Confusion in Job Application

Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, announced on Monday that its member companies would start job application for graduating college students on June next year. Its policy of delaying job interview until August to preserve the seniors enough time to complete study in college will be changed in a year. Inflexible application system in Japanese labor market is bringing confusion in job searching of students.

In the period of post-war high economic growth, major corporations in Japan were enthusiastic in hiring brilliant human resource. In 1953, colleges and business federations agreed on starting job application for students, who would graduate next year, in every October. After long period of competition over young labor, Japan Federation of Employer’s Association abolished the agreement and started job application in April. In 2011, after merging with JFEA, Keidanren determined that job seminars would be allowed in every December for the juniors and interviewing would be starting in April, the very beginning of the year of senior.

But, the fourth year in college is the time for concluding study. Students might not be concentrated in making bachelor thesis, if he had to be busy in searching post-graduation job. Seeing the system to cause deterioration of academic achievement of Japanese students, Keidanren made a guideline to delay the job seminars to March and interviews to August, starting in 2014.

It did not work, because non-Keidanren companies continued early application in April. Some of the member companies also defied the guideline. In the moderate recovery of Japanese economy, employers are becoming positive in obtaining hopeful young labor.

Students are confused by quick change of the policy. If job application starts in June, it will affect examination in June and students cannot attend classes from April.

All those problems stem from long-time employment system in Japan. In this country, a typical successful life is brought by getting job immediately after college graduation, continuing the job until he gets old and retiring with congratulation of his colleagues. Every newly graduated employee is recognized as hopeful for being the president. Job market in Japan has very low liquidity, which may cause lack of adjustability when labor mismatch occurred.

To revitalize Japanese economy, flexible job market is indispensable. Business entities need to refrain from picking young labor too early. They also need to be open for exchanging human resource between companies. Devoting one’s life to one job is a concept of bureaucrats, who are proud of being servants of a state, not people.