Career Path to Your Current Position
Starting as an Associate Consultant in 2006, learned recruiting fundamentals and brass-tacks telephone skills at first. Then took over a full-cycle recruiting desk with a “left-over” client list of small size B to B companies (think printer blankets, o-ring sealants, flow control valves etc.) that was thought to be “dried up.” Dug deep and found placements-galore in this neglected patch of our client list. Continued to develop cold-calling and prospecting skills to win new business at small to medium size companies over the next seven years until it was time to set-up Career Scout Japan!
Years in Recruitment
14 years
Industries Covered/Worked
Accounting & Finance, HR, Supply Chain Management
Specialties / Skills
Sales, Management, Training, Accounting & Finance Recruitment
Achievement/s You`re Most Proud of
Training and developing new recruiters utilizing best practices, then seeing them win clients by delivering top-notch customer service.
Company Culture/DNA
Hard working, quality focused, LOTS of teamwork and hustling. CSJ consultants are obsessed with setting a new recruiting standard for customer service.
Tell us something unique about how you (or your company) operate
Our teamwork is the secret. “Everyone helps one another. No individual is bigger than the group. We will dominate our market if we work as a team” is straight from our core values. Giving an “assist” to a colleague is celebrated and strongly encouraged. MJ was the best, but CSJ loves Scottie Pippen!
What is the most important attribute you typically look for in a candidate when hiring for your team/company?
Ability to self-motivate and continuously improve. I can teach everything else needed to reach success.
What has been your biggest career challenge?
Letting go of recruiting myself. I love it. But I’ll be serving our existing consultants better as a sales manager and teaching best practices instead of billing myself.
What is most gratifying about your role?
Seeing new recruiters get excited about helping candidates and clients. Then watching those recruiters grow to top-billers and start helping the next generation of new recruiters is by far, most gratifying. The teamwork cycle never ends.
What goals do you have for the coming year?
I’m looking to make our top performers even better by diffusing best practices throughout the company. Also, I’m aggressively hiring to fully staff our three sales business units (hope to have an extra two recruiters on each desk).
Tell us one change you would be very happy to see happen related to recruitment in Japan?
I’d like to see the overall standard of matching increase. Also, I’d like to see the “volume” and “KPI” driven business model for managing recruiters go away. We are hoping to change that at CSJ.
Any random thoughts you`d like to share about the Japan TA/Recruitment market?
It’s a great market and small / medium size companies need an excellent recruiting resource to help grow their business. Japan is the market and country to be in for customer service-oriented sales hunters.
Hobbies: How do you unwind outside of the job?
By winding up my 7 and 8-year-old daughters, then turning them loose to the chagrin of my wife 🙂
Any Pet Peeves?
When my stuff gets misplaced. I hate that. Usually I’m the one who loses it in the first place though.
Most Memorable Placement/Hiring Story
I helped one admin / accounting staff find a job at a 7-person company at the heart of the Great Recession. She had been out of work for a few months and was clearly stressed. She cried as she signed the offer letter and called me her “onjin.” I didn’t know what that word meant at the time and plainly said so. We both had a laugh. (onjin = savior)
If you hadn`t gone into recruitment what would you have been?
Sales. My dad was a hot-shot, national leading salesman in the US known as the “sensei of sales” (although he has nothing to do with Japan). I’m most like him so I would have probably landed in sales somewhere.
Your last meal on earth, what would it be?
Not sure… but I could die happy with a mouthful of egg McMuffin and McDonald’s hashbrown the morning after a nomikai. Bring on the apocalypse.
Tell us an unusual fact about yourself that your friends might not already know.
I’m totally addicted to chess and table tennis. I usually don’t reveal my inner-nerd as most of my friends tend to be of the jock-type (I was on the wrestling team for 6 years and tend to be surrounded by “bros.”)
Latest GMs Spotlighted
