As Japan's economic slump lingers and its once near-universal lifetime employment system collapses, many of the nation's workers are sharing an increased sense of insecurity. But the top executive of a global recruitment consultancy tells them not to fear change.
"My advice (to individuals) is to think of work as sort of a portfolio of experiences," said Jon Chait, chief executive officer of the Hudson Highland Group of New York. "The idea of staying with a company for 25 years and moving up the ladder slowly is probably not realistic and not acceptable. . . . So you have to take the first job, use that as a stepping stone, and then take the next job."
Seeing a great opportunity for his company in the rapidly changing Japanese job market, Chait was in Tokyo earlier this month to strengthen the Japanese operations of TMP/Hudson Global Resources, a division of the publicly traded Hudson Highland Group.