Surviving in today's world requires the ability to adjust to changing situations, including in the employment environment, because nobody can predict the future, Google Japan Inc.'s head of talent acquisition said Saturday.
Anything can happen to the economy and one's job security, Melissa Kuwahara told a career improvement event held at The Japan Times in Tokyo, citing the Lehman shock.
"Being flexible, having good communications skills, including being able to express one's opinion in any situation and the capability of establishing good relations with others are the most necessary skills to become a successful global worker," she said, adding that such skills are highly regarded by employers.
"Companies operating in diverse surroundings need global people with a global mind-set for solving problems," Kuwahara said.
Saturday's event, titled "Global Tenkatsu," was held by The Japan Times in cooperation with Bunkahoso Career Partners, a recruiting support company, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the newspaper's online job search site Japan Times Jobs.
Nearly 100 people with bilingual skills or overseas experience who are seeking to work for multinational companies attended the event.
Kuwahara also held a workshop and gave participants several tips to succeed in the job hunt, including how to write an effective resume, samples of some of the most-asked interview questions and strategies for getting promoted at foreign companies in Japan.
