Taking the Leap:
Helping an Experienced Marketing Professional Become the Business Development Manager for a Global Internet Company
Navigating a Tough Talent Market for a Business Leader
The Japanese talent market is notorious for a limited, shrinking and risk-averse talent pool. Factoring in English language fluency and a global business mindset, the search for a well-qualified business leader is like “finding a needle in a haystack”. Nevertheless, our search mission for a Business Development Manager role for a global client in Japan came to fruition when we found a star candidate.
An experienced professional at one of the most prestigious marketing agencies in the world with a rich portfolio of digital media planning and business development projects for Tokyo-based global clients, skill-wise, he seemed like a great fit. With more than a decade of experience in the marketing and advertising industry across APAC markets, strong leadership, negotiation and relation-building skills, his profile was surely impressive.
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Search Mission Done Right with A Young, Open-Minded Professional
In this case, what’s most critical is the candidate’s motivation and mindset. It is usually challenging to convince an employee at a big Japanese corporation to consider resigning and moving to a foreign-capital company, and even more difficult considering it was his first job change ever.
Our consultants spent a great deal of time talking with the candidate and learning about him. It turned out that not only did he have an open-minded view regarding career change, but the candidate had also been proactively building his business acumen by enrolling in an MBA program and completing several business-related certifications. His mindset represents that of a young generation in Japan, not being afraid of changes and willing to take on new opportunities.
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Taking the Leap: From a Marketing Agency to a Global Internet Company
After three intensive rounds of interviews, the client's decision-makers were convinced that this candidate is the right person for the job. By understanding his motivation and expectations, we were able to smoothly facilitate the offer and onboarding process.
One month after his onboarding, we met with the candidate to learn about his experience at the new workplace. He gladly shared positive feedback about the company, and how he is enjoying the new responsibilities and challenges despite a different environment compared to his previous agency life. The candidate also shared his gratitude for Human Future’s thoughtful support throughout this career move. We are now looking forward to continuing our support for his career progression.
If you are interested in exploring opportunites in the market or are considering your next career move, feel free to get in touch via liu@humanfuture.co.jp for a confidential discussion.
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