Philippine-based online job search platform Bossjob is expanding its services to Japan, targeting Japanese companies looking to hire international talents, as part of its global expansion that started with Singapore and Indonesia in May.
In Japan, Bossjob will assist Japanese companies in recruiting talents from different countries, especially in Asia where the startup has 2.9 million registered users.
“Japanese companies exhibit a high demand for talent. We aim to meet this need by providing efficient talent services that prioritize superior user experience,” Bossjob co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Anthony Garcia said.
Japan is currently facing a talent deficit, especially in its IT industry. According to an earlier projection by the country’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, Japan’s IT industry could face a talent shortfall ranging from 160,000 to 790,000 by 2030.
Bossjob co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Kiat How Quak said they aim to bring an enhanced recruitment service to the Japanese market by bridging them to quality talents as part of its globalization efforts.
Before its Japanese market entry, Bossjob has already partnered with leading Japanese companies, such as Equinix, % Arabica, and IPS Co., Ltd., according to the announcement.
The expansion in Japan comes about two months after Bossjob raised $5 million in fresh funds to fuel its globalization efforts. It seeks to expand in Hong Kong this quarter and targets achieving its goal of serving more than 30 million users in Southeast Asia by 2026.
Bossjob, which started in the Philippines in 2018, is a chat-first recruitment mobile platform that focuses on online direct hire and talent matching, allowing bosses and talents to communicate quickly via direct chat.
With the help of AI technologies and big data, the platform recommends highly suitable and active candidates to employers and relevant job opportunities to job seekers.
It claims to have established paid collaborations with several companies and sees a job seeker engagement rate exceeding 80%, a company response rate of 60-80%, and a job match rate of around 50%.
“Employers in Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and other countries and regions have been seeking talents in places like the Philippines. In this ‘talent war,’ recruiters are placing increasing importance on the quality and matching efficiency of talents from online recruitment platforms,” Kiat said.
The startup raised $5 million in its funding round in 2017, which was backed by Y Investments Philippines and Kickstart Ventures.