How it works
Two ways we work on senior hires in Japan.
We run executive searches from start to finish. We can also work alongside your own executive recruiter and take on the research: mapping the market, preparing candidates and checking what each one tells you. Either way, you get the same tools and the same standard of evidence.
Two ways to work with us
Choose how much of the search we run.
Full executive search
Best for technology companies and consulting firms hiring in Japan.
We run the search from the brief to the signed offer. We map the market, approach candidates directly and through referrals, assess each one against the brief you agree, and present a shortlist with an Executive Profile for every person. We also handle the conversations on compensation, notice and start date.
This is where our network counts most. We have placed Country Managers, presidents and go-to-market leaders in Japan since 2003, and we already know many of the people you will want to meet.
Research partnership
Best for companies with their own executive recruiter, especially outside the technology sector.
Your own executive recruiter runs the search and owns the relationship with candidates. We do the research behind it: a named map of the market, checks on each candidate’s record in Japanese and English, and Executive Profiles your hiring managers can read. Each piece of work is scoped and priced as a project.
In-house executive recruiters often cover many countries and functions at once. Japan is hard to research from outside, because much of the useful record sits in Japanese trade press, company announcements and board filings. We recommend this model when your recruiter has the relationships but needs the Japan research done accurately and quickly.
Research partnership in practice
Confidential succession planning
We map the people in Japan who could run your business and benchmark each one against your current country manager, scored on the same criteria. You see how the market compares with the leader you already have. Results are shared on a private page you control, and nobody in the market needs to be approached at this stage.
Some clients repeat the review every year. If the country manager announces their departure, you already know who you would want to approach, and the search starts from a map that is already done.
Confidential searches stay out of your ATS. Everything is shared on private pages you control.
Why we built them
Built from running search and RPO in Japan.
Murray Clarke has built and sold an executive search and RPO business in Japan, and before that helped build two other agencies that were also acquired. The same problems came up on almost every search. Referrals were left to chance, roles went to market as a job description and a careers site link, and clients were asked to take a shortlist on trust. Each tool below deals with one of those problems.
Candidate feedback on Client Brief Pages
The briefing document you shared is genuinely the best recruiter briefing I've ever received. It was thorough, well structured, and gave me a very clear picture of the opportunity.
This page gave me everything I needed. I knew exactly what was expected. Very unique.
Most agents just send a JD and not much else. This is a truly refreshing way to share information.
Client feedback on Referable and Client Brief Pages
This is one of the best referral tools I have used. Easy and fast to use. I like the fresh approach.
I wish we had this for our company. So good! Unfortunately we are not allowed to use many tools like this.
This is such a great way to present our case to the candidates. The chatbot responses are very accurate, which helps qualify candidates before they apply.
Executive Profiles · Full search and research partnership
See the evidence behind each candidate.
Today
You have a senior hire to make, but a CV and a recruiter’s summary only take you so far. From overseas it is hard to see how someone leads, how they represent a business and what they have actually done.
With an Executive Profile
One page per candidate, measured against the brief you agreed. A CV helps but is not required. We build the profile from the person’s public record in Japanese and English: career history, interviews, press coverage, board roles and conference talks. Then we add our assessment: why they fit, what still needs testing and what to confirm in interview. Profiles are shared with the candidate’s consent.
What changes for you
You compare your shortlist on the same basis, see where the evidence is strong and where it is thin, and go into each interview knowing what to ask. If you work with your own recruiter, they spend their time with candidates instead of assembling paperwork.
Client Brief Pages · Full search and research partnership
Give every candidate the right story before you meet.
Today
A job description and careers page rarely explain the real opportunity. Candidates may not know your brand in Japan, or may have the wrong impression of it. Different recruiters tell different stories, and interviews lose time covering the basics.
With a Client Brief Page
One approved briefing, in English and Japanese, covering your position in Japan, the team, the challenges, the reporting line and what success looks like. Your own recruiter and any agency you use share the same page, each with their own profile and calendar alongside it. It works on direct approaches and on referrals.
What changes for you
Candidates judge the opportunity on its substance, not just your brand name. They arrive ready to discuss how they would contribute, so you spend less of the interview explaining the business and more time testing fit. View tracking shows which channels and recruiters are getting attention.
Referral Mapping · Full search and research partnership
Know who could do the role before the search starts.
Today
Most searches start with a job description and a list of target companies. The real list of people builds up only as calls are made, and nobody can see how complete it is. Your own employees often know several of the best candidates, but nobody asks them about specific names.
With Referral Mapping
We build a named, dated map of the people who could do the role across a set of firms you sign off. We match it against your own employees by past company and overlapping dates, so you can see who in your team has worked with whom.
What changes for you
You see the whole market before you commit to a search, and you can start with warm introductions as well as direct approaches. We recommend starting with a map on hard-to-fill roles. It improves the probability of a successful hire and makes the search that follows more accurate.
What you receive
- A firm list you sign off before work starts
- A named, dated map of the people who could do the role
- A match against your own employees by past company and overlapping dates
- Delivery in 10 business days at a fixed price
Referable · Embedded RPO
Keep employee referrals moving.
Today
Your referral programme launches with enthusiasm, then goes quiet. Asking “Who do you know?” leaves busy employees trying to recall names, and HR sending another reminder.
With Referable
Employees open a private link on their phone and review a short list of relevant people. “Do you know this person?” is easier to answer than starting from a blank page. They recognise a name, respond and can offer an introduction. No recruiter meeting, LinkedIn login or spreadsheet is needed, and your team’s network stays in your own account.
What changes for you
Your recruiter brings relevant names to employees each week as part of the recruiting work. It takes each person a few minutes, so referrals keep coming after the launch email. You can see who your team knows and who can make an introduction.
Responsible use. Referable is for identifying and introducing prospects before they become applicants. It must not be used to conduct informal background checks, seek undisclosed references or gather information about applicants through their colleagues or former employers. Once a prospect becomes an applicant, any assessment or reference checking must follow a separate, transparent process with their consent.
Our Terms of Service and AI & Data Use Policy apply to Referable.
Our research
How we research candidates.
We don’t wait for a CV
Senior candidates are often too busy to update one. We build the record from what has been published, and candidates who have seen their profile have been surprised by how complete it is.
We read sources in the original
Much of what matters about a senior person in Japan is in Japanese trade press, company announcements, board filings and conference programmes. We read those directly, not just LinkedIn or a translation.
We check claims against the record
Titles, dates, reporting lines and results are compared with what has been published. Where something can’t be confirmed, the profile says so.
We say what still needs testing
Every profile ends with the questions the evidence doesn’t answer, so interviews go to the points that matter.
We use AI under our direction
Our research is produced with AI tools we built, under the direction of Murray Clarke, who reviews what reaches you and stands behind it. Research that used to take a researcher a week is ready in a day or two, then checked by us before you see it.
Japanese press, translated and checked · sample
田中太郎氏、FluxOps Japan株式会社の代表取締役社長に就任（2022年4月1日付）
Taro Tanaka appointed President and Representative Director of FluxOps Japan K.K., effective 1 April 2022.
Confirmed in the company registry日比谷インテグレーション、虎ノ門システムズ、大手町クラウドと販売パートナー契約を締結
Signed reseller partnerships with Hibiya Integration, Toranomon Systems and Otemachi Cloud.
Confirmed in each partner’s own announcement国内の導入企業は200社を突破
More than 200 enterprise customers in Japan.
Consistent with the company’s 2025 results release3年で社員数100名規模の組織を構築
Built a 100-person organisation in three years.
Matches headcount on LinkedIn日本の売上高は前年比45%増
Japan revenue up 45% year on year.
To test: the candidate’s own figure, not published by the company品川通信と丸の内銀行から大型案件を受注
Won major contracts with Shinagawa Telecom and Marunouchi Bank.
To test: deal size not disclosed. Ask in interviewNext step
Tell us about your next senior hire.
Tell us about the role and how you recruit today. We will recommend whether a full search or a research partnership gives you the better chance of a successful hire, and show you examples from recent work.