Thoughts

Insights on Recruitment, AI, and the Future of Talent

Recruiters are right to feel uneasy – AI and market shifts are changing the ground under our feet. The question isn’t if things change, but how we adapt.

This blog is my take on recruitment and executive search, grounded in 20 years of leading firms in Japan and Asia. Sometimes sharp, sometimes experimental, always focused on the future of hiring.

I write around three themes:

  • Recruitment – the craft itself, with emphasis on search and RPO.

  • Artificial Intelligence – separating signal from noise.

  • Our Platform – how we’re building tools to stay ahead.

If you’re a recruiter, HR leader, or business owner curious about what’s next in Japan’s talent market, you’re in the right place.

— Murray Clarke, Co-Founder & Chief Recruiter at TalentHub

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Do You Have Control Over Your Future?

Most recruiters think AI means plugging ChatGPT into their workflow. That’s bolt-on productivity — faster tasks, same problems. The real shift is AI-native platforms that automate beneath the surface, giving recruiters smarter outreach, market visibility, and trust. Companies won’t fix this; most won’t invest. Recruiters who’ve outgrown their desks must decide whether they control their future — or let their company control it for them. TalentHub is being built for those ready to take ownership.

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Online Sourcing for Bilingual GTM

Hiring bilingual talent in Japan is not just about posting jobs online. While boards like doda, Mynavi, and Rikunabi deliver volume, global tech vendors need quality bilingual candidates in sales, pre-sales, and marketing. Our guide reviews platforms such as BizReach, Daijob, Wantedly, Green, Eight (8card), LAPRAS SCOUT, and Indeed PLUS, showing where each channel fits. The takeaway: online sourcing supports hiring in Japan, but agency partnerships and direct sourcing remain essential.

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Improving Executive Search

Executive search in Japan requires more than CVs — clients expect insight into how leaders are perceived. TalentHub’s AI platform captures and analyses public data, from LinkedIn profiles to media exposure and industry activity, then generates candidate profiles with scoring and summaries. Reports are shared securely for real-time feedback. For boutiques and independents, this creates a differentiated search experience, blending consulting with technology. Built for global tech firms entering Japan, TalentHub delivers transparent, data-driven search.

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Hiring Channels in Japan

Here’s a 75-word excerpt you can use for SEO:

Hiring bilingual Go-To-Market (GTM) talent in Japan requires a different sourcing mix than most global markets. While Japanese corporations still rely heavily on job boards and aggregators, foreign-affiliated firms succeed through direct sourcing, agencies, and referrals. Our analysis compares MyNavi’s 2025 survey data with gaishikei insights, showing why inbound channels underperform and how proactive sourcing delivers results. For HR, TA, and business leaders, the lesson is simple: choose the right channels for sustainable hiring success.

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ATS: Great for Applicants, Useless for Talent.

Applicant Tracking Systems were never built for proactive recruitment. They’re fine for processing applicants, but useless when it comes to headhunting, market mapping, and building lasting talent IP. Too many RPOs still rely on bandaid solutions – recruiters armed with LinkedIn and job boards – leaving clients with nothing once the project ends. It’s time to move beyond ATS bandaids and deliver long-term value through platforms that embed AI, capture passive talent, and leave behind real assets.

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Hiring By The Adoption Curve

The adoption curve isn’t just for products — it’s a powerful tool for hiring. In a startup, you don’t want people waiting for the “right time” to join. You want innovators and early adopters, the ones who lean into uncertainty, see opportunity in risk, and want to shape something new. Later adopters are vital once the business is stable, but bring them in too early and it’s a cultural mismatch. The curve explains it all.

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Trust Is the New Currency

AI makes it easy to send customised outreach at scale. That might work in volume hiring, but in executive and mid-career search it fails. The future of recruitment won’t be about who can send the most messages — it will be about who can build the most trust. Brand, client quality, and referrals will matter most, with AI as the enabler, not the replacement. At TalentHub, that’s the platform we’re building for recruiters.

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Compliant Use Of ChatGPT

ChatGPT isn’t just a productivity tool — it’s a compliance risk hiding in plain sight. “Export Data” means anyone on your team can pull entire datasets with a single click. For recruiters, that could mean CVs, salaries, and client details out the door. Encryption won’t save you — only trust policies, smart access controls, and API-driven setups will. AI adoption is inevitable, but without compliance, it’s a liability.

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Why Global Firms Need a Smarter Playbook for Japan

Japan’s mid-career hiring market is under pressure. The MyNavi 2025 survey shows rising costs, talent shortages, and early quits across domestic companies – challenges that hit foreign firms even harder. Sales, IT, and bilingual roles are toughest to fill, while job boards underperform. Our take: global firms need stronger brand positioning, smarter channel strategies, and proactive sourcing. This post explains the data and what HR, TA, and business leaders should do differently.

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Who Am I and Why Listen?

About the Author

I’m Murray Clarke, Co-Founder and Chief Recruiter at TalentHub Partners. Over the past 20 years I’ve led at three search firms in Japan – each achieving a successful exit, including one I built from scratch and sold to ManpowerGroup. As an early-stage leader at a firm that scaled to 200 consultants across APAC, and later during a major ownership transition, twice receiving Best Leader awards. My time at VMware gave me direct experience of how global vendors scale in Japan, insight I later applied to help foreign firms navigate the country’s toughest hiring challenges.

I hold degrees in marketing and psychology from the University of Otago, and studied Japanese history, culture, arts, and political economy at the University of Tokyo. This blend of commercial and cultural understanding underpins TalentHub Partners’ mission: to help global firms – and the recruiters who support them – compete and succeed in Japan’s talent market.

I’m also passionate about emerging technologies that do social good by improving business outcomes. At TalentHub, our mission is to use technology and AI to raise the standard of recruitment – improving candidate experience, enabling recruiters to succeed, and helping companies hire better people faster. For too long, the industry has depended on time-strapped recruiters working without the right tools. The future looks brighter, though uncertain, and I’m committed to building solutions that make a lasting difference.

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