quality networks you've built, you need to work on your presence in your industry. By speaking and presenting at conferences, mentoring others, writing and publishing articles, newsletters or a professional blog, actively participating in or leading forums -- these are all ways to make yourself known and onto a headhunter's radar. If you're any good, and they're good at their research, you'll get that phone call.

For what to do when you do get that call read this.

Learn about Hispanic Recruiting at LatPro.com.

Where Do The Highest Paid Executives Live?

We really live in a mobile world nowadays. In particular many people will consider working not only different careers but also in many different countries during their career. There is no doubt that Asia is seen as an excellent area to move to and work for many people, at the same time many people in Asia are very interested in working in other parts of the world. The spirit of adventure drives many but if you are also interested in the power of money you might want to check out the Hay Group's 2007 World Pay Report available here (beware the link goes to a PDF download).

I like this report because it doesn't just show salary levels, it takes into account the cost of living and tax in each country to reveal disposable income levels - the true purchasing power of executive salaries for 46 countries in North America, South America, Africa, Europe and Asia Pacific. The results might really surprise a lot of people. The USA is 24th while countries like Russia, Turkey and Thailand are all in the top 10. From within Asia Hong Kong is 3rd while Thailand is 8th, Singapore 9th and China 14th. If you've been thinking hard about taking your executive skills off the beaten track then this might make you even more interested. While you might take a pay cut to go to many places your purchasing power may make up for that cut.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Experience.com provides information on internships and entry level jobs.

The Single Most Powerful Question in Recruiting

Link: The Single Most Powerful Question in Recruiting - Articles - ERE.

Dr. John Sullivan has been called the "Michael Jordan of Hiring" by Fast Company so I think  it's worthwhile noting what he feels is the single most powerful interview question a Recruiter and hiring manager can use:

"What criteria will you use to determine whether to accept a job offer?"

Dr. John Sullivan hits it on the nose with his analogy to car salesman when they ask the customer" What is it going to take you to get into this car?"  Without asking this question of a candidate it's like putting any kind of car in front of a prospective buyer without knowing what kind of car he wants. Sportscar or family van? Does he want to go off roading or does he want an energy-efficient commuter car? Only a rookie sales person wouldn't ask this and in an employee's market it's only rookie Recruiters who forget to ask this too. The information is useful for quite a few reasons (which John notes in his article) but in my opinion it's most useful for "crafting your sales pitch", and "getting managers to change the job".

In extremely tight labor markets the ability to change a job and the way you present to a candidate are going to be key factors in getting them to choose you over another company. I find that doing this in hindsight (asking them what they want in the offer stage) is often seen as reactive by candidates and they sometimes question the legitimacy of the changes. But if you can get this question in early then you can really smooth the process.

Now from a candidate perspective, this question is just as important to you. Knowing that good employers truly value what you want should be a catalyst for you to take the time to really isolate and prioritize your wants when looking for a new opportunity. The more clear you are of what you want - what points are essential and which ones are negotiable, I think the better results you'll get in your job search.

Find thousands of Bilingual jobs at LatPro.com.

How To Find a Career in Asia

I'm often asked by people who want to move into the Asia Pacific region, especially those with training in Asian languages, "How do I get a job there?". There are also a lot of people who find themselves in Asia, gain good local language skills and knowledge who also want to leverage that into a corporate position. Now as a Headhunter I can rarely help these people directly. But I have seen a lot of people in the past use the following method to get their footstep in the door in the Asia Pacific and not just get a job, but build a career.

Firstly, remember this: you are in a very lucky position! It's unlikely that at many other times in your career will you have such a clean slate to work with on where, and what you want to do. Next, try the following steps to thoroughly to really give yourself some choice.

1. Establish the skills and experiences that make you valuable for companies. By this I mean analyzing your experience and finding great stories of how you can help others from your recent experience. Make sure you are convinced of the validity of these stories of your experience and that you can back them up with both referees and if necessary hard numbers.

2. Choose a group of 10 companies through online research where YOU think these stories will really resonate.

3. Find someone in these companies to try your story out on. Anyone will do but ideally someone who has been with the company or in the industry for more than 5 years. When you approach them ask them if you can do a quick, "information interview" on their company. Ask them what is valuable to them in an employee etc. Finally tell them one of your stories and ask them, "honestly do you think my experience is useful for your kind of company".

4. Go back to your original list of 10, from what you've learned from the people you spoke to, is your experience still valuable to them or should you look at another industry or position? If the group is right then congratulate yourself. You now have a real world understanding of where you can add value quickly. That is what companies care about, knowing this point is CRITICAL to selling yourself.

5. Now that you know the industries that will benefit from you start researching which companies you want to work for in the region. Once you have that list it's time to approach them and actually see if they have a need for you now. Often the people you spoke to in your first calls will recommend someone as long your original value and personality has resonated with them.

This may sound a little difficult but it should give you more choice that YOU want. The fact is there are many jobs for good people, if you are a good person you won't have a problem finding a job. But finding a career you love is a different story and I think the process above can help with achieving that.

Checkout Austin jobs at itzbig.com.