Solutions
See international candidates on the same criteria, in Japanese or in English
Few people internally can interview in English. The AI Interviewer takes the first round in Japanese and in English, and the scores and the reasoning behind them read in Japanese. The job criteria sit apart from the language, so every candidate lines up on one yardstick.
The problem
Few people can interview in English, so the pool gets cut instead
When you hire a candidate from overseas, the first thing to run short is interviewers. Only a handful of people internally can run one in English, and selection waits until one of their diaries opens. So the pool gets cut to fit the interview slots.
- Few people can interview in English, and there are not enough first-round slots
- Time zones make diaries hard to match, and the back-and-forth alone costs days
- Interviews held in Japanese and interviews held in English do not look at the same things
- How Japanese proficiency is judged varies by interviewer, and none of it is recorded
Separating the axes
The language changes; the job criteria do not
What you look for in a salesperson, or an engineer, is the same whether the interview runs in Japanese or in English. Hold separate criteria per language and candidates stop being comparable. Keep one set for the job.
If Japanese proficiency is part of selection, put it on a separate axis. The Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Reference Framework for Japanese Language Education is a model: following the CEFR, it describes proficiency as what a person can do. Put into work situations, it looks like this.
Customer-facing
Speaking in a meeting
Handles an unexpected question on the spot and changes course by reading the room
Explains an unprepared topic to the point and corrects a misreading
Gets through prepared material while answering questions along the way
Holds the exchange, but anything involved needs rephrasing or checking
Manages set exchanges only, and stops once the topic widens
Internal documents
Reading and writing
Reads a document down to the writer’s intent, and writes to the same standard
Reads specifications and minutes accurately and writes their own part in full
Reads and writes standard documents, and asks when something is unclear
Manages short passages; anything longer takes time
Reading and writing stay at set phrases
In meetings
Joining the argument
Follows where the discussion has got to and answers a differing view with reasons
States a position, answers questions on it, and moves the group to agreement
Offers a view when asked and responds to what others have said
Follows what is said, but speaks only when prompted
Concentration goes on following it, and does not reach speaking
Sources
The form of the descriptions — Agency for Cultural Affairs, “Reference Framework for Japanese Language Education” (report of the Japanese Language Subdivision, Council for Cultural Affairs, 2021). Following the CEFR, it describes proficiency as what a person can do; the overall scale runs A1 to C2, six levels.
The number of levels — the five above are a restatement to match a five-point score and do not map onto A1–C2.
The wording at each level — written by us, following that format, as examples from work situations. It is not officially defined, and it is not a substitute for a public Japanese-language test.
The point is to keep the job and the language apart. Whether proficiency acts as a cut-off or as a reference value that will improve after joining depends on the role. Where criteria are free text, the two sit as separate axes.
What to settle
Three things to settle before hiring internationally
01
Which language the interview runs in
Match the language the work is done in. If the work is in Japanese there is a reason to see them in Japanese; if it is in English, see them in English. Matching the candidate’s first language is a separate decision.
02
Whether proficiency counts towards the decision
If it does, put it on an axis of its own, apart from the job criteria. Where it is expected to improve after joining, it works as a reference value rather than a cut-off.
03
Who gets to read the result
An interview held in English can be read in Japanese, scores and reasoning alike, so everyone in the team sees the same material. It avoids a state where only those who read English can judge.
Running it
The language splits; the process does not
The interview language may split, but the process stays single. Hold one set of job criteria and let only the language follow the candidate.
01
Opening the role
Decide the language the work is done in, and match the interview to it. The job criteria stay single, whatever the language.
02
First round
No diary to negotiate, even across time zones. Candidates take it in their own hours.
03
Sharing the result
An interview held in English reads in Japanese — summary and the reasoning behind each score. Nobody waits for the one colleague who interviews in English.
04
The hiring manager
Points worth probing are passed on. The manager reads the remarks behind each score, and can watch the recording, before meeting anyone.
05
Revising the axes
Set the scores from selection against the review after joining and see which axes did the work. The language axis is revised the same way.
To the next opening
Shown as an example: one role’s opening in five stages. Where the lines fall depends on your own selection process.
Stage 5 only turns when the criteria are yours. A borrowed standard frame still runs the first round, but you cannot add proficiency as a separate axis, nor weight it differently by role. Writing the language axis to fit your own work is only possible with criteria you define.
Related pages
More detail, by topic
The threads of international hiring run across several pages. Start with whichever is closest to your question.
Sites and countries differ; the questions and criteria do not. Scores line up across them.
When scores differ by interviewer. One set of criteria for everyone, with the reasons on record.
Read overseas degrees and employment histories against one standard, before anyone interviews.
How to choose an AI interview tool →
Five layers and six questions. Who holds the criteria changes which service fits.
AI interview services: nine compared →
Nine services in four types, read on questions, criteria and verification, from public information.
Rewrite your criteria, then test them on past interviews →
Re-score past interviews against rewritten criteria. What the full transcript can test, and what it cannot.
Frequently asked questions
Which languages can interviews run in?
Japanese and English. For other languages, talk to us. The language is set per opening.
Who can read an interview held in English?
It reads in Japanese. The summary switches between English, Japanese and both, and the reasoning behind each score quotes what was said and carries a Japanese explanation alongside. Judgement does not fall to whoever reads English.
How is Japanese proficiency measured?
On an axis of its own, apart from the job criteria. As on this page, you can write the levels around work situations. It is not a substitute for a public Japanese-language test and is meant to sit alongside qualifications and test scores.
Can we use this for candidates with no Japanese?
If the work is done in English, the interview runs in English. Where the work is in Japanese, the interview runs in Japanese and proficiency sits on its own axis. Either way the job criteria are the same ones.
Can candidates take it from overseas?
They can. It is a link to open, so a time difference is no obstacle and they choose the hour. The further away the candidate, the more the missing back-and-forth is worth.
Is there a minimum volume?
Flex is bought per interview, with a 100-interview minimum, and is the easiest place to start. Around 100 is also where the effect becomes visible. For steady use there is Starter (240 interviews a year), and for higher volumes Growth (500 a year). See pricing
We cannot write the proficiency levels ourselves
You do not need to. Tell us where Japanese is actually used in the work and we can build the levels with you. The same goes for the job criteria. What you end up with is yours, and you can rewrite it later.
Tell us which roles you are hiring for, and in which language
We will go through how to separate the interview language from the job criteria, against your current process. Free, about 30 minutes.