Solutions
Assess international candidates against the same criteria, in Japanese or in English
Few of your staff can interview in English. The AI Interviewer runs first interviews in Japanese and English, and the scores and the reasoning behind them can be read in Japanese. The job criteria are kept separate from the language, so every candidate is measured on one yardstick.
The problem
Few people can interview in English, so the pool gets cut instead
When you hire from overseas, the first thing you run short of is interviewers. Only a handful of people on your team can interview in English, and selection waits until one of them is free. So the candidate pool gets cut to fit the interview slots.
- Few people can interview in English, and there are not enough first-interview slots
- Time zones make scheduling hard, 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. Use separate criteria for each language and candidates can no longer be compared. 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 useful model: based on the CEFR, it describes proficiency in terms of what a person can do. Applied to work situations, it looks like this.
Customer-facing
Speaking with customers
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
Keeps the exchange going, but anything complex 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
Reads and writes only set phrases
In meetings
Joining the discussion
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
Is fully occupied following the discussion and does not speak
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 point, on the expectation that it will improve after they join, depends on the role. Where criteria are free text, the two can be set up as separate axes.
What to settle
What to decide before hiring internationally
01
Which language the interview runs in
As a rule, match the language the work is done in. Even where the work is in Japanese, though, an English interview can show whether a candidate has what the job needs. Assess Japanese proficiency on its own axis, and you can also hire people who will build their Japanese after joining and move into Japanese-speaking work.
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 they join, it works as a reference point 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 on the team sees the same material and judgement does not rest only with those who read English.
Running it
The language may differ; the process does not
The interview language may differ, but there is one process. Keep one set of job criteria and let only the language follow the candidate.
01
Opening the role
Choose the interview language from the language the work is done in and the candidate’s Japanese. One set of job criteria applies, whatever the language.
02
First interview
No scheduling needed, even across time zones. Candidates take it at a time that suits them.
03
Sharing the result
An interview held in English can be read in Japanese — the 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
Compare the selection scores with later performance reviews to see which axes made the difference. The language axis is revised the same way.
To the next opening
An example: one opening in five stages. Where the boundaries fall depends on your own selection process.
Stage 5 assumes the criteria are yours, since the axes are reviewed against post-hire evaluations. If you want to add Japanese proficiency as a separate axis, or write the language axis around your own work, choose a service that lets you define the criteria yourself, so the same axes run from the first interview onward.
Related pages
More detail, by topic
Related topics are covered on these pages. Start with whichever is closest to your question.
Sites and countries differ; the questions and criteria do not. Scores can be compared across them.
When scores differ by interviewer: one set of criteria for everyone, with the reasons on record.
Assess overseas degrees and employment histories against one standard, before anyone interviews.
How to choose an AI interview tool →
What to put in your comparison table, and why who owns the criteria decides which service fits.
AI interview services compared →
The leading services, sorted by what they optimise for and compared on questions, criteria and verification, using 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.
Can interviews held in English be read in Japanese?
Yes. The summary can be shown in English, Japanese or both, and the reasoning behind each score quotes what was said, with an explanation in Japanese alongside. Judgement does not rest only with those who read 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 be used alongside qualifications and test scores.
Can we use this for candidates with no Japanese?
Yes, including for roles where the work is in Japanese: an English interview can still show whether a candidate has what the job needs. Japanese proficiency is assessed separately from the job criteria, so this also works when you hire people who will build their Japanese after joining and move into Japanese-speaking work over time. Whether the interview is in English or Japanese, the job criteria are the same.
Can candidates take it from overseas?
They can. They just open a link, so time differences are no obstacle and they choose when to take it. The further away the candidate, the more you save by skipping the scheduling back-and-forth.
Is there a minimum volume?
Flex is the easiest way to start: you begin with a minimum of 100 interviews and can top up in blocks of 10. Around 100 interviews is also when results usually start to show. For steady use there is Starter (240 interviews a year), and for higher volumes Growth (500 a year). See pricing
What if 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
Using your current process, we will show you how to separate the interview language from the job criteria. Free, about 30 minutes.