After a recent trial job interview, my interviewer told me that "company recruiters generally are bored because they have to handle such a large number of students, and most students use the same approach in making themselves appealing."
Certainly the fault lies with students for imitating what they read in mass-produced manuals. But I think companies share the blame. The corporate "adoption" system has three basic steps: First, the company gathers together student candidates via the Internet. Second, students take the company examinations, and third, they go on interviews with hundreds of other students.
In a group interview, each student has only about 10 minutes to make his or her pitch. This is too short to know a person's qualities, yet it may be the only chance for a student. We must consider an expensive product well before buying it. There is insufficient time for students and recruiters to contact each other directly and to get to know each other well.
It would be better if students as well as companies put an end to the mass-gather and mass-flunk process. To ensure quality job hunting, companies should reduce recruiters' weariness and give students enough time to make a presentation.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.