Fifty Japanese graduates opted¹ to gamble with their job prospects² at a mahjong tournament set up by recruiters looking for a different way to find the next high flyer.

五十名日本毕业生选择参加麻将竞赛以争取工作机会。招聘者们组织了这次打麻将活动，借此新方式发掘人才。

Held in a crammed³ mahjong outlet⁴ in downtown Tokyo, prospects competed against each other on Friday (June 24) to gain the chance to face recruiters from six companies in the fitness, education, technology and real estate⁵ sectors⁶.

6月24日，应聘者们在东京市中心一间拥挤的麻将室里对垒，胜者将有机会直面六家公司的雇主。这六家公司来自健身、教育、技术和房地产领域。

"Mahjong is a very strategic game, so I think people who are good at it would be good at marketing⁷. This is a new approach and I find it really interesting," candidate Tomoko Hasegawa, who is aspiring⁸ to become a designer, told Reuters.

候选人长谷川友子希望成为一名设计师。她告诉路透社说：“麻将是很讲究策略的，所以我认为擅长麻将的人在营销方面也会做得好。这是招聘的新方式，我觉得很有意思。”

Mahjong, which originated in China, is similar to the western card game, rummy, and players in Japan said the tile game required skill, strategy, calculation and a degree of chance.

起源于中国的麻将类似西方的拉米纸牌游戏。日本玩家表示，打麻将需要技巧、策略、计算和一定程度的运气。

Organisers said the recruiting tournaments began in 2012 and had gained popularity, mostly among male students, and also with hirers, who say the game revealed more about the candidates than just long pages of resumes.

活动的组织者表示，麻将竞聘发起于2012年，至今已有很高的人气。主要在男性学生中受欢迎，雇主们也很喜欢。雇主说，打麻将比冗长的简历更能反映应聘者的情况。

On Friday, eight students advanced to the next round of the selection process.

周五，有八名学生晋级了下一轮考核。

Between five and ten students are recruited by participating companies every year, organisers said.

组织者说，每年有五到十名学生被参与活动的公司录用。