With the expectation that firms will start to hire prospective March 2017 graduates in June this year, human resources managers at a variety of companies shared their thoughts with Nikkei Business (7 December) on the criteria they apply to screen job applicants.
Efficiency is of the essence at Unicharm Corporation, a Tokyo-based manufacturer of feminine care, baby, childcare and adult healthcare products. The firm received 30,000 applications for 50 job vacancies, making the hiring ratio one of every 600 applicants.
This means the recruitment team need to sift through 30,000 entry sheets, which are an abbreviated form of the rirekisho (personal history). Their criteria may seem somewhat cursory at first glance but, after all, one has got to start somewhere. To winnow down the number to a more manageable figure, messy writing, use of correction fluid, or overly short entries result in immediate elimination. Likewise, getting the name of the firm wrong, and attaching a personal photo that shows a playful pose or includes furniture in the background, will have the same result. Candidates will usually face immediate disqualification for providing responses so generic that they could apply to almost any firm, and offering grandiose claims, particularly that of “contributing to society”.
One of the more recent developments is to dispense with the traditional mensetsu (one-on-one job interview) and, instead, have candidates take part in group discussions. The thinking behind this move is that, before a group of their peers, candidates may demonstrate an inability to communicate, or personal characteristics that are not likely to be revealed in a straightforward interview. Candidates who show a propensity to disregard what others say, for example, or who digress from the main topic of discussion, are unlikely to be invited back for the next selection stage.
Another relatively new criteria is candidates’ ability to stand up to ordinary levels of stress. Watching their response when asked to “please tell us about the greatest difficulty you’ve ever encountered and how you overcame it”, is one method of assessing their fortitude. Some will appear flustered or embarrassed about having to discuss such a topic.
It is hoped these methods will help candidates and firms to be well-matched. According to a manager at a systems development firm, “If a newbie requests leave or resigns soon after being hired, it reflects badly on everyone concerned: the new employee, the department and the personnel who hired them”.