A few days ago, I talked with my company's HR (Human Resources) department about how we can expand my team.
I'm the director of one small development team that resolves issues for our operations team from a developer's perspective. The team has only four members, and we are becoming overwhelmed as our product grows. We need more engineers and assistants who can communicate with other teams.
However, recruiting is difficult. Especially in Japan, hiring comes with many risks because we can't easily fire a newcomer if they don’t meet expectations. That's why we can't rely on evaluating candidates by their actual work results, like having trial workdays. So we need to decide whether we can work with the candidate long-term based only on interviews or tests. It's more like a gamble.
Referrals have also become common now, but they come with the same risk because being acquainted doesn’t guarantee that the skills will match.
I thought "headhunting" might be a good option. I know there are already many headhunters — in fact, I’ve received many headhunting messages on my LinkedIn account — but it's not the kind of headhunting I want to recommend. I want to suggest a vintage headhunting, like what Japanese feudal lords or European magnates did some time ago.
Recent headhunting is mostly performed by recruiting companies that contract with other companies. It's good for finding people who are already thinking about changing jobs because they have some complaints about their current company. However, it doesn’t target people who aren't looking to change jobs but have great skills. This is because modern headhunting is more of a suggestion.
Vintage headhunting isn't like that. It's more like negotiation or scouting. It's about bringing someone onto the team, even though it might feel like a form of betrayal.
Of course, we shouldn't force someone to betray their previous company. I believe leaving a company should be done with a good relationship and a proper goodbye. I'm not suggesting that someone should betray their company.
I think it's a good idea to negotiate with a person, even if they have no plans to change jobs, by offering better conditions, benefits, or positions. I guess it's common in the world of presidents or VPs, but I think we could introduce it for regular employees.
For example, I don't have any plans to leave my current job, but if a company offered me conditions like "2 work hours per day, full remote, no firing for 5 years, and a higher salary," I might consider it. (I understand there’s no company offering such crazy conditions!)
Honestly, I'm not sure if this kind of headhunting is legal, but it might be worth investigating whether we could use vintage headhunting.
I'm the director of one small development team that resolves issues for our operations team from a developer's perspective. The team has only four members, and we are becoming overwhelmed as our product grows. We need more engineers and assistants who can communicate with other teams.
However, recruiting is difficult. Especially in Japan, hiring comes with many risks because we can't easily fire a newcomer if they don’t meet expectations. That's why we can't rely on evaluating candidates by their actual work results, like having trial workdays. So we need to decide whether we can work with the candidate long-term based only on interviews or tests. It's more like a gamble.
Referrals have also become common now, but they come with the same risk because being acquainted doesn’t guarantee that the skills will match.
I thought "headhunting" might be a good option. I know there are already many headhunters — in fact, I’ve received many headhunting messages on my LinkedIn account — but it's not the kind of headhunting I want to recommend. I want to suggest a vintage headhunting, like what Japanese feudal lords or European magnates did some time ago.
Recent headhunting is mostly performed by recruiting companies that contract with other companies. It's good for finding people who are already thinking about changing jobs because they have some complaints about their current company. However, it doesn’t target people who aren't looking to change jobs but have great skills. This is because modern headhunting is more of a suggestion.
Vintage headhunting isn't like that. It's more like negotiation or scouting. It's about bringing someone onto the team, even though it might feel like a form of betrayal.
Of course, we shouldn't force someone to betray their previous company. I believe leaving a company should be done with a good relationship and a proper goodbye. I'm not suggesting that someone should betray their company.
I think it's a good idea to negotiate with a person, even if they have no plans to change jobs, by offering better conditions, benefits, or positions. I guess it's common in the world of presidents or VPs, but I think we could introduce it for regular employees.
For example, I don't have any plans to leave my current job, but if a company offered me conditions like "2 work hours per day, full remote, no firing for 5 years, and a higher salary," I might consider it. (I understand there’s no company offering such crazy conditions!)
Honestly, I'm not sure if this kind of headhunting is legal, but it might be worth investigating whether we could use vintage headhunting.