日企向禮貌的外國求職者敞開大門
TOKYO — Brendan White, a senior at Temple University's Japan campus, says he has it all figured out. He is dressed in his "job hunt" black suit, accessorized with shiny leather shoes, a crisp white shirt — plain, no stripes and no wrinkles — and a black briefcase, for which he ponied up $20, just for this job-hunting season.
He also knows how to finesse his way into an interview room, Japanese style: You must knock three times, etiquette experts say — not once, not twice. Once in the room where interviewers are seated, "you close the door without turning away from the interviewers," said Mr. White, a Massachusetts native. "You are not supposed to show your behind."
他還知道如何巧妙地進入面試的房間，用的是日本風格：禮儀專家說，必須敲三下門，不是一下，也不是兩下。進入坐着面試官的房間後，“關門時不能轉過身去，”來自馬薩諸塞州的懷特說。“不能背對着面試官。”Every move thereafter, including sitting down, should follow the interviewer's cue, he noted.
他指出，之後的每一個動作，包括落座，都必須按照面試官的提示進行。
All of this used to be a preserve for Japanese college students, who go through an arduous search process, lasting five to eight months, to land the job of their dreams. But, in a sign of changed times, a recent job fair in Tokyo, where Mr. White was scurrying around to meet officials at different corporate booths, was aimed exclusively at foreigners. Japanese companies are gearing up for an extensive international student recruitment campaign — a human resource strategy supporting a larger game plan to deploy their businesses more globally.
過去，所有這一切都是日本大學生所特有的。在找到理想的工作前，他們要經歷一個艱難的求職過程，這個過程會持續五到八個月。但前不久東京舉行的一場招聘會只針對外國人，這表明，情況發生了變化。在那場招聘會上，懷特匆匆忙忙地和不同企業展位上的領導見面。日本公司正在爲一場大規模的國際學生招聘活動做準備。這是一項人力資源戰略，目的是支持一項更大範圍內的策略——將他們的企業更廣泛地部署到全球。Isao Ogake, director of global career and education at Disco, a job fair organizer that hosted the international job bazaar in Tokyo, said corporate Japan's appetite to engage more non-Japanese has been soaring, reflecting a growing desire to go global and to add diversity to the workforce.
招聘會組織機構迪斯科(Disco)全球職業與教育總監大懸德（Isao Ogake，音譯）說，日本僱傭更多非日籍員工的需求在飛速增加，反映出走向全球以及增加員工多樣性的願望越來越強烈。東京那場國際招聘會便是由迪斯科組織的。Of more than 800 midsize to large companies surveyed by Disco, "48 percent of them say they plan to recruit non-Japanese college graduates," Mr. Ogake said. "That is up from 35 percent last year." The number was just over 20 percent a few years back, he added.
在迪斯科調查過的800多家大中型公司中，“48%的公司稱計劃招聘非日本籍的大學畢業生，”大懸德說。“同去年相比增加了35%。”他補充說，回到幾年前，這一比例僅略高於20%。At many large corporations now "it is common to have a 10 percent target quota for internationals," he said.
他說，在很多大企業，現在“國際員工佔10%的目標配額很常見”。Yet for all the stated goal of fostering diversity, foreign job seekers are still expected to fit the Japanese mold.
然而，儘管有明確的增加多樣性的目標，招聘方依然希望外國求職者能符合日本模式。Tomoyuki Ichikawa, executive officer in the global business department at Pasona, another job fair host, said he encouraged internationals to embrace Japanese manners, even if they were not required to do so by corporations, strictly speaking.
另一家招聘會組織機構保聖那(Pasona)全球業務部執行官市川友之（Tomoyuki Ichikawa，音譯）表示，他鼓勵國際學生遵循日本的禮儀，儘管嚴格說來，企業並沒有要求他們這麼做。"We want international students to be on the same playing field as Japanese students," he said. "It would be sad if they are rejected on the basis of etiquette."
“我們希望國際學生能和日本學生公平競爭，”他說，“如果他們因爲禮儀被拒，就很遺憾了。”The dress code for men may be informal, but it is clear: black suit, bleached white shirt and a nondescript necktie. Women are advised to wear a skirt, especially for tradition-bound financial institutions.
對男性而言，着裝要求可能是非正式的，但很明確：應該穿黑色套裝、經過漂白的襯衫、普通領帶。女性建議穿裙子，尤其是去深受傳統影響的金融機構求職時。While 33 percent of international respondents surveyed by Disco indicated some discomfort with the rigidity of the dress code, Mr. Ogake justified it as just part of a screening process that all job applicants must go through. Employers also administer examinations for job hunters, with a battery of questions that test their knowledge of world affairs and their general professional aptitudes.
儘管在迪斯科的調查中，33%的國際受訪者表示對嚴格的着裝有些不適應，但大懸德解釋說這是所有求職者必須經歷的一個篩選過程。招聘方也會組織求職者參加考試，通過一系列問題檢驗他們在國際事務上的知識，以及總體上的職業資質。The fixation on form has much to do with the fact that Japanese corporations recruit a large number of new graduates each year, often numbering in the hundreds. Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, one of the world's largest banks, hired 1,550 employees last year, for example. With such large numbers to sort through, companies need some form of triage process, Mr. Ogake said. "The whole process needs to be efficient and systematized," he said, with the dress code acting as a useful starting point, indicating a candidate's readiness to conform to expected corporate behavior.
對於形式的執着，與日本企業每年招聘畢業生往往高達數百人有關。例如，作爲世界規模最大的銀行之一的三菱東京日聯銀行(Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ)去年一共招了1550人。大懸德說，既然要篩選這麼多人，公司就需要某種篩選程序。他說，“整個過程應該高效而系統化。”着裝要求就是一個有用的出發點，能說明應聘者將來是否願意遵守公司的行爲規範。The Japanese hiring approach has its advantages for entry-level candidates. Rather than recruiting to fill specific openings and vacancies, as many Western companies do, Japanese corporations hire a large number of fresh graduates annually and train them into a productive workforce. Newly minted graduates have a shot at landing a job at such marquee names as Toyota Motors, which engaged 600 new hires in 2013.
日本的招聘方法對於初級應聘者而言具有一定優勢。許多西方企業都會針對具體職位空缺來招聘，日本企業則會每年聘用大量剛從學校畢業的人，然後把他們培訓成高效率的勞動力。剛剛從學校畢業的學生有機會在豐田汽車(Toyota Motor)等大公司找到一份工作。2013年，豐田一共招了600人。Since most international students don't have proven experiences on their résumés, "that must work out well for internationals," said Yoshihiro Taguchi, a representative of NAP, a volunteer organization that helps international students find jobs in Japan.
由於大多數留學生的簡歷上都沒有工作經歷，“這對留學生而言肯定是有利的，”NAP的代表田口吉弘（Yoshihiro Taguchi，音譯）說。NAP是一個幫留學生在日本找工作的志願者組織。"Altogether, 90 percent of all college graduates end up with a decent job in Japan," he added. "That number would be preposterous in other countries."
“最後，90%的大學畢業生都會在日本找到一份不錯的工作，”他還說。“這個數字在其他國家會很荒謬。”According to the Japanese Ministry of Education and Science, 94.4 percent of this year's graduating students had found a full-time job by the spring.
根據日本文部科學省(Japanese Ministry of Education and Science)的統計數據，今年94.4%的畢業生都在春季找到了一份全職工作。Another advantage is that companies do not expect their new recruits to hit the ground running. They are willing to hire employees without skills and invest in building their capabilities, hoping to reap the benefits over time.
另一個優勢是，各公司並不指望他們的新員工能很快上手。他們願意聘用沒有什麼技能的人，然後再培養他們的能力，希望在一段時間過後能有所收穫。"They hire you based on your potential, including your language skills," Mr. Ogake said.
大懸德說，“他們僱你是看重你的潛力，包括你的語言能力。”Mr. Taguchi, who worked for Mitsui Life for decades before retiring, agreed. "Corporations don't think universities prepare students for a job," he said, "so they have comprehensive in-house training systems."
曾爲三井生命(Mitsui Life)工作過數十年、現已退休的田口吉弘也同意這個觀點。“企業並不認爲大學已經讓學生們做好了工作準備，”他說，“所以他們擁有全面的內部培訓體系。”Ramin Khatami, 27, an engineering graduate student from Iran at Gunma University, said this was what led him to study in Japan.
27歲的拉敏·哈塔米(Ramin Khatami)來自伊朗，畢業於羣馬大學(Gunma University)工程系。他說，這就是他來日本學習的原因。"Japanese corporations are very competitive and provide the best education for employees," said Mr. Khatami, who hopes to work for a high-tech company such as Kyocera. "I can progress toward my goal with such good training."
“日本公司的競爭意識非常強，會爲員工提供最好的教育，”哈塔米說。他希望能爲京瓷(Kyocera)等高科技公司工作。“有了這麼好的培訓，我就能朝自己的目標前進了。”The Japanese approach has several consequences for career development. One is that midcareer hiring is relatively rare — there's an expectation that young recruits will rise into management positions through in-house training and experience. Another is that promotion often comes slowly in the early years; five to seven years is the minimum to reach the lowest rung in a managerial hierarchy, said Mr. Ichikawa, the Pasona executive.
日本的做法對職業發展有一些影響。其中一點是，在職業中期換工作的情況相對少見——年輕的新成員有通過內部培訓和工作經驗升入管理層的可能性。另一點是，在職業生涯的早期階段，升職一般會很慢；博科的高管市川友之說，進入管理層的最底層至少需要五到七年時間。That can lead to defections: Foreign companies operating in Japan often hire internationals away with attractive salaries and positions, Mr. Ichikawa said.
這也會導致一些問題。市川友之說，在日本的外國企業往往會用高薪和職位把這些留學生挖走。"People who worked for Japanese companies for a few years are well trained and are a prime target for poaching," he said.
他說，“爲日本公司工作過幾年的人都受過良好的培訓，是主要的被挖對象。”Louis Klépal, a French engineering graduate of a double-degree program at Keio University in Tokyo, and the école Centrale de Nantes in France, made the jump one year after working for a Japanese engineering company.
來自法國的路易·克萊帕爾(Louis Klépal)是東京慶應義塾大學(Keio University)和法國南特中央理工大學(école Centrale de Nantes)一個雙學位項目的工程系畢業生，他在爲一家日本工程公司工作一年後跳槽。"I learned how to speak to Japanese customers," said Mr. Klépal, who now works for Schneider Electric in Tokyo. "If you are a foreigner, you might kick in the door of your customer, but it might shut right back. If you know the right manners, you can keep the door open."
“我學會了如何與日本顧客交流，”目前在東京施耐德電氣(Schneider Electric)工作的克萊帕爾說。“如果你是個外國人，你或許可以把客戶的門踢開，但是門可能會立即關上。如果你知道正確的方式，就能讓門一直敞開。”
