Kaonavi HR Technology Institute Survey Finds Large Companies Prioritize Specialist Skills in Mid-Career Hiring, While SMEs Emphasize Retention Intent

Kaonavi, Inc. (Head office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Hiroyuki Sato) announced that the Kaonavi HR Technology Institute, its research organization focused on organizational and human resources topics, has conducted a survey on mid-career hiring. The survey analyzed recent mid-career hiring from multiple angles, including costs, hiring methods, and number of hires over the past year. The results found that large companies tend to prioritize specialist skills, while small and medium-sized enterprises place greater emphasis on candidates’ willingness to stay with the company. The findings show that the ideal candidate profile differs by company size. Background: Mid-career hiring is an important way for companies to secure talent, and hiring methods and criteria are becoming increasingly diverse. While companies are placing more emphasis on skills that allow employees to contribute immediately after joining, preventing hiring mismatches also requires evaluating broader talent requirements, including whether candidates fit the company’s environment and culture. To clarify current hiring criteria and methods in mid-career recruitment, the Kaonavi HR Technology Institute conducted a survey on companies’ mid-career hiring over the past year. Survey summary: First, in terms of hiring scale, about half of companies hired 1 to 10 mid-career employees in the past year, while more than 40% spent less than 5 million yen in total hiring-related costs. Second, mid-career hiring is concentrated around three major methods: job posting/referral services, company websites, and recruitment agencies, which together account for more than half of responses, though large companies are also developing proprietary channels. Third, regarding valued candidate attributes, large companies prioritize skills, while SMEs tend to value retention, growth motivation, and flexibility. Survey overview: The survey covered 300 mid-career hiring managers aged 25 to under 60 who work at companies that hired at least one mid-career employee in the past year. The survey period was March 12 to March 13, 2026, and the method was an online questionnaire. Because response ratios were rounded to the first or second decimal place, totals may not always equal 100%, and calculations based on displayed chart percentages may differ from actual results. The full survey report by the Kaonavi HR Technology Institute is titled “The Reality of Mid-Career Hiring Over the Past Year: Candidate Attributes Valued Differ by Company Size.” The Kaonavi HR Technology Institute was established in December 2017 and is located on the 38th floor of Shibuya Scramble Square, 2-24-12 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. Its research areas include HR technology, people analytics, and solutions for organizational and HR issues. Its activities include research and reporting on HR technology and people analytics, information dissemination on HR and organizational topics, and joint research through industry-academia collaboration. Kaonavi, Inc. is a leading company in talent management systems. Under its purpose of “implementing technology into work and changing the specifications of society through individual power,” and its vision of “Talent intelligence™,” the company aims to bring intelligence to human capital through data and AI, advancing talent management to the next stage. As a platform provider that maximizes individual potential, Kaonavi continues to innovate organizations and society.