Richard Bysouth is CEO and founder of CareerCross, a website portal linking bilingual Japanese/English speaking professionals with employers in Japan. Currently in his second decade in Japan, Mr. Bysouth has had extensive experience in job placement services and has an in-depth knowledge of the difficulties companies can face when wishing to hire qualified bilingual staff.

Tell us about your background.

I had worked in the retail and travel industries in both London and Tokyo before entering the headhunting industry with a small Japanese company where I learned that I enjoyed the field very much and found that I had the "knack". I was headhunted myself by Robert Walters, one of the world's largest headhunting organizations, to set up their operations in Japan as President. During this time I learned that there was an untapped market for a website focusing on bilingual recruitment and decided to leave Robert Walters to establish CareerCross.

When did you start CareerCross?

I began building the site myself a couple of years before it officially launched in September 2000. It was the time of the .com boom, so there was a lot of information around regarding online businesses. I began reading business books and taught myself HTML. Although there were many competitors around, we were one of the few that was built by people who knew the recruitment industry in Japan, and were backed by our own money, not funded by Venture Capital.

Why did you start CareerCross?

There was a huge need in the market. Although western-based Internet sites such as Monster, head-hunter, etc. were efficient, easy to use and economical, they were were not useful for companies wanting to find Japanese staff who spoke English as they were not focused on the Japanese market which is very different from the rest of the world. On the other hand, the Japanese sites that existed at the time were expensive, not user-friendly, required companies to fax in job descriptions, and completely inflexible. I saw the opportunity for using the western-based Internet site as a model and creating a user-friendly and flexible portal that focused on the ever-expanding bilingual job market in Japan.

Can you tell us some statistics about CareerCross?

CareerCross has been operating for over 3 years and growing month by month. We currently have around 80 companies advertising with over 1,000 positions available. Around 100,000 visitors come to our site each month, which is quite good for a bilingual job site. The majority of users are Japanese, but we also have an English mirror-site which brings many other nationalities as well. The most popular pages, other than the job-search pages, are the "Career Advice" and "Career Up" pages, with our monthly column being the most popular.

Tell us about your experience at Robert Walters.

I was the founding President of Robert Walters in Japan, so I was responsible for starting the company from scratch, which entailed obtaining the necessary licenses, establishing the corporation, hiring staff, setting up the office, etc. It was wonderful experience for me to set up a foreign company in Japan, and as foreign companies are our main target, it was extremely important for me to gain an understanding in the difficulties that they face.

What kind of clients use your services?

Over half of our clients are recruitment companies who use our services to find suitable candidates to introduce to their clients. Our services are also used by direct-hirers who range from some of the largest and most well-known multinational companies to small, private companies seeking staff to fill IT, sales, financial and support positions.

What type of people are the most highly sought after?

Candidates with a good education, especially those with MBAs, a couple of years' experience and a good command of the English and Japanese language are the most highly sought after. Also, many companies prefer candidates who have had experience living, working, or studying overseas.

Is language ability a major fact in finding a job today?

More and more so. With the globalization of the world economy and the implementation of restrictions for foreign-based business in Japan, language ability is becoming an essential element in global communications

What kind of qualifications are most highly sought after?

MBAs are the most highly sought after qualifications as they demonstrate that the candidate knows the fundamentals of business. Knowing how organizations should be managed from all aspects - marketing, accounting, human resources, strategic planning, etc. is a huge benefit for not only the employee but also the employer as an MBA holder knows how to work effectively and how to become an asset, not a liability for the employer. In this economy, companies do not have huge budgets for training staff from scratch, so they want to be able to hire staff who can immediately tackle a project and manage it from start to finish. Also, MBAs allow the holders to be able to communicate using the same terminology - which can greatly speed up communication and lead to what the company wants - producing results! CPAs are also in demand, as are any other practical qualifications that can be translated into job skills.

Do you have any plans for the future?

Yes, we wish to continue expanding as the need for multilingual staff in the work place grows. We also want to become more involved in introducing vocational study and assisting Japanese candidates in obtaining qualifications as the need for qualified staff is becoming greater and greater