Shukatsu: Japanese Job Hunting Culture
A journalistic video exploration of individuality as it is stripped away through socially “employ-able” / “hirable” appearance standards as young university graduates in Japan seek to enter the workforce under strict standards for their appearance. Using fashion and transformation, the project visualizes the emotional pressure behind conformity in Japanese job-hunting culture.
Of all the constraints embedded in “shukatsu”, the one director Millie Aoki found most suffocating (in her own experience) is the moment a student transitions into an unfamiliar recruitment suit for the first time. Our own uniqueness is considered a weakness - and yet, at the very moment when our individuality should matter most to stand out as a candidate, young Japanese are required to dress the same, style their hair the same, even wear the same unassuming makeup. Any deviation carries a silent label: someone who cannot conform, someone who cannot be controlled, someone who will not follow the company’s lead. Not suitable for the job.
