At the Helm of Change: Interview with the Founder of Turnpoint Consulting, a Recruitment Agency Specializing in the Automotive Industry

The automotive industry is undergoing a once-in-a-century transformation. Only seven years have passed since our company was established to support this key Japanese industry, automotive mobility, from the perspective of human resources. In this article, through an interview with Andre, the founder of Turnpoint Consulting, we would like to explore the background behind the founding of Turnpoint Consulting and how our approach differs from that of other companies.

Company Introduction and Representative Biography

Based in Tokyo and founded in December 2016, Turnpoint Consulting is a specialized recruiting firm focused on the automotive and mobility sectors. Leveraging its expertise, Turnpoint provides comprehensive consulting services to meet the recruitment needs of these industries.

President | André Lindecue

studied International Management at the University of Bath, England. After living in France for two years, he moved to Tokyo in 2005.

After gaining experience in the recruitment field, he joined JAC Recruitment where he previously worked in the areas of hospitality and market research before establishing the first dedicated automotive recruitment team in Japan. 2014 the only foreign born Sales Director at JAC Recruitment, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Director.

In 2016, he founded Turnpoint Consulting as a leading recruiting firm in the automotive industry with a global vision.

Why did you start Turnpoint Consulting specializing in the automotive industry?

There are several reasons why we have chosen to establish a specialized automotive recruiting firm in Japan. First of all, the automotive industry plays an important role in the Japanese economy, with its advanced technology and engineering prowess. From this perspective, we saw a great opportunity for TurnPoint Consulting to grow in this market.

Furthermore, the global automotive industry is being rapidly transformed by trends such as electrification, automated driving, and connected services. Our automotive industry-focused approach is important because it provides the right talent that is essential to successfully navigate these transformations. This approach enables us to support large established companies as well as emerging start-ups in adapting to change and finding the right talent.

In short, our focus on the automotive industry is based on our passion for innovation, our respect for the Japanese automotive industry, and our desire to connect exceptional professionals with lucrative opportunities in a constantly evolving and important field.

What differentiates you from other agents?

We pride ourselves on working with integrity and transparency, and we do so with our customers firmly in mind. As such, we believe that this customer-centric approach is a key element in providing a superior experience for our customers.

Smaller boutique recruiting firms tend to focus on a few corporate clients, but are unable to offer many job seekers the option of looking at job descriptions from a variety of companies before making a decision. On the other hand, if we consider large recruiting firms, while they have a large volume of jobs, they do not seem to be able to select and offer jobs that match job seekers’ preferences in order to add deeper value to their clients.

At TurnPoint Consulting, we work with a large number of companies in the automotive and mobility market, which gives our candidates many options for career advancement. On the other hand, employers who speak with our recruiters will find that we understand the automotive market and have a large network of candidates related to the area they are looking for.

Please tell us about your successes and achievements in the automotive industry.

We are particularly proud that when it comes to automotive brands in the Japanese market, no other automotive recruiting consultancy has the market knowledge and successful C-level candidate search experience that we have.

How do you advise job seekers to identify their desired career path?

One of the problems faced by job seekers in the job market is the difficulty in understanding how a particular choice will affect their long-term career development.

As a specialized recruiting firm in the automotive industry, we have accumulated a great deal of expertise through data and experience, building our ability to provide valuable advice to job seekers.

When providing advice, we try to consider not only a candidate’s next steps, but also their future career path beyond the position they are currently considering. We believe that giving advice with this in mind is of real value to your job search, because the wrong choice can have a negative impact on your long-term career development.

Please share your insights on the latest trends and future prospects in the automotive industry.

Many trends are simultaneously underway in the industry, some of which are already well known. Examples include electrification, shared mobility, automated driving, and connected cars. This is rapidly shifting the demand for sought-after talent to software, electronics, and battery-related engineering. Young people interested in the automotive industry should consider this when choosing a major in college, and those considering a career change will benefit greatly from focusing their reskilling efforts in hot areas of the market.

Another, perhaps less well-known trend regarding the automotive industry is the shift to digital channels. This has serious implications for the structure of organizations, and is especially evident on the commercial side of the automotive business. If the retail market shifts from showroom displays to an online ordering model, the role of sales will become far less important than marketing. This shift to digital channels is primarily digital-centric marketing, but events and experiential marketing will also be affected.

What are the advantages of using a recruitment agent?

Although some job seekers currently have a negative impression of recruiters’ services, the benefits of having contact with a sophisticated and professional recruiter are significant. First of all, it gives you the opportunity to organize your career thoughts and talk with professionals about your career possibilities. This will give you insight into how your career may develop.

If you have a clear vision for your future career, you can get good advice on the skills you need to reach that goal.

Of course, when applying for jobs, you will be represented by a recruiter who has solid connections with the company and can enhance your chances of an interview. In addition, our consultants will guide and prepare you through each interview step and ultimately help you negotiate an attractive compensation package.

What encouragement and advice would you give to those considering a career change?

At TurnPoint Consulting, we take getting to know you very seriously. We will support you as a good partner to understand who you are as a professional and career-oriented person and what you want in the future. After that, we believe that whether or not you change jobs is a matter of timing. Therefore, we believe it is important for you to register with our service first. This is because you never know when a valuable opportunity you are looking for will become available, and we will be able to reach out to you when that information becomes available.

I believe that having a long-term perspective is critical to managing one’s career effectively. Another important point is to make career decisions based on logic, not emotion. That way, when the right opportunity to advance your career comes along, I believe you will be able to make a quick decision and seize it before someone else does.

What is the vision and beliefs of Turnpoint Consulting?

We remain committed to the development of our clients. We aim to be the most trusted partner in the market as a specialized recruiting firm in the automotive industry, known for engaging with our clients with greater knowledge and insight than our competitors.

Contact and Application Information

Through this article, we hope you have gained an understanding of our CEO Andre’s passion for the automotive industry and the strengths of Turnpoint Consulting because we specialize in the industry.

The industry is undergoing a major transformation, the market is changing rapidly, and the talent landscape is changing rapidly, and Turnpoint Consulting is committed to using its expertise and insight to help our clients succeed during this time of change.