「転職を支援する」会社を経営しておきながら、実は私自身、転職経験は一度もありません。

 先日、弊社 MAX Consulting Group, Inc. が、金融業界のクライアント様からのリクエストで、Certificate of Good Standing を取得する必要がありました。弊社は米国Delaware州法人ですので、Delaware州 Secretary of State にリクエストを出し、無事入手いたしました。

弊社はニューヨークを拠点に、人材紹介・人材派遣サービスを提供しています。つまり、人の「キャリアの転機」に伴走することを生業としている会社です。

普段はあまり目にすることのない書類なので、せっかくの機会に少しご紹介させてください。

Certificate of Good Standing（適格証明書）とは、法人が当該州の法律に基づき適正に存続しており、年次報告書および法人税の納付義務を全て履行していることを、州政府が公的に証明する書類です。金融機関、保険会社、大企業の調達部門などが、新規取引前のデューデリジェンスとして提出を求めるケースが多く、いわば「この会社は今もきちんと生きていて、税金もちゃんと払っていますよ」という州政府の御墨付きです。

受け取った証明書を改めて見ると、設立日に "FIRST DAY OF JULY, A.D. 1991" と書かれていました。気づけば、今年で創業35年目です。

ここで一つ、お恥ずかしい告白をさせてください。

「転職を支援する」会社を経営しておきながら、実は私自身、転職経験は一度もありません。1991年に MAX Consulting Group, Inc. を法人として設立し、前職と並行して事業を立ち上げました。前職在籍中の3年間は、Conflict of Interest を避けるため、あえて業種の重ならない市場調査・輸出業の領域を副業として育成しました。当時、日本側で共にビジネスを進めていたビジネスパートナーは、現在、世界最大級の市場調査グループの日本法人代表を務めています。創業初期から、長期にわたる信頼関係こそが事業の基盤であることを学ばせていただいた経験でした。1994年に前職を退社して完全独立を果たし、その後、現在の人材紹介・派遣事業へと業態をシフトしてきました。以来、ずっと同じ会社で歩み続けています。30年以上にわたって、数千人を超える転職希望者の人生の転機を間近で見続けてきた人間が、自分自身は一度もその転機を踏んでいない――。これを矛盾と捉えるか、むしろ「だからこそ、軽はずみに転職を勧めない」「ご縁を本気で長く考える」という弊社の姿勢の源泉と捉えるかは、皆様にお任せします。私自身はずっと後者だと信じてやってきました。

――とは言いつつ、ひとつだけ職業病の告白を。Entrepreneurship 気質が強すぎるせいか、転職相談に来られた候補者の方に、つい「いっそ独立されてみては?」とお勧めしてしまうことがある、というのは私の悪い癖です。転職を真剣にお考えの方は、その点だけご承知おきください（笑）。

米国労働統計局(U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)のデータによれば、米国で新たに開業した事業所のうち、5年後に生き残っているのは約50%、10年後には約35%、20年後には約20%、30年後にはわずか13%程度しか残りません。ニューヨークのように競争の激しいマーケットでは、長期生存率は全米平均をさらに下回ると言われており、同じ社名・同じ法人格でNYのビジネス環境を35年間生き抜いている企業はごく僅か――ある意味、奇跡のような数字です。

人と人のご縁を扱う仕事だからこそ、自社自身も「短期で乗り換えられない、長く頼っていただける存在」でありたい。Certificate of Good Standing という一枚の紙が、そんな初心を静かに思い出させてくれました。

35年間、ご縁をいただいてきた全ての候補者の皆様、クライアント企業様、パートナー様、そしてチームメンバーに、心から感謝申し上げます。

引き続き、MAX Consulting Group, Inc. をどうぞよろしくお願いいたします。

※書類内の認証番号および署名は、セキュリティのため一部マスクしています。

※生存率データ出典: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics (2025)

#Delaware #NewYork #人材紹介 #人材派遣 #MAXConsultingGroup #CertificateOfGoodStanding #創業35年 #LongStanding

A week ago, our company, MAX Consulting Group, Inc., received a request from one of our financial-industry clients to provide a Certificate of Good Standing. As we are incorporated in the State of Delaware, I reached out to the Delaware Secretary of State and obtained the certificate shortly thereafter.

MAX Consulting Group is a New York-based firm providing executive search and staffing services—our work, in essence, is to walk alongside people during the pivotal transitions of their careers.

Since a Certificate of Good Standing isn't something most people encounter day to day, I thought I'd take this opportunity to share a little about it.

A Certificate of Good Standing is an official document issued by the state government, certifying that a corporation is duly existing under the laws of the state, has filed all required annual reports, and has fully paid its franchise taxes. Banks, insurance companies, large enterprise procurement teams, and other counterparties often request it as part of their pre-engagement due diligence. In plain language: it is the state's formal confirmation that "this company is still alive, in good legal standing, and paying its taxes."

When I looked at the certificate, I noticed the incorporation date printed in the body of the document: "FIRST DAY OF JULY, A.D. 1991." Just like that, I was reminded that we are entering our 35th year in business.

Allow me a small confession.

I run a company that helps people change jobs, yet I myself have never changed jobs in my entire career. In 1991, while still employed at my previous company, I founded MAX Consulting Group, Inc. as a legal entity. During those first three years (1991–1994), to avoid any conflict of interest with my then-employer, I deliberately built the side business in a completely unrelated field—Market Research and Export, working alongside a Japan-based business partner who has since gone on to lead the Japan operations of one of the world's largest market research groups. Even in those early years, I learned firsthand that the foundation of any business is the relationships you build to last decades. In 1994, I left my previous job and became fully independent, after which we gradually transitioned the business into its current focus on executive search and staffing. Since founding the company, I have remained with the same company in the same broad industry for over three decades. Someone who has personally witnessed the career transitions of thousands of candidates over more than 30 years has, ironically, never undergone such a transition himself. Whether you see this as a contradiction—or as the very source of our philosophy of "never recommending a move lightly" and "valuing each relationship for the long term"—I leave that for you to decide. I have always believed it to be the latter.

That said, allow me one small confession of an occupational quirk. My entrepreneurial instincts run deep enough that, every now and then, when a candidate sits down with me to discuss their next career move, I find myself half-seriously suggesting, "Have you ever considered just starting your own company instead?" So if you come to me with serious job-search plans, please consider yourself fairly warned—that, too, is an occupational hazard of mine.

According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only about 50% of newly opened private-sector establishments in the United States survive their first 5 years, roughly 35% reach 10 years, around 20% make it to 20 years, and only about 13% remain after 30 years. In a market as competitive as New York, long-term survival rates are widely understood to run below the national average. To still be operating under the same name and the same legal entity, in New York, after 35 years, is statistically rare—an outcome that feels, frankly, like a quiet miracle.

Precisely because our work is about the relationships between people, we have always believed that we ourselves must be the kind of partner you cannot easily replace—one you can rely on for the long haul. A single, plain-looking certificate from the State of Delaware has been a quiet reminder of that founding intention.

To every candidate, client, partner, and team member who has been part of our story over the past 35 years—thank you. From the bottom of my heart.

We remain committed to being a firm worth staying with for the long term. Thank you for your continued trust in MAX Consulting Group, Inc.

Note: Authentication numbers and the signature on the certificate have been redacted for security purposes. Data source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics (2025).

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