2027 Grads Recruitment Starts in Japan, Only Officially

(Last para should have read “… that became the first to make informal job offers …,” instead of as sent) Tokyo, June 1 (Jiji Press)–Recruitment activities, such as job interviews, for college students scheduled to graduate next spring were given the official starting signal in Japan on Monday, after a bulk of those job-hunting students already received informal employment offers. Trading house Itochu Corp., highly popular among graduating students, began interviewing applicants online, and Daiichi Life Insurance Co., set to abolish unconsented job location transfers in April next year, launched interviews in person. Every year the Japanese government imposes a nonbinding “ban” on recruitment of new graduates until May 31, about nine months prior to their graduation, to allow the students to concentrate on academic activities. But in reality, many companies ignore the ban to secure talented human resources ahead of their rivals. As of May 1, 76 pct of students seeking jobs starting next April had already received informal employment pledges, a survey by Career-tasu Inc., which operates websites to provide job-hunting assistance, showed. Nojima Corp. launched as early as September last year interviews with prospective 2027 graduates and made unofficial job offers in November “because rival firms had begun their moves,” the major appliance retailer’s public relations official said. Companies are also capitalizing on internship programs to enclose high-potential graduates. “As students have increasingly been joining companies that became the first to make informal job offers, we need to act early,” a recruitment official at a major restaurant chain said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]