The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) that rocked the world in 2008 left nothing unscathed in terms of the change it wrought, and Japan real estate hiring and staffing was, and is still, no exception. 

Immediately after the onset of the crisis, the Japan real estate industry, like most sectors, went into a hiring freeze.  

A lot has been written about the new grads then who had much difficulty finding work but for our purposes, I want to focus on the already hired; workers in their late twenties or early thirties who found themselves employed in the midst of the crisis. 

Imagine you are about ten years into your career and you have become a professional in whatever it is you are doing.  When the GFC hit, you should have moved into management and begun the stage of your career that required you to oversee and cultivate others.  

However, new people weren’t being hired thanks to the GFC so those thirty year old employees then didn’t get as much management experience compared to their seniors prior.  

Fast forward to the end of 2021 and these managers are now in their forties.  What I see often is while these managers are very skilled at their individual role, they are under-experienced in the areas of management and leadership.

As well, at the end of 2021, the next crop of managers in their early thirties are very underrepresented in the workforce today.  Across the board, companies tell me these young professionals are who they need the most.

Courtesy of Brandon Smith, Director of Real Estate & Finance at East West Consulting K.K.

So, what is a real estate company operating in Japan to do? 

Real estate industry C-Suite executives need to understand while their senior managers might be under experienced leaders, they can still be very valuable mentors.  However, to retain talent and increase productivity, it will not be business as usual.

Executives should be ruthless at eliminating bureaucracy in their organizations and advocate to their senior management that they can mentor younger staff by showing-by-doing rather than thinking of the role as management.

This is no easy feat to accomplish in famously bureaucratic Japan, especially in the real estate industry.  That said, firms that are able to implement more lead-by-example management structures are the ones that will attract and retain the best talent moving forward.

If you are reading this in your early thirties and have just entered into your management role, then it would serve you best by adopting a proactive mindset, to learn the business under your own initiative rather than wait for your manager to tell you what to do.

For companies, if the above rings true then reach out to get started on how to find the right talent for your organisation.

For candidates, if you are looking for ways to take the next step, please contact me to find out where you fit in the industry’s current openings.  

Japan real estate talent, it is what we excel at.

Further Reading

Brandon Smith’s other articles on REthink Tokyo