Plowing through resumes

Stuck inside a rat wheel job and have bilingual IT-related experience? You' the kind of person Access Technology, Japan wants to help. In less than a year, this high-tech recruiting firm has doubled its own work force and claims a uniquely candidate-oriented placement philosophy: not head-hunting, but head-farming. Kit Pancoast Nagamura talked to president and founder Paul A. Levine about life on the farm, and what kinds of hands he's looking to hire.

Head head-farmer Paul A. Levine of Access Technology, Japan Photo by Kit Pancoast Nagamura

What is Access Technology, Japan all about?
Quality and teamwork. We're trying to be the best recruiting company in Japan, specializing in start-up ventures for high-tech companies, both local and foreign-based. We can find an entire start-up team and staff out new organizations, from the country manager to the secretary, from the post-sales technical support guide to sales director. What prevents foreign companies or Japanese domestic ventures from succeeding here is not regulation, taxes, or non-tariff barriers; it is a lack of good people to do the job. High-tech is about people.

Who are your clients?
Ninety percent are foreign capital, high technology, Fortune 500 and Silicon Valley start-up companies. We also work with a number of foreign banks, securities and consulting firms, as well as several Bit Valley ventures.

Why do you call yourself "head-farmers" instead of head-hunters?
Well, in hunting, you shoot the deer, you devour the deer, the deer is dead. It's a one-shot, spot-market transaction. We meet people and give them a career direction. The average Japanese middle-aged guy has abandoned his dreams-and didn't Dante say the only unforgivable sin is to lose hope? We can take a guy who doesn't realize what he's worth, who is in a company where he will not be promoted simply because he is not a Todai graduate or in the power group, and we can show him how in ten years he can become a country manager. We can offer him the model, the methodology, and the means. Also, we aim to take the high road in working with our clients and candidates. When working with candidates, we keep in mind that it's our deal right now, but it's going to effect his or her life for the next twenty years.

For what positions are you farming candidates right now?
There are 2300 positions open. One of everything. It's like the Noah's Ark of job specs. We've got foreign capital high-tech companies, about a dozen searches for country managers, over a hundred sales manager positions, more than a thousand pre-sales technical support and post-sales tech positions, plus almost every type of programmer job available.

Do you have jobs open at Access Technology, Japan?
Yes. We hire junior consultants, people who would like to become a business consultant or recruiter. No experience is necessary, but applicants need to have brains, balls, guts, a strong back, and good character. Brilliance is not an essential requirement, but diligence is. Success doesn't depend on who you are, but what you do.

What makes working here worthwhile?
The sense of helping people. Ultimately, when you're making more money than you can spend, the money is no longer going to be satisfying. When you get beyond being someone on \300,000 a month teaching English someplace to being a guy who's bringing in \2,000,000 a month regularly, money is not enough. Feeling that you're helping people is what makes it worthwhile working here.

For job info contact Ronald Poe at Akasaka Chuo Bldg 8F, 3-2-6 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052, tel 3588-8835, fax 3588-0899 or email poe@atj.co.jp   or visit www.atj.co.jp

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