Working in Japan:
The problems and solutions of hiring personnel for a starting company
Part one: the first upcoming questions
This 3 part article is also pretty handy for the ones opting for a higher position than starting up as a waiter or so in Japan. As you will need to see what questions does the company and also what are the questions you will face when applying for a CEO Managing job for example.
When a company is getting started in Japan, the first person it will usually hire is a CEO, a country manager (the CEO being one of the senior managers back in the head office), or a sales manager to run the branch office. All of these positions are powerful in that this person will solely represent the company in Japan for a period of time. They will be entrusted with money, the responsibility of hiring other staff, making leases and contracts, promising terms when doing deals, and a number of other sensitive activities. And yet, frequently the foreign firm barely knows them!
This is clearly a time when the foreign company has to take measures to reduce its risks. Either the company has to check its candidate very carefully and hope that it doesn’t get a lemon, or better still find a trusted local expert in Japan, who can keep an eye on the new recruit and who has sufficient authority to keep things on track. This expert could be a lawyer, a consultant, or a local businessperson who is not connected to the new company.
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