Thoughts
Insights on Recruitment, AI, and the Future of Talent
Recruiters are right to feel uneasy – AI and market shifts are changing the ground under our feet. The question isn’t if things change, but how we adapt.
This blog is my take on recruitment and executive search, grounded in 20 years of leading firms in Japan and Asia. Sometimes sharp, sometimes experimental, always focused on the future of hiring.
I write around three themes:
Recruitment – the craft itself, with emphasis on search and RPO.
Artificial Intelligence – separating signal from noise.
Our Platform – how we’re building tools to stay ahead.
If you’re a recruiter, HR leader, or business owner curious about what’s next in Japan’s talent market, you’re in the right place.
— Murray Clarke, Co-Founder & Chief Recruiter at TalentHub
What Should We Automate?
AI will absolutely wipe out a large number of recruiters. Not overnight - it’ll happen slowly, like boiling the frog. One day, those recruiters will look around and wonder why they’re not making money anymore. The reality is that their processes will have become outdated, their speed uncompetitive, and their clients will have moved on to faster, sharper alternatives. The answer will be simple: because they were too slow.
Compliant Use Of ChatGPT
ChatGPT isn’t just a productivity tool — it’s a compliance risk hiding in plain sight. “Export Data” means anyone on your team can pull entire datasets with a single click. For recruiters, that could mean CVs, salaries, and client details out the door. Encryption won’t save you — only trust policies, smart access controls, and API-driven setups will. AI adoption is inevitable, but without compliance, it’s a liability.
Who Am I and Why Listen?
About the Author
I’m Murray Clarke, Co-Founder and Chief Recruiter at TalentHub Partners. Over the past 20 years I’ve led at three search firms in Japan – each achieving a successful exit, including one I built from scratch and sold to ManpowerGroup.
I do not profess to know everything and I don’t always get it right, but as an early-stage leader at a firm that scaled to 200 consultants across APAC, and later during a major ownership transition, twice receiving Best Leader awards, I have seen how some of the best in our business do things. My time at VMware gave me direct experience of how global vendors scale in Japan, insight I later applied to help foreign firms navigate the country’s toughest hiring challenges.
I’m passionate about emerging technologies that do social good by improving business outcomes. At TalentHub, our mission is to use technology and AI to raise the standard of recruitment – improving candidate experience, enabling recruiters to succeed, and helping companies hire better people faster. For too long, the industry has depended on time-strapped recruiters working with cumbersome tools. The future looks brighter, though uncertain, and I’m committed to building solutions that make a lasting difference.
I split my time between Auckland and Tokyo, so feel free to hit me up for a coffee and in-person chat sometime.