Could registering with a dating club affect my job search?

Mamiya from Universe Tokyo here. Of course it’s bound to have an impact! Since you may form personal connections with people you wouldn’t normally have the chance to meet, you’ll probably learn more from it than from job hunting. Learn as much as you can—in a positive way—and put it to good use in your job search.

Aizawa, Sub-Chief of Universe Club Tokyo, will answer this as well. As for whether there’s a possibility of it causing problems, I think there probably is. As Maezawa also wrote, it’s impossible to completely eliminate people with malicious intentions, so I don’t think anyone can say there’s absolutely no chance. But what kind of situation would actually cause problems? Perhaps someone might suspect that the interviewer is a club member…? Companies generally don’t explain the reason for rejecting an applicant, so the person involved probably wouldn’t know whether it had anything to do with the club. You’re free to think, “I was rejected because I belonged to the club!” and blame Universe, but if the company feels they’re needed, I believe they’ll be hired regardless. After all, if an interviewer rejected someone simply because they were a member, that would come back to bite them, since they’re a member too. So, when you look at it that way, perhaps it’s fair to say that being a club member won’t actually cause any problems.

I’m Maezawa from Shacho-shitsu, and I’ll answer this as well. Basically, it’s a members-only service, so it shouldn’t cause any problems. That said, there are malicious people everywhere. Whether it’s members-only or not, some may still slip through. The club does its best to keep people like that out, but it can never be 100% effective. So you also need to protect yourself. If someone says, “You’re registered here, aren’t you?” you need to be able to firmly say, “No, I’m not.” Even if they show you a photo, you should be prepared to say something like, “I do look similar, but that’s a different person. I’m not registered there.” If they say, “You look similar, but you’re not the same person,” then there probably isn’t much more you can say to a malicious member. You could even say, “Why don’t you check with the club? I’m sure they’ll confirm that I’m not registered.” I think it would be fine to say something along those lines. If a staff member made a mistake and disclosed your personal information, you could probably win a lawsuit against the club. I don’t think there are any staff members who would do that, though. There are risks everywhere. But I think you should consider those risks and then decide whether registering is right for you.

I’m Paper Airplane, a male member. If a girl who came in for an interview was registered with Universe, I’d assume she would definitely be accepted. The reason is that, even if she were only at the standard level, I’d expect her appearance to be decent, and I’d assume she had at least a reasonable degree of sociability and communication skills. I wouldn’t make her an offer for a while. Unless she was someone I genuinely liked regardless of that, I might never make her an offer, since I wouldn’t want her to know that I’m a member of the club.

I’m Marika, a female member. It would be quite a surprise to realize that the papa you’re interviewing with for a job is someone you’ve met before through the club! That said, women shouldn’t show up to job interviews looking so recognizable. Isn’t that what all those job-hunting manuals are for? Black hair tied back low in a simple ponytail, understated beige-toned makeup, a dark suit, an embarrassingly dowdy skirt that covers the knees when seated, flesh-colored stockings, and black pumps with a point that’s neither particularly high nor low. That’s the image I have of a job seeker, even though I’ve never gone job hunting myself. I doubt anyone would have their club profile photo taken wearing an outfit like that. Whether at the club or during job hunting, is the winner simply the woman who can work hard at playing innocent and fooling the older men!? Maybe it’s not that easy. Personally, I don’t think it’s difficult to keep your activities hidden from everyone, so as long as you manage your schedule properly, it shouldn’t cause any problems. P.S. Oh, that’s right—if Papuwa says so, it must be true, haha.