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Have you ever received the job offer via Whatsapp? Is it common outside Japan?
Please tell me how you're dealing with headhunters from recruitment agencies who contact you via WhatsApp if you had the same experience.
I work in the IT industry, and I received messages… Hi, guys,
Please tell me how you're dealing with headhunters from recruitment agencies who contact you via WhatsApp if you had the same experience.
I work in the IT industry, and I received messages from international recruiting agencies via the WhatsApp app, rather than a mobile number. As this has been happening more frequently lately, and I would like to hear opinions from a third-party perspective, I have a question. Does that agent know about my profession and job search, or are they randomly sending messages to Japanese mobile numbers as WhatsApp users? It's a bit spooky to receive such out of the blue contacts.
I've been receiving messages on my personal smartphone via WhatsApp from recruiters claiming to be from overseas recruitment agencies, even though I haven't registered with them in the past. So far, I've received about more than 5 messages, and the country codes indicate they are from outside Japan, specifically from the United States, Indonesia, and Singapore.
The messages typically say something like,
"Hi, I'm ︎xx from ︎xxx ︎Agency. Our clients in Japan are urgently looking for staff. May I share some details with you?"
Or,
"Hello, I'm sorry to disturb you. I'm Ms. ︎xxxx, a staff member of ︎xxx INC Recruitment Company. Are you interested in working legally remotely? Our Japanese customers are urgently hiring for PT/FT/WFH positions in Japan. Can I please briefly introduce our company to you for a few minutes?'
...I'm ignoring these messages as I receive them unexpectedly from people I have never met before.
However, I'm curious about how they obtained my personal information.
Additionally, while it may be a preconception, I personally think what if the case of job introductions or registration requests, it is more appropriate to contact me through my mobile phone number rather than WhatsApp as a matter of business etiquette. I mean it skeptical that they don't call my mobile number directly.
I would like to ask a question here: has anyone been received a message by overseas job agents or recruitment agencies via WhatsApp?
If so, how do you interact? (Ignore or give them reply etc.)
I would appreciate hearing third-party opinions and would like to use them as a reference.
Thank you,
the country code thing is actually the biggest tell imo. if they were legit agencies with real japan offices they'd have a japanese number or at least a local rep who can call you. the whole whatsapp thing from overseas is just them avoiding japan's stricter telemarketing laws
one thing i haven't seen mentioned is that some of these are actually referral farming schemes. they get you to reply even once and then sell your number as a "warm lead" to another agency. so even saying "not interested" can put you on more lists
honestly just mark as spam and block. if they were serious about placing you in tokyo they'd find a way to reach you through proper channels like linkedin or bizreach where you actually have control over your visibility
You're not wrong to be skeptical. I've been on the other side of this working at a few IT recruitment agencies in Tokyo, and the way these people are contacting you is not how any reputable shop operates. Legit agencies pay for access to BizReach or LinkedIn Recruiter, and they'll send you a proper InMail or email through those platforms first. Getting a random WhatsApp from Indonesia means they bought a lead list that probably scraped your number from an old Doda or type profile you made years ago and forgot about.
What nobody tells you is that a lot of these overseas agencies are specifically targeting people with Japanese phone numbers because they assume you're bilingual talent they can place cheaply. The salary ranges they offer are often 20-30% below what you'd get through a local agent who actually knows the market. If you ever want to test them, ask them what specific Japanese company they're recruiting for and what the direct hire conversion policy is. Most of them can't answer that because they're just fishing for resumes to sell to other middlemen.
yeah, this is pretty common now in tokyo IT honestly. those recruiters are probably scraping linkedin or bizreach profiles and cross-referencing with leaked phone lists. i've gotten a few from singapore and indonesia too, same generic copy-paste stuff about "urgent clients in japan"
if they were legit they'd call you directly or at least email your work address. whatsapp cold messages from unknown country codes is a red flag, especially when they can't even mention what tech stack you work with. i just block and ignore
the weirdest one i got was from a "recruiter" who claimed to be in shinjuku but the area code was from the philippines. smh. just trust your gut on this, if it feels scammy it probably is
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Where can I find crispy, pan-fried bacon similar to a certain international style?
if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping
kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.
tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.