The CDS team

CDS Consulting

What differentiates your company from your competitors?
Let's get straight to the point. Executive search, or "headhunting," has a poor reputation in Japan. Out of the hundreds of executive search companies that exist in the market, probably less than a dozen operate ethically or professionally, giving equal respect to both candidate and client. CDS seeks to distance itself from the numerous contingency or success-based firms staffed with foreign consultants with little or no personal experience of career change, poor local knowledge, and no long-term commitment to Japan. These companies tend to regard candidates as money-making commodities and lose sight of the fact that they are dealing with candidates' careers and that a misplaced match could do irreversible damage. CDS also differentiates itself from the big retainer-type firms that charge hefty fees and rely on reputations built overseas to secure local business. We do this by offering speedier, more responsive executive search coupled with innovative retainer-fee structures.

CDS chooses clients who are prepared to give us exclusivity on the search, or something very close, have something special to offer our candidates that sets them apart from competitors, regard the positions they seek to fill as being important enough to be taken seriously, deal effectively with us, and of course pay our fees. We do not choose clients on name or product alone, and often prefer smaller start-up type organizations where we have direct contact to the top management and hiring managers, allowing us to give quicker, more effective advice to clients and candidates alike.

We rigorously enforce internal standards, and find that many other firms send candidate resumes to clients without the candidate's knowledge, thus exposing the candidate to needless risk, and damaging the candidate's chances of a new job with clients who receive the candidate's resume from different sources. These other companies also hurt their clients by actively recruiting from them behind their backs and by failing to represent them properly by giving inadequate information about the position, the interview process, and the people the candidate will meet, thus losing the interest of promising candidates.

Our homepage lists our standards, and we believe we are the first search firm to do this. This sets us apart from the many rogue agencies out there that are woefully equipped to advise and consult, and who do little more than process resumes.

CDS truly understands the clients' business and delivers the right candidate with the right skill sets. We know we are succeeding through the large amount of repeat business and the fact that the majority of our candidate/client introductions are based on referral.

Why should companies use a recruiter instead of advertising directly?
CDS' market-leading clients want to, and need to, attract those candidates who can "touch" the customer by understanding their business, understanding their challenges and problems, and by providing real innovative solutions to those problems. For example, there are many technical candidates out there who can provide basic technical support for the customer, but not many who can truly add value by identifying the problem and suggesting and fully delivering a solution to that problem. Candidates must identify and communicate the problem, communicate the solution, and communicate the value the end product or service will add to the customer's organization. You often cannot find these candidates through advertisements alone.

Other arguments for using a credible recruiter instead of advertising, especially for the more strategic level positions and those requiring specific skill sets, include:

1. Access to a Larger Pool of Candidates: Recruiters attract candidates who are happy with their position, are not active job seekers, and are therefore almost impossible to reach using ads. Quite often, the best candidates are passive job seekers and are usually unaware of positions being advertised. Furthermore, clients require more personal qualifications in their employees, or what we call "critical factors." Candidates are often more or less equal in experience, technical understanding/ability, and credentials. The critical factors, such as character, personality, drive and energy, self-motivation, leadership, problem solving skills, consulting skills, communication and interpersonal skills, etc., are more important than experience alone, and these attributes will allow candidates to stand out. Recruiters can ensure these critical factors are taken into account when introducing candidates.

2. Managing the Process: Recruiters can actively manage the interview process from first interview to acceptance of an offer. Recruiters can offer an objective third-party opinion and manage the concerns of both sides, tactfully and confidentially, increasing the chances of a successful hire.

3. Time and Value: Recruiters can save time and add long-term value by targeting the right candidate quicker than other methods. Ads on the surface may appear to save money when compared to recruiting fees.

However, when we consider the opportunity cost of screening hundreds of ad-generated resumes, and interviewing candidates who look good on paper but disappoint in person, it makes better business sense to partner with a professional recruiting firm.

Company Highlights
CDS Consulting
Lamtech Bldg., 1F & 2F 2-17-22 Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0013
Tel: +81-3-5447-7522
Fax: +81-3-5447-7523
URL: http://www.cds-consulting.com
Established: 1998
No. of Staff in Japan: 10
Main Products or Services: Executive search and recruiting; HR services for IT industry and start-up consulting
Target Market: Cutting-edge technologies, Internet/intranet, e-commerce, enterprise software
Current Positions Open:
IT sales and marketing professionals, systems engineers, technical support engineers
HR Contact:
Jason Dacaret, Director dacaret@cds-consulting.com

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