Technology & Digital Media
CDS is home to one of Japan’s leading Technology and Digital Media
recruitment practices. We’ve successfully supported the launch of
many of today’s premier technology start-ups in Japan.
A Recruit Group Company
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The Work That Makes Us Proud
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Delivering A Growth Leader – Akamai JP President
Due to an exceptional track record hiring for Akamai in Japan , CDS was selected to lead a critical
retained replacement search for Akamai’s departing Japan President. Akamai needed to bring on
board a highly capable leader to reorganize, re-launch and expand their business . CDS managed a
complex search process that delivered excellent results. In the few short years following, Akamai has
more than doubled in size and continues its dynamic growth pattern.
Head of Professional Service - ServiceNow
After a year of being unable to find a Head of Professional Services, CDS consultants were asked
to help close this very difficult search. Our consultant was able to headhunt one of the top
Processional Services Managers in the Japan IT Industry. Although the candidate was working on
the APAC level, our consultant was able to communicate skillfully the advantages of working for
ServiceNow and closed the position within 2 months.
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Building A High Performing Sales Team – DOMO
CDS continues its partnership with DOMO in executing strategic hires across the company’s Sales, Pre-
Sales and Product organizations. In particular CDS led a strategic search in hiring DOMO’s first
Evangelist, a technical leader responsible for promoting DOMO’s new BI solution in Japan. CDS
continues to be DOMO’s leading recruitment partner in leading the number of agency hires in Japan.
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AVAYA’s Leadership Searches in Asia
Hiring Avaya’s Managing Director for Japan & Australia
CDS has successfully placed MD for 2 countries, Japan and Australia. For ANZ MD the search was
executed from Japan to find candidate who resides nearby Sydney area. With great understanding of
telecom industry, with uncompromising effort and teamwork, CDS is the best recruitment partner for
Avaya worldwide.
Digging in to Deliver Results in Crunch Time - EMC
CDS has been a key partner for EMC and has helped the company to hire and scale quickly.
In 2015, EMC came to CDS with a special project in filling multiple headcount in a short
amount of time. CDS delivered a qualified shortlist of candidates and in 6 months time were
able to close 5 strategic positions at EMC.
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Scaling Pinterest’s Japan Team Through Organic Growth
Pinterest wanted to launch its Japan service with a small but highly efficient team. An integral part
of their launch strategy was to hire community managers to engage their user community to help
promote their service. CDS has continued to be Pinterest’s leading recruitment partner having
successfully executed on all their Japan local hires.
“We couldn't have done it without CDS. You guys continue to be the best agency we work with.” – Pinterest Head of Business and International Recruiting
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Scaling Pinterest’s Japan Team Through Organic Growth
Pinterest wanted to launch its Japan service with a small but highly efficient team. An integral part
of their launch strategy was to hire community managers to engage their user community to help
promote their service. CDS has continued to be Pinterest’s leading recruitment partner having
successfully executed on all their Japan local hires.
“We couldn't have done it without CDS. You guys continue to be the best agency we work with.” – Pinterest Head of Business and International Recruiting
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Etsy’s Japan Launch – Japan Market Lead
CDS partnered with Etsy in leading its search for a Japan Market Lead who would be the company’s
first hire in Asia. Etsy was looking to hire an entrepreneurial growth leader who could build Etsy’s
community and could ignite both the buyer and seller sides of their marketplace. This person needed
to be a credible ambassador of the company’s brand and its values and display a track record of
successfully launching a new-to-market service in Japan. CDS successfully executed on this search just
in time for the company’s Japan launch in 2015.
Airbnb Japan Launch - Hiring A New Country Manager
Airbnb partnered with CDS in leading a search for the company’s first Japan Country Manager.
Airbnb needed to hire an experienced executive with start-up experience and proven track record of
launching a new-to-market consumer web service in Japan. CDS delivered a shortlist of 4 candidates
and provided our offices as a local meeting point for visiting executives to conduct interviews. CDS
successfully completed the search in 3 months and went on to scale Airbnb’s marketing and
acquisition teams.
Scaling Square’s Japan Team and Japan Country Manager
CDS was initially selected as 1 of 4 recruitment partners to lead Square’s hiring campaign in Japan.
Square had an ambitious plan to hire an all-star Japan team and launch a new-to-market service all in
less than a years time. CDS became Square’s exclusive recruitment partner after successfully filling 9 of
10 of their core management and leadership roles in Customer Support, Marketing, Sales, Business
Development, Risk and Operations. In 2013, CDS was selected to lead and successfully executed on a
critical search for a new Japan Country Manager.
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Hiring Out Supercell’s Executive Leadership – Japan GM
Supercell considered Japan a critical market for global expansion. With their investment from
Softbank and Gungho, they wanted to send a clear message that they were committed to
establishing their presence in one of the world’s largest gaming markets. Supercell was looking
for a leader and all-star marketer who had a track record launching exciting new content to
Japanese consumers. This person needed to be someone who loved games and shared their
culture and values.
CDS led Supercell’s search for a Japan General Manager and successfully executed on the
search in 3 months.
King’s Japan General Manager Search
King had been conducting an unsuccessful search for 6-months and were adamant in hiring
a stellar gaming professional who could develop and execute a major Japan-specific
marketing roadmap and product launch for “Candy Crush”. King had met over 70
candidates but we’re not confident in the people they met. CDS led a renewed targeted
search, identified 3 notable candidates and successfully closed the role in 3 months.
A Recruit Group Company
Viber’s Asia Expansion - Japan Country Manager
Recruit and its’ regional group companies successfully hired out Viber’s regional
executives in Vietnam, India and Russia. After Viber’s acquisition by Rakuten, CDS
was entrusted to lead a strategic search for a Japan Country Manager. The
company required an experienced executive with a proven track record in
developing a successful growth roadmap and who could bridge between the
company’s regional offices and Japan. CDS delivered an exceptional shortlist of
candidates and successfully closed the search in approximately 3 months.
Leading’s Rovio’s Replacement Japan GM Search
After Rovio’s current Japan Country Director communicated he would be leaving the company, CDS was
retained to lead a strategic replacement. Rovio was keen to hire a growth executive capable of
expanding the Rovio’s portfolio of business in gaming, consumer products, digital content and character
licensing. CDS developed a market map across specific target companies and delivered an extensive
line-up of 8 top marketing executives across consumer, gaming, web services and entertainment. CDS
led the search process from beginning to end and successfully executed the search within 3 months.
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GoPro’s Japan Expansion – Sales and Marketing Leadership
GoPro had initially partnered with a local distribution company to launch its products in Japan. GoPro
wanted to expand its local presence in the market and elected to build a team. CDS’ Digital Media and
Consumer Goods practices successfully led a successful retained search for two key searches. CDS
successfully executed on GoPro’s JP Sales Director and JP Marketing Director.
Preferred Relationships Built Through Digging In - Amazon
Our consultants have over 7 years of consecutive recruiting experience with Amazon and
Amazon Web Services (AWS) With dozens of successful placements made over the years,
CDS is one of the few companies to earn a spot of their preferred vendors list. CDS has
helped Amazon hire for all levels and we are often tasked with tacking Amazon’s toughest
searches.
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Discovery’s Innovation Search – President, Japan and Korea
In recent years, consumers have been changing the way they consume content. With a soon to be
departing executive from Discovery’s Japan organization, the company approached CDS to lead a
strategic hiring project for a new President for Japan and Korea. Discovery wanted to bring in a stellar
Silicon Valley executive who could breath in new innovation, diversify their business and connect with
consumers through modern channels. CDS led a 6 month project and successfully executed on
Discovery’s search for a new President, Japan and Korea.
Dassault Systemes Sales Leader – Sales Director
After months of struggling to make a strategic director level hire, Dassault came to CDS to look into
their search for a Sales Director. Dassault had worked with a number of staffing agencies in addition
to multiple online recruitment resources unsuccessfully. With no candidates available online or on job
sites, our consultant was able to source from how own professional network to quickly introduce a
number of qualified profiles and close the position quickly.
Longstanding Results with Ericsson
Ericsson Japan has been one of our closest partners for many years. CDS consultants have
twice been awarded “Recruiter of the Year” for Ericsson Japan. Our track record includes
over six consecutive years working together, over 50 placements, Senior Director level hires,
and being selected as their exclusive preferred vendor.
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Partners We Are Proud to Work With
A Recruit Group Company
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What We Deliver
Exclusive Contingency
• Success based fee
• Dedicated Consultant
• No Research Support
• Marketing Collateral
• Full Disclosure on Candidates
• No Candidate Exclusivity
*Our Exclusive Contingency Search is recommended for searches that are critical in nature but have a less pressing timeframe to fill.
Hybrid Retainer
• Commitment + Success Fee
• Dedicated Project Team and Exclusivity
• Guaranteed Deliverables
• Dedicated Research Support
• Client Brief / Marketing Collateral
• Market Mapping / Weekly Reporting
• Full Disclosure on Candidates
• Candidate Exclusivity
*Our Hybrid Retained Search is recommended for searches which are confidential or executive in nature, mission critical or time sensitive. We assemble a dedicated project team around your search and ensure a set number of deliverables. Our project team and candidates introduced are exclusive to your project.
A Recruit Group Company
Prospect
Qualify
Close
For our exclusive and retained clients, we develop compelling, targeted
and personalized messages to ensure your company is reaching more
candidates, more effectively.
Dynamic Personalized Emails = Higher Candidate Engagement
A Recruit Group Company
For our retained clients, we develop engaging client briefs which puts your company’s best foot forward in attracting passive candidates. Leave it to us to make sure your company is portrayed in the
right light and to the right audience.
How Are You Marketing to Candidates? – The Client Brief
A Recruit Group Company
For our retained clients only, we provide weekly status reports so you remain in the loop on who we are talking to, where we are targeting and how the search
is progressing
Detailed Market Mapping and Status Reports
A Recruit Group Company
Our Team
William (Bill) DeLorme
Senior Director
Technology & Digital Media
Gabriel Hugh
Director
Digital Media & Technology
Manuel Pleno
Senior Consultant
Cloud Technology
Yoshiroh Nakamura
Senior Consultant
Software & Cloud
Keiko Kurachi
Senior Consultant
Special Projects
Teihi Kin
Consultant
Platforms & E-commerce
Yoko Taira
Consultant
Gaming & Consulting
Yasutomo Nakajima
Principal Consultant
Software & Cloud
Eileen Tian
Senior Consultant
Engineering &
Development
Enterprise Technology Team
Rihito Nakajima
Managing Consultant
ICT
Emiko Tanioku
Senior Consultant
ICT
Rajesh Thakur
Principal Consultant
Network & Security
Michael Chang
Principal Consultant
ICT
Information & Communications Technology
Digital Media Team
Motoko Koizumi
Resourcing Specialist
Aya Moussa
Resourcing Specialist
Ikumi Tajima
Senior Sales Operations
Miho Tsujioka
Sales Operations
Sales Operations Research
Technology & Digital Media Organization
CDS is home to Tokyo’s premier Technology and Digital Media
recruitment desk. Our team has had record years in 2014, 2015
and are on track to do it again in 2016.
Accolades:
• Company Record FY Technology Revenue – 2014
• Company Record FY Technology Revenue – 2015
• Company Record QTR Technology Revenue – Q2 2016
• Company Record - Largest Placement in Firm’s History - 2016
A Recruit Group Company
Technology and Digital Media Leadership
Michael Christie
Consultant
Digital Marketing
Jonathan Kaiser
Consultant
Emerging Technology
Angela Saura
Consultant
Marketing Solutions
Leilani Hasegawa
Associate Consultant
Online Marketing
Kosuke Hasegawa
Consultant
IT Consulting
IT Technology Consulting
Takahiro Terunuma
Principal Consultant
IT Consulting
Chris Battin
Consultant
Software & Mobile
TECHNOLOGY AND DIGITAL MEDIA: LEADERSHIP
Gabriel Hugh – Director, Digital Media
Gabriel has been in executive search in Japan for 10 years specializing in
strategic recruitment projects within the Digital Media and Online Services
space. Gabriel has a keen interest in emerging technologies related to
web, social media, mobile and e-commerce. Gabriel has successfully
delivered on critical hiring projects in scaling start-up teams and has
executed on high profile executive searches.
William (Bill) DeLorme – Director, Technology
Bill has extensive experience across the IT industry working with Cloud
Solutions, Services, Platforms, Enterprise Software other technology related
clients. He has a solid track record of successfully introducing candidates
into small and expanding businesses including very successful Country
Managers, High-Impact Sales and Technical Professionals. Bill has over 9
years of executive search experience in the Japan market.
INFORMATION & COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
Rihito Nakajima – Managing Consultant, Network, Telecom, Infrastructure
and Cloud Platforms
Rihito joined CDS as a transfer from a Recruit Group company. He is widely
recognized as one of Japan`s top Telecommunications, Network and
Service Provider search professionals. Rihito is a graduate of Keio University
and worked in IT sales before entering the executive search industry. Rihito
has over 7 years of executive search experience in the Japan market.
Emiko Tanioku – Senior Consultant, Network, Data, Mobile and Cloud
Platforms
Emiko has worked as a Principal Consultant at Experis (Manpower) and
as a Senior Consultant at RGF Japan, focusing in the technology domain.
Before starting her career in executive search, she had worked in HR at
Nokia Solutions & Networks (NSN). Emiko speaks fluent English and
enjoys home gardening in her time off.
Yasutomo Nakajima – Principal Consultant, Enterprise Solutions
Yasutomo focuses on both sales and technical roles in the Enterprise
Software space with a focus on PLM, CAD, CAE, Security, BI/Big Data
Analytics for Global and Japanese clients. Yasutomo has over 11
years of executive search experience in the Japan market.
Yoshiroh Nakamura – Senior Consultant, Enterprise Technology
Yoshiroh focuses on sales and technical roles in the Enterprise
Technology Solutions space with a focus on Global IT Services,
Outsourcing, and SaaS vendors. Yoshiroh has over 4 years of executive
search experience in the Japan market and is fluently bilingual.
Manuel Pleno – Senior Consultant, Cloud Technology
Manuel has been in executive search in Japan Market for over 8 years
and focuses on mid to senior level searches in the technology sector.
Manuel specializing in a variety of roles which included Country
Managers, Sales Directors, Product Manager, Pre-sales, Post-sales, FAE,
Data Center, Network Technicians and QA positions in infrastructure,
cloud, and network technologies.
ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE & CLOUD SERVICES
Chris Battin – Consultant, B2B Software, Mobile and Start-ups
Chris has been recruiting in the Tokyo IT market for over 4 years and
specializes in the recruitment of sales, engineering, and marketing
professionals for emerging technology companies looking to expand
their business in Japan. Prior to joining CDS Chris worked for the
California Asia Pacific Chamber of Commerce helping support Asian
businesses in the United States.
Kosuke (Koss) Hasegawa – Consultant, IT Software & Consulting
Koss is a recruiting specialist for the IT Consulting Industry. Koss has over
10 years’ experience in the Japan recruiting market. Koss lived in the
United States for 12 years and obtained his Master's degree in
Telecommunications at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He is a black
belt in judo and served as the captain of a judo club in the United
States.
Takahiro Terunuma – Principal Consultant, Technology Consulting
Takahiro focuses on Middle to Executive Management roles in
Advisory/Technology practice since 2011 himself coming from a Business
Process and IT Consulting background. He covers Technology Consulting
in the Big 4 as well as Japanese consulting companies and technology
vendors in IT Strategy, IT Risk/Assurance, AI, IOT, Fin-Tech, Data Analytics,
Business Applications and more.
Michael Chang – Principal Consultant, Networking, Communications and
Virtualization Convergence
Michael focuses on mid to senior level search for the IT telecom /
networking space, specializing in networking and communications
technologies. He has been in the search business in Japan since 2007 in
his core area of telecommunication and networking domain. Prior to his
career in the search business, Michael has worked in the mobile / telecom
industry at Panasonic in sales, sales engineering and product marketing.
Rajesh Thakur - Principal Consultant, IT Software & Consulting
Rajesh is an executive search consultant since 2005 and has been
working in ICT over 5 years here in Japan. He mainly works within the
Cloud, Software and Hardware technology vendors. Rajesh is focused on
searches from mid career to executive level search which has given him
great success over his career to date. His ability to maintain strong, long-
term client relationships across a wide scope of client firms including
start-ups to Fortune 500 companies in APAC enables Rajesh to maintain
a continuously fresh and informed view of the market.
Ikumi Tajima – Senior Sales Operations Partner
Ikumi is a Sales Operations Partner supporting both Technology
and Digital Media teams at CDS. Ikumi most recently worked at
a global licensing company as a licensing coordinator. She also
was a consultant in a global training company. Ikumi earned an
MBA from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi College of
Business and a BA in Law from Dokkyo University.
Miho Tsujioka - Sales Operations Partner
Miho works as a Sales Operations Partner, supporting both
Technology and Digital Media Online Services teams at CDS. In
Miho’s early career she worked in the travel and hotel industry.
She then joined an executive search firm for 4 years supporting
consultants and administration. Miho spent her middle school
and high school in Europe and graduated from International
Christian University upon her return to Japan.
Motoko Koizumi – Candidate Resourcing Specialist,
Technology & Digital Media
Motoko is a dedicated researcher for CDS’ Technology and
Digital Media & Online Services.
She is supporting a number of hiring projects for technology
companies in Japan. Motoko graduated from Temple
University Japan campus.
Aya Moussa – Candidate Resourcing Specialist, Technology
& Digital Media
Aya is a dedicated researcher within CDS’ Digital Media and
Technology practice where she is involved in critical hiring
projects through candidate mapping and approach. Prior to
joining CDS Aya worked in sales and marketing and also
held roles in support and operations.
NETWORK & SECURITY
TECHNOLOGY CONSULTING
SALES OPERATIONS & RESEARCH
Michael Christie – Consultant, Digital Media
Michael focuses on mid- to senior-level searches for Digital Media &
Online Services clients. Prior to working in the digital space, Michael was a
Consultant in the medical device industry supporting multinationals.
Originally from Canada, Michael received a Bachelor's degree in
Communications and Political Science from the University of Ottawa and
a Master of Arts in Political Science from McMaster University.
Keiko Kurachi – Senior Executive Search Consultant, Digital Media
Teihi Kin - Consultant, Digital Media
Teihi has been in recruitment since 2012, and working closely with
CDS’s Digital Media and Online Services’ clients, especially
social gaming and E-commerce companies. Prior to be a recruiter,
Teihi used to work as Network engineer at NTT
Communications, supported global clients. Teihi is fluent in Chinese,
Korean, Japanese and English.
Keiko is a key member of Digital Media Practice, focusing on mid-
to senior-level searches. Keiko has been in the search business in
Japan since 2003. She has completed hundreds of searches for
senior executives and specialists across all key functional areas and
industries, for both large and small companies, including start-ups.
Yoko Taira – Consultant, Digital Media
Yoko has been in recruitment since 2005 where she an early member in
developing Recruit’s Digital Media, Technology and Consumer Goods
practices. Yoko joined CDS in 2013 as an internal transfer where she took
on the role of HR specialist. Prior to joining Recruit and CDS, Yoko
started her career at Fuji Xerox in sales where she was a consistent top
sales performer.
Angela Saura – Consultant, Digital Media
Angela has joined CDS’ Digital Media team after serving for 5 years at an
established executive search firm in Tokyo. She spent 3 years in their
offshore research center and was the first staff promoted to become a
technology focused consultant where she specializes in emerging
technology companies. Angela is a Filipino national and enjoys traveling
in her spare time.
Jonathan Kaiser – Consultant, Digital Media
Jonathan is a consultant in our Digital Media team after spending two
years at a boutique executive search firm. Jonathan specializes in web
technology firms. Prior to moving to Japan, Jonathan worked at Apple
where he was an accomplished sales professional. Jonathan is originally
from British Columbia, Canada where he attended Trinity Western
University receiving his bachelors degree in Communications.
Eileen Tian – Senior Consultant, Digital Media
DIGITAL MEDIA
Leilani Hasegawa – Associate Consultant, Digital Media
Leilani is an Associate Consultant within our Digital Media and
Technology practice where she focuses on emerging technology and
digital transformation search projects. Prior to CDS, Leilani held a PR &
Communications role at Yohji Yamamoto, a prominent high-end
Japanese fashion brand. Leilani speaks both Japanese and English and is
a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandise in San
Francisco.
Eileen is widely known as one of the top consultants in Tokyo in
recruiting for technical talent. She joins CDS from an international
recruitment firm where she was their global top biller in 2015 and
also awarded “Consultant of the Year”. Eileen is trilingual speaking
Japanese, English and Mandarin. Eileen started her career as an
engineer with a master’s degree from Tsukuba University and a
bachelor’s degree from Beihang University.
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Recruiting in Japan: Market Challenges
28.5 %
57.9 %
23 %
19.8 %
21.7 %
10.9 %
10.4 %
5.6 % 15.2 %
3.8 %
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
USA Japan
NA
Four+ times
Three times
Twice
Once
Never Changed
Source: Japan Cabinet Office Survey A Recruit Group Company
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Low Propensity for Job Change Changing careers is not widely practiced in Japan. More than 75% of Japanese professionals change jobs one time or less in their careers.
A Recruit Group Company
4.16 4.29
5.03 5.08 5.28 5.39 5.84
6.28 6.32
7.95
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Kazakhstan Japan China Taiwan South Korea Hong Kong Malaysia Singapore India Philippines
Note: Score of 4 is at the bottom of the “Basic” level of proficiency scale.
Source: 2013 TOELF iBT survey, Educational Testing Service (ETS) 2013 report, Institute for International Business Communication (IIBC
TOEFL : Japan ranked #26/30 for Asia. Worst in Asia for speaking, second worst for writing (below Mongolia and Cambodia)
TOEIC : Japanese scored an average of 512 out of 990 points. Professional proficiency is considered above 785 points.
Japan scored 4.29 out of 10 in the 2013 Business English Index (BEI).
The 2nd lowest score among Asia countries surveyed.
Low Practical English skills
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A Recruit Group Company
Low Candidate Visibility – Social Networking
194,438
203,601
244,250
394,116
1,859,987
6,076,033
20,312,872
25,200,224
0 5,000,000 10,000,000 15,000,000 20,000,000 25,000,000 30,000,000
Korea
Hong Kong
Japan
Singapore
China
India
Europe
United States
Users By Geography
Age range: 25 - 54
Source: LinkedIn data as of 2015.04.09 “Social Mediai Fast Facts: JAPAN”, Richard Simcott (May, 2014)
Cultural factors have limited the growth of online business networks in Japan. In a culture where self-promotion is discouraged, and job hopping is
frowned on, there is not a huge demand for business networking.
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(Sources: Manpower Group; Haver Analytics)
Employers having difficulty filling jobs Selected countries 2012 (% of respondents)
A Recruit Group Company
Japan is considered to be one of the most difficult countries to hire in.
Employers’ Difficulty Hiring
Job Ads & SNS
(16.20%)
External
Agencies
(40.30%)
Internal Recruiters &
Employee Referrals
(32.10%)
Company Website
(11.40%)
A Recruit Group Company Source: Recruit Agent FY2009-2010 (multinational technology companies)
Internet job searches and job publications are simply not up to the task of matching qualified persons to job openings.
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Talent Sourcing Solutions in Japan
Candidate Sourcing (2014) More than 75% of successfully placed candidates by CDS were sourced through proactive channels.
A Recruit Group Company
Proactive
75%
Reactive
25%
Proactive Sourcing: In-house Research,
Cold Call, Scout, Referral, Networking,
etc.
Reactive Sourcing: Direct applications,
Job boards, etc.
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For More Information Visit
www.cds-consulting.com
Please contact us to explore how CDS
can help your organization
identify the best people.