About Daniel Bamford
My journey from web engineer and UX/PDM to technology recruitment leader has been driven by a singular focus: understanding what makes teams and products truly exceptional, and how to build businesses that consistently deliver extraordinary results.
Today, I serve as Director (APAC - Technology) at Robert Half Japan, where I've built our technology recruitment practice from a small underperforming team with potential into an emergin top player. In just two years, we've achieved 407% growth, transforming how Japanese and international companies approach technical hiring in one of the world's most challenging talent markets.
The Path to Leadership
My career began in web development and design before transitioning to product management in London. In 2012 I began my entreprenuerial career by going to business school and founding a successful tech service startup in Sydney. Then Japan called.
I joined Robert Walters in 2016, quickly establishing myself as one of the top-performing consultants in the company. Over six years, I maintained an average of nine placements per quarter — the highest in company history — and was named Consultant of the Year in 2019 as the global top performer of the organisation.
This consistent performance wasn't just about personal achievement. It represented a fundamental shift in how technical recruitment could be approached in Japan, moving from keyword matching to genuine capability assessment. By 2022, I was leading the highest-performing team in Robert Walters history and in the Tokyo tech recruiting sector, both by average consultant performance and total revenue.
Transforming Japan's Technical Recruitment Landscape
The Japanese technology sector presents unique challenges: a critical shortage of qualified professionals, complex regulatory requirements, and significant language and cultural barriers. Traditional recruitment approaches simply don't work effectively in this environment.
Since joining Robert Half in 2023, I've implemented a fundamentally different approach to technical talent acquisition. By combining deep cognitive ability methodologies with comprehensive understanding of Japanese business culture and labor laws, we've been able to:
- Reduce average time-to-hire from 12+ weeks to faster than 5 weeks
- Improve retention rates by more than 10% across hundreds of placements
- Develop 8 recruiters who have delivered over 120M+ in revenue in a year
- Build partnerships with Japan's most innovative technology companies
These achievements represent more than business success—they reflect a transformation in how companies build technical teams in Japan, creating new opportunities for both organizations and professionals in the process.
A Different Perspective
My approach to recruitment and business growth is shaped by my background in technology (sde/pxm/ux), cognitive science and research, sales training and psychology, and education and talent development.
Exceptional technical recruitment isn't about matching keywords or collecting resumes. It's not about posting jobs and hoping (hope isn't a strategy). It's about understanding the fundamental cognitive capabilities and psychology needs that drive technical excellence, recognizing the specific needs of the Japanese market, and building systems that consistently identify truly exceptional talent.
This perspective has allowed me to help organizations not just fill positions, but build the foundations for sustainable growth and innovation in one of the world's most challenging and rewarding markets.