The other day, I received a visit from a representative of Recruit Holdings Co.,Ltd.  

She said, “It has been said that a president should talk about his/her company’s management philosophy earnestly to job-hunting students. Do you think so?”

I answered, “Yes.” I had never doubted it before that moment.

She continued, “Actually, presidents’ passionate speech could give a bad impression to those students.”

 “Is that so!?” I was surprised because it was nearly a common belief in corporate management that employees were united by a management philosophy.

I asked, “Why do students receive earnest speeches on a management philosophy negatively? Generally speaking, employees trust leaders who talk about their vision.”

She said after a little pose, “The more enthusiastic speech a president makes, the moreself-loving the president looks, students say.”

 

 Certainly, some presidents sound like an agitator when they speak. They get too passionate to consider the reaction of their audience.

She continued, “Indeed, some students say they want to know a company’s future visions. But they are just a small fraction of the total number. The absolute majority of job-seeking students are much more concerned about whether they can manage their tasks at work than what a company aims.”

“In other words, those presidents are not paying attention to the needs of students?”, I asked.

“I would say they do not grasp what students really want to hear”, she said.

 

There might be a large number of presidents who think recruitment is gathering supporters of their company’s management philosophy.

Recruit Holdings Co.,Ltd. has given me a precious tip: “Do not speak passionately”

First and foremost, Job-hunting students are looking for what they can do.

 

Students are not customers, and yet recruiting new-comers is very similar to attracting customers. But we tend to forget it in front of students and speak about what we want to speak. The conversation has reminded me of a main principle of recruitment.