Nakamura Kenta × Nanae Kakei: Part 2 "What does 'language that resonates with young people' mean in recruitment?"

Continuing from last time, Kenta Nakamura of Shigoto Hito Co., Ltd., which operates the " Nihon Shigoto Hyakka" job site focused on living-like work and the " Shigoto Bar" space for encountering diverse lifestyles and work styles, and Nanami Kakei, a researcher at Dentsu Inc. Wakamon, held a discussion. We considered what we can do regarding the values young people hold for their lifestyles and work.

 

An era where the role of the real is becoming clear

Kakei: Mr. Nakamura, besides "Nihon Shigoto Hyakka," you also organize "Shigoto Bar," where people from various industries become bartenders, right? Why did you decide to start a bar in the first place?

Nakamura: After graduating from architecture school, I worked in real estate and practically lived in bars every day. I realized why I frequented them so much—I was drawn to the personalities of the bartenders and customers. That's when I understood that people create comfortable spaces. That experience led me to launch "Nihon Shigoto Hyakka."

At the core of our work is a desire to share diverse ways of living and working. In that sense, bars are the perfect setting to talk with all kinds of people, learn about different lifestyles and work styles, and really think deeply about them.

Kakei: So you wanted to create a space for real-life dialogue, not just share information online.

Nakamura: The amount of information you gain from experiencing something through TV, books, or the web is completely different from actually meeting people and experiencing it firsthand. The words that emerge through conversation, or the energy radiating from the other person—these are aspects even "Nihon Shigoto Hyakka" can't fully convey.

Kakei: More young people these days value places where they can have physical experiences. Precisely because we live in an era overflowing with information on SNS and such, the value of the real world is definitely increasing. Don't you think participants are actually deeply impacted?

Nakamura: Of course, they enjoy it, but it often becomes something beyond their expectations. Some even tell us it influenced how they live and work going forward. For example, one guest at the first event was contemplating quitting their job. Their experience at the "Work Bar" became the catalyst for them to go independent and successfully establish their own business. Later, they even became a bartender at the "Work Bar" (laughs).

Kakei: That's a huge shift—becoming the one who shares their story.

Nakamura: Since participants come from diverse professions and lifestyles, unexpected, positive happenings tend to occur. In that sense, I think the role of the real world is becoming clearer. The internet world has this tendency to increasingly narrow down to specific interests, doesn't it?

Kakei: You keep narrowing down information with search terms, right?

Nakamura: If you don't even know the search terms, it's like the rest of the world doesn't exist. "Shigoto Bar" is a place where you encounter surprises like, "Oh, there are people like this," or "There are ways of living and working like this." Creating those unexpected encounters is also what "Nihon Shigoto Hyakka" aims for.

 

Please express yourself in a way that shows you empathize with the other person's feelings.

Kakei: What struck me at the recent "TOKYO WORK DESIGN WEEK" was how choosing a job equates to choosing a community, and building connections becomes synonymous with creating work. Wakamon's survey also shows that when selecting a company, "work content" is the top priority, followed closely by "company culture and workplace atmosphere." Ultimately, many young people consider who they work with and the environment they work in as the decisive factors for their job choice.

Nakamura: At Nihon Shigoto Hyakka, we also prioritize who you work with. For example, we generally decline job postings where the company has branches nationwide and the assigned location is unknown.

Kakei: When we ask students who've decided on a job why they chose that company, "I was drawn to the people working there" is a very common answer. When they say that, well, there's really nothing more to say (laughs).

Nakamura: Exactly. That's why people are incredibly important, and getting to know them isn't something you can do mechanically. SPI tests are apparently quite accurate, but even if the results say someone isn't a good fit, it doesn't feel right as a person.

Kakei: I hear there are matching services in the US that use DNA tests to determine suitable occupations. That's the kind of thing that just doesn't feel right, does it? (laughs)

Nakamura: What matters is making the choice you feel most convinced about. If you take responsibility for your own choice, success brings happiness, and even failure leads to the next step. Humans are weak creatures, so if you fail because someone or something else made the choice, you'll blame them. That way, you gain no growth and can't use the failure for the next time. It's not about what your parents, society, or your DNA decided for you; it's about thinking for yourself and deciding. I believe that's the shortcut to realizing a way of living and working that's truly your own.

Kakei: That's exactly what "Nihon Shigoto Hyakka" does—it gives people the chance to really think things through for themselves. Most job sites don't do that, do they?

Nakamura: I often see things and think, "What a waste." If you only highlight a company's good points, people drawn solely by that will eventually leave. If you consider what readers want to know, what makes them anxious, and put yourself in their shoes, I think the way you express things would change.

Kakei: I heard from an editor at a women's magazine that today's young people, when choosing a job, are drawn not just by the work itself, but by resonating with the lifestyles and ways of life of the people working there. Few companies express that aspect in their recruitment efforts. "Nihon Shigoto Hyakka" conveys the job content and the thoughts of the workers while also showing their lifestyles. That might be why it resonates so well with people in their twenties.

Nakamura: For example, when considering "what makes good architecture," it's not about what looks good on a flat drawing. It's also not about taking cool photos from a certain angle and calling it good architecture. The true quality of architecture only becomes apparent when you experience it firsthand—walking inside and seeing how the scenery changes.

The same goes for job postings. Rather than isolating the front-and-center appeal or partial strengths, shouldn't we express the overall feeling encompassing the job content, the people, the lifestyle, and the space?
Of course, expressing this in writing is difficult, and you won't truly grasp it all until you've worked there for several years. But if we edit to retain only the most essential parts, we can convey it in writing.

It's certainly an incredibly labor-intensive process, and the larger the company, the greater the dilemma of needing to standardize content. But I believe that putting yourself in the other person's shoes and seeing it through to that extent allows something meaningful to truly come across.

Kakei: That's right. Companies tend to focus on evaluating young people, but if we could express things from a more equal perspective, it seems like better relationships could develop. We at Dentsu Inc. Wakamon also want to learn from Mr. Nakamura and think about expressions that truly connect with young people's feelings. Thank you very much for today.

---

【WAKAMON Profile】
Dentsu Inc. Wakamon (Youth Research Department) is a planning team that engages with the real lives and mindsets of young people, primarily high school and university students. We explore hints to brighten and invigorate the near future, starting from their "now." By anticipating the future through their insights, we realize new businesses that foster better relationships between young people and society. Currently, 18 project members are based across our Tokyo headquarters, Kansai branch, and Chubu branch. We also share updates on the Wakamon Facebook page.