[tlug] Re: Request for advice on how to hire bi-lingual developers in Tokyo

[adavies@example.com]

> This is good advice. I, for one, would be much more likely to
> respond to an ad with such details. Not to mention the fact that by
> including this information, candiadtes can more readily ascertain if
> they are a good fir for the job, saving you time that would
> otherwise be wasted in an interview.
>
> Brett wrote:
>
> > I suggest you give more information about the technical
> > environment of the job, this is a common failing with technical
> > job ads. (As a self appointed spokesman for) most technical people
> > are more interested in the technical environment than the company
> > itself. In a sense you've stated your own requirements without
> > addressing the candidates. What operating systems, database,
> > etc. I'd want to see location (not just Tokyo) a salary range and
> > any other benefits too.

Good suggestions. Unfortunately the text of the online job description
is not directly under my control but let me fill in a little more
information here.

I don't mean to usurp this mailing list for recruitment purposes but
I am conscious of the fact that the members of this list probably
know a lot of people in the Tokyo area who might be interested in
this job.

Company background:

www.factset.com

FactSet is an online financial data integration and dissemination
company - akin to a Reuters or a Bloomberg, but much smaller and still
growing fast. We don't collect data ourselves but rather host and
integrate data that we source from other financial data companies. As
such we are a software company first and formost and the working
environment reflects that.

We are based in the US but have offices in several countries around
the world including the UK, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Australia and
of course Japan. Most of our development is done in the US but in
recent years we have been pursuing a strategy of establishing
development teams in the main geographies where we sell our service
(i.e. the UK and now Japan).

Our Tokyo office is in Toranomon equidistant from Toranomon and
Kamiyacho subway stations.

Technology:

Our technology is mostly in-house. Our data centers (all in the US)
are primarily OpenVMS clusters running on Compaq Alpha Server hardware
but we also have a significant installation of Sun Solaris machines
and Windows boxes serving various functions. This heterogenious mix is
intregrated using a variety of technologies, some commercial (eg
Tibco) and some in-house.

We don't use commercial database products to host our data (no Oracle
or Sybase) but rather use our own home-grown databases and analytic
data libraries that are designed and optimized for each specific
dataset that we host.

Our main product is a fully featured financial data analysis tool. The
architecture consists of a thin Windows client which serves the role
of communications layer and GUI toolkit (a bit like an X server but
different) and a fat server process where all the application logic
actually lives alongside the databases. The client and server can
connect in a variety of ways but most commonly it is through a private
TCP/IP wide area network that we provide and manage throughout the
world.

Development environment:

Development is primarily done on OpenVMS but there is also some on
Solaris and Windows. The main development tool for the databases, data
engines and applications is C++ but we also employ a lot of Perl code
for production processing and utilities. We are also utilizing XML/XSL
and Microsoft's new .Net stuff in some projects.

Scope of the position:

http://www.factset.com/www_435.asp

Worldwide we have 100+ developers but here in Tokyo we currently have
one (me). The rest of our Tokyo office is made up of sales, marketing
and support staff - about 22 in all. I was moved out here from the UK
to hire and train a local development team to be our eyes, ears and
hands (excuse the metaphor) in the Asia Pacific market.

The role I'm currently looking to fill is that of my first
engineer. This will initially be a development job but in two years
time I fully expect the person I hire to be the manager of the team
based here in Tokyo working in concert with our development teams in
the UK and the US. As such the person I hire will need to be an
excellent communicator as well as an excellent software engineer.

Salary and benefits:

Competitive and based on experience.



Alan Davies
Manager of Software Engineering
FactSet Pacific Inc
Tel: +81 3 5512 7797
Cell: +81 90 4660 8404
Fax: +81 3 5512 7701
Mail: adavies@example.com

> This is good advice. I, for one, would be much more likely to
> respond to an ad with such details. Not to mention the fact that by
> including this information, candiadtes can more readily ascertain if
> they are a good fir for the job, saving you time that would
> otherwise be wasted in an interview.
>
> Brett wrote:
>
> > I suggest you give more information about the technical
> > environment of the job, this is a common failing with technical
> > job ads. (As a self appointed spokesman for) most technical people
> > are more interested in the technical environment than the company
> > itself. In a sense you've stated your own requirements without
> > addressing the candidates. What operating systems, database,
> > etc. I'd want to see location (not just Tokyo) a salary range and
> > any other benefits too.
> >
> > Brett
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Alan Davies" <alan_h_davies@example.com>
> > To: <tlug@example.com>
> > Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2002 5:21 PM
> > Subject: [tlug] Request for advice on how to hire bi-lingual
> > developers in Japan
> >
> >
> > >
> > > Hello,
> > >
> > > I am the manager of a new software engineering group within my
> > > company in Tokyo and I am looking to fill this position ...
> > >
> > > http://www.factset.com/www_435.asp
> > >
> > > So far I have not had much success in my search by way of online
> > > job sites such as www.careercross.com. Can anyone offer advice
> > > on the best way to plug in to the bi-lingual development
> > > community in Tokyo find good candidates.
> > >
> > > Thanks for any help you can offer.
> > >
> > > Regards
> > >
> > > Alan Davies
> > > Manager of Software Engineering
> > > FactSet Pacific Inc
> > > Tel: +81 3 5512 7797
> > > Cell: +81 90 4660 8404
> > > Fax: +81 3 5512 7701
> > > Mail: adavies@example.com
> > >