For fresh graduates in Japan, a new startup eases the pain of job hunting

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Typically graduating students in Japan begin their job-hunting process in the fall in their junior year, and spend around six months to a year searching for the best employer. The state of economy certainly has has impact on the job market too. According to Nikkei, the job openings to applications ratio for big companies with over 5,000 employees is as small as 0.60.

But an interesting student recruiting service is trying to lend them a hand. It’s called Wild Card, and it just recently launched in beta.

wildcard-studentWith this new service, which is integrated with Facebook, students and employers can find a better match faster and easier. Students can start by connecting to their Facebook account and upload proof of the job offers they have received, such as an email or some sort of document. After careful screening, other companies using Wild Card can search for promising students, and seeing that they have already passed one screening process, they can reach out to them knowing the student has already met the initial criteria. In this way, talented students can skip the hassle of filling out endless application forms, taking recruiting tests, and doing group interviews.

The founder of Wild Card, Tairo Moriyama, further elaborates:

From my experience in HR, I thought it would be great if competent students with job offers from one company could skip the early recruiting process with other companies. Because the recruiting of brilliant new graduates is very competitive, some students feel pressured to commit to one company after receiving a job offer. But students should be allowed to see other options and figure out what’s best for them.

The site plans to go public in May and has already seen 500 students register in the first week. Wild Card is a great idea, in my view, because one job offer opens many doors to other potential jobs, and for students who live in the suburbs it will save them a lot of time and money.

Wild Card is convenient for companies too, because students on the site have already passed screening by other companies, making the recruiting process more efficient. The service uses a performance-based fee model, charging the company if the prospect is hired.

Wild Card has plans to release a mid-career version in the near future, so stay tuned for that as well.