The unique mass recruitment of Japan
The unique hiring system of Japan may be hard to understand from outside of Japan. If you currently attend a university outside of Japan, and you wanted to work in Japan after graduation, it might even be hard to know about hiring schedules. In Japan, new grads are hired by companies based on a strict schedule. This schedule is set by Keidanren (経団連), and a lot of major companies follow this schedule. Therefore, if you are not aware of the schedule, there is a possibility that you will get left behind. In this article, we will explain why there is a schedule in the first place and the detailed schedules for different industries.
Why is there a hiring schedule in the first place?
The reason, why there is a hiring schedule in the first place is because it makes it more efficient for companies to hire students. In Japan, there is a system called 新卒一括採用. This means mass recruitment for new grads. By setting a time for all the new grads applying for a company, HR departments can allocate their resources in a particular time of year and can try and select the best students. This system can be good and bad for the new grads. The positive is that the students can only use their resources in a particular time of their school years, and when it’s not the job hunting season, they can go full out on their studies or extra calicular activities. On the other hand, the negative is that it’s hard to show your true colors. Since the process is so systematic, it is hard to show companies who you really are and you also don’t get much time to actually learn about companies you want to work for.
Job hunting schedule for new grads in Japan
Usually, the job hunting season starts from the summer break of junior year. Keidanren states that companies can only give out official offers after a set period of the year. (It varies depending on the year, recently it’s after June 1st of senior year) However, a lot of companies do internships or other forms of the selection process before the set date announced by Keidanren.
A Japanese company usually follows the rules set by the Keidanren, but hiring schedules for foreign companies vary. Therefore, we will explain how different industries of foreign companies hire throughout the year.
(You can check the hiring schedule st by the Keidanren here.)
Foreign companies hiring schedule in Japan
You can largely divide categories as follows.
1. Consulting
2. Investment Banks
3. IT & Manufacturing
First, the earliest of all is the consulting industry. Companies such as Mckinsey & Company and Boston Consulting Group are categorized as strategic consultancy firms, and this category stats recruiting in the early summer (June or July) of junior year. Usually, they do a two-week internship and you get your official offer after the internship. They also do another hiring in the fall and sometimes they don’t hire in the fall if they got enough applicants in the summer.
If you are looking for management consultancy firms, they hire pretty much all year long. They start hiring from the early summer of junior year but they also have additional hirings in fall and winter as well. However, Positions such as strategic positions can be filled in the summer of Junior year.
Next, if you are looking for investment banks, the main hiring season will be around October to November. Companies such as Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan usually do internships in the early summer of the junior year as well. However, they usually leave enough spots for applicants who apply in the fall as well.
IT & Manufacturing companies, usually start hiring from the fall of junior year to the spring of the senior year. Since this category contains a vast type of companies, it is hard to say when each company starts hiring. However, typically, the popular companies start their application process earlier than others. So, keep an eye on the company you wish to enter, and do not miss their hiring season.
Conclusion
To wrap up, foreign companies in Japan typically start hiring in the following order, depending on the industry.
Consulting ＞ Investment Banks ＞ IT & Manufacturing
And for Japanese companies, tend to follow the Keidanren and start the official application from around March and give out offers from June.
However, the hiring processes and traditions are starting to change in Japan, and there are more options for job seekers in recent years. One example is the Boston Career Forum. This career forum is popular amongst bilingual job seekers and there are a lot of companies participating in the event. We have written a detailed step-by-step guide to how to participate in the career forum before. If you are interested, check out the Ultimate guide: Boston Career Forum 2021, companies, when, where.
