JOB HUNTING ON THE INTERNET:
Students, Companies Turn to Electronic Recruiting

AUGUST 2, 1996

(Photo: Waseda University)

University students usually begin their search for a full-time job in earnest during the summer before graduation. This year, however, job hunting is taking on a new look, as more and more applicants and employers are being linked through the Internet.

A large number of companies have begun using the Internet to advertise openings, screen applicants, and notify candidates of hiring decisions.

On-Line Selection
While the Internet began being used as a recruiting tool for graduating students last year, the practice was limited to foreign-affiliated firms and other special cases. However, this year several thousand companies have been publicizing company profiles and employment information on their home pages.

Over 300 companies, mainly manufacturers of computers, telecommunications equipment, and electric machinery, are going a step further and using the Internet in the selection process. One large electronics manufacturer sent application forms electronically to applicants, who provided information about university achievements, future plans, and reasons for applying before returning it to the company by e-mail.

A computer maker that is already recruiting through the Internet this year indicated that starting next year it will stop printing brochures and other recruitment information altogether and hire its new employees exclusively through the Internet.

Business Welcomes Aggressive Attitude
Companies have good reasons for using the Internet to access the employment market. For one thing they hope to hire students who have an active interest in and are willing to immerse themselves in new media. Companies believe that candidates who go to the trouble of buying a computer, attending classes to learn to use it, and applying the know-how to land a job would be positive additions to their work force.

For another, the costs of printing corporate profiles and mailing them to prospective employees can be reduced, and the employment process can be accelerated.

Many companies have also noted that job information provided over the Internet can reach a large number of students instantaneously, expanding the pool of potential applicants and contributing to a more competent staff.

A Career Placement Must
Career placement offices at universities are responding to this trend by turning campus computers into access points for the job market.

An employment guidance seminar hosted this year by a private university in Tokyo included a lesson on how to use the Internet. And around 60 computers at the university were made available for the specific purpose of job-hunting between 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. every evening.

At another private university, over 10 new computers were installed in the career placement office this year to give students free access to job information on the Web.

Some students have expressed concern about this trend, saying the job information gap between students who can and cannot use the Internet will widen and that those who do not have access to the Internet will be seriously disadvantaged, leading to inequalities in employment opportunities.

Others are more matter-of-fact, saying students should learn to use computers just like a piece of stationery while still at university since they're going to have to use it on the job anyway.

In any event, the number of companies using the Internet to recruit new staff will undoubtedly grow. This could mean an end to the present practice of initiating recruitment campaigns in the summer and formally hiring new workers en masse the following April. More companies are likely to begin advertising job openings whenever positions become available and filling them as needed throughout the year.