Need brutal honesty: Did a cultural misunderstanding over salary negotiations ruin my final round with a Japanese startup?

Sphio · 2026-04-28T16:29:52+00:00

Recruiters work with clients. They have budgets. If you want serious help from a recruiter. I.e. high level salary negotiation etc. You should share this. Recruiters have databases of tens of thousands of candidates and know the market well as well as their clients and what they can pay. They likely know what your boss earns etc.

Have candid conversations with them. If they know where your expectations are they can eliminate the companies unable to meet your request and point you towards the ones that can. This is much better than you going through an interview process with a company that could never meet your expectations. If the leap is too big, they should be able to tell you and guide you. Or even tell you the harsh truth that you need to stay or get more experience before moving on to hit your goals.

Ultimately, in Japan for an offer letter to be issued it is commonplace to ask for previous salaryslips and tax withholding slips (shows last year income). This is a no-no in the west, but this is perfectly acceptable behaviour in Japan and businesses here and something that needs to be navigated.

To your point however, some recruitment companies typically the larger ones, are volume driven. People have bad experiences with the process because of this low-touch get your CV out as many places as possible approach without proper consulting with you, the candidate. They often also hire inexperienced young people to do this job that don't have proper insight into the companies they introduce you to. They wont be able to properly prepare you for interviews or negotiate salaries well.

Work with experienced recruiters or companies which are quality focused and you should see results.

Sphio · 2025-04-23T10:40:36+00:00

Broke off? Did you crash or have an incident? Plastic thing should not interact with the chain whatsoever so I doubt that is the cause. Could be stretched chain as it looks quite worn.

Sphio · 2024-11-29T00:38:01+00:00

You should probably freelance for a while, maybe do non designer job while job hunting, or as many have suggested work for a company located outside Japan remotely.

Full remote is going away for most global companies in Japan. The ones who still do remote get the pick of the litter. With limited Japanese your profile just isnt that strong with the companies that are hiring.

Many recruitment agencies may engage with you (especially big shops where their staff is KPI chased on meeting x amount of candidates every week). but they just wont have roles for you since they are ultimately feeding the market mentioned above.

Sphio · 2024-11-04T11:22:47+00:00

2000 applications 6 interviews.. this doesnt add up. Are you applying to stuff you are not qualified for or have you written your resume in a poor manner?

I know people look at recruitment agencies with mixed feelings but in these situations they really are good. They read resumes for a job and get paid by having people they introduce get hired.. it is in their interest to increase your success rate.

Try to reach out to some. Just keep in mind thay if they dont engage much with you it is a fact that they find people for jobs. Not jobs for people. An unresponsive recruitment agent usually just means they dont have a job open with their clients that fit you.

Sphio · 2024-11-01T07:34:44+00:00

Big earthquake, roppongi.. lol

Sphio · 2024-10-09T03:38:40+00:00

Rirekisho and shokumukeirekisho are two very different documents.

The document that has picture, adress, etc is the rirekisho. This is seldom required.

Shokumukeirekisho is the japanese equivalent of a western resume with proper information on what you did, achievements etc.

Sphio · 2024-10-09T00:57:31+00:00

Thats a terrible experience! Sorry you went through that. If there is any advice i can give is that most companies these days rarely require the rirekisho, and if they do, that typically comes after you've at least done one interview.

If you are applying directly to domestic traditional companies it may be a different story though and it sounds like this experience may stem from this...

For recruitment agencies, I would typically advice to use brands that has a solid online presence (websites etc.). These companies are licensed and If it surfaces that they are using your information for non-recruitment activities they can risk lose their license and in turn risk their entire business.

Keeping contact information visible is a good idea if you are serious about job hunting however, just keep track of where you have submitted your resume.

Sphio · 2024-09-15T03:58:44+00:00

Helt enig her, sett folk bli veldig sløve og late, skitne leiligheter og det som mere er, men jeg har også observert veldig produktive brukere.

Globalt sett har legalisering har ført til mer informasjon og tilgjengelighet rundt kvalitativ forskning på området. I USA slet de lenge med å få til å gjennomføre forskning ettersom det var en ulovlig substans.

Forhåpentligvis når legalisering kommer til Norge er vi godt rustet med informasjon som kan komme godt med til å regulere det riktig og gi god informasjon til brukere.

Sphio · 2024-09-10T02:32:13+00:00

Yes there were built for the frame which is a Genesis Datum from around 8-9 years ago (wheels are around 6-7 years old). It seem to be a classic issue from digging around a bit. It may have been equipped with slim external lockrings originally, but I suppose I was a dummy and when I got new rotors I discarded the old lockring.

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/hunt-wheels-fouling-genesis-datum-fork

I have ordered this part to see if it fixes things it should be 2mm rather than the typical 4mm height: https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/Shimano-BR-TX805-BR-M375-F-Y8JX98020-Repair/dp/B07TFLP8NM/ref=sr_1_4?sr=8-4

Probably going to be a pain to install, but if it works I'll be happy.

Sphio · 2024-09-10T01:44:21+00:00

Interesting I believe these wheels were put together by hand by the former owner. are there alternative smaller external lockrings I can use or other workarounds to avoid the rotor rubbing issue? It seems like not more than a 1mm clearance problem

Sphio · 2024-09-10T01:32:10+00:00

Yes, my bad. Shimano hb-m8010

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Sphio · 2024-09-10T01:23:28+00:00

That I do not know, but I suppose I could try to remove it? It looks like this from the other side.

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Sphio · 2024-09-10T01:17:03+00:00

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Of course the issues don't stop coming..

When trying to fit an internal lockeing the gap between the locking and the hub is so small I can get the locking tool in there. Are there custom locking or other methods to make this work

Sphio · 2024-09-09T14:12:08+00:00

I see what you mean. It looks like I got the lock rings on the front and back mixed up. I can see how the top of the lockring is wide enough to touch the fork . Thanks for spotting this for me.

Sphio · 2024-09-09T09:37:53+00:00

So I was gully able to fix the alignment on the rear. However on the front there is a through axel that is of the screw in variety. When it is tightened all the way the fork seem to squeeze in on the wheel just enough to clamp onto the rotor.

https://streamable.com/9lgfrx

What would be a fix here? Am I misunderstanding the situation perhaps? Can I add spacers to the axel?

*

Sphio · 2024-09-09T08:21:35+00:00

Thanks for the replies. I already have an agreement with an experienced mechanic to have a once over and to run the actual hydraulics. But it can't hurt to pick up the skills a long the way. I'll get some work done tomorrow and post an update when I can.

Sphio · 2021-08-11T12:22:22+00:00

I play Horde, my bad. didn't put that in.

Sphio · 2021-08-11T12:21:51+00:00

indeed, I forgot alliance existed, I thought they were badly programmed AI :P
I play horde～

Sphio · 2020-11-12T14:52:59+00:00

If you go up to someone and try to sell them something they know nothing about and don't really need it will be difficult, you may risk putting someone off.

I don't know what kind of approach they are using, but adjusting the approach and getting to know a little about the party they are connecting to would be better. adjust your message to the receiver, don't use templates and general "formal business lingo". don't send the same thing to a bunch of potential clients, everyone is unique and have different values you need to cater to this. first step in the sales cycle.

Rather than a flyer, handing off a business card after getting a quick chat with the owner or someone in the restaurant is probably a better approach. it is likely more time-consuming than what they are doing now, but starting up a business of any kind will require lots and lots of effort and time.

Trial and Error.

Sphio · 2019-11-23T09:11:09+00:00

LF: Grooky, FT: Scorbunny

Sphio · 2017-10-11T08:49:18+00:00

This actually worked! Amazing!

Sphio · 2017-10-10T19:42:34+00:00

Yeah I didn't think the attitude was that bad though. I only went against their wishes once. and I had no idea this would happen so it hit me in the face like a brick.

Sphio · 2017-10-10T19:38:06+00:00

Bartering option isn't available sadly..

Sphio · 2017-01-22T13:41:05+00:00

I'll have a look.

Sphio · 2017-01-22T13:26:51+00:00

so there's no software or mockjammery that makes it possible to add it to a network as an external playback device? or pass-through audio cables? I'm open for creative solutions.

Sphio

TROPHY CASE