I understand that photos are taken after the interview, but why are people who don’t pass the interview photographed as well?

Mamiya from the Tokyo Unit here. I’d like to answer as well. This is just my impression, but I’d say the decision is about 80% made based on the first impression, 10% during the interview, and the final 10% during the photo shoot. I don’t think there are usually any dramatic turnarounds during the final shoot, but sometimes a staff member develops a soft spot for someone they had been interviewing with the intention of rejecting them. There are probably kindhearted staff members who never reject anyone. It’s perfectly understandable that you won’t know whether you’ll receive an offer until your profile goes live. But when I weigh that against the risk of putting someone on the member site, I feel that in my case, I more often end up asking people to withdraw even though they were technically accepted. There have also been people I sent home after asking them to withdraw, only to later regret it because maybe I could have approached things differently. I’m sorry about that.

Maezawa from the Corporate Planning Office here as well. It’s true that I’ll take photos even when I feel someone probably won’t pass. Generally, though, we take far fewer photos in those cases. I’m not entirely sure why, but it may be so that if a senior colleague or supervisor later asks, “Why didn’t she pass?” we can show them the photos and help them understand. That said, in my case, sometimes after taking the photos I’ll think, “Oh? Wait… maybe she could work after all?” Things can change. Also, a woman’s little gestures or comments during the photo shoot can reveal that she has a really great personality, which has sometimes made me reconsider. > Are there people who have already passed by the time the interview ends? It’s pretty much decided by the end of the interview, but I believe we had a rule not to tell them on the spot, even if they had passed.

I’m Paper Airplane, a male member. ⚫︎ If you put it off until another day, some women may no longer agree to have their photos taken. ⚫︎ If you tell them they’ve passed, they might say, “Let’s do the photos another time,” and leave. The key is to take the photos while they’re still riding the momentum of wanting to pass that day. Ultimately, that’s one of Universe’s strengths. As for whether someone passes, I think it’s practically decided for over 80% of women within the first three seconds or three minutes. Basically, in Kansai, hardly anyone fails. If a woman seems like she might not pass, I think they put a lot of thought into the photo shoot, doing everything they can to make up for it as much as possible.

I’m Rin, a female member. I was already extremely nervous and had to work up quite a bit of courage just to go to the interview, so as Romane-san said, if the door were opened with an immediate “Thanks for coming—good luck!” I’d be devastated and probably couldn’t recover. I’m sure it’s out of consideration for the applicants, but I also have to admire how difficult it must be for the staff to keep praising and taking photos even when they’ve already decided not to accept someone.