I applied online. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at Rakuten (Tokyo) in Aug 2014
Interview
1. Write a short opening statement- not sure what they were looking for, but I referenced the shugi to show I read it over.
2. Take web test- very fast paced and hard to complete every question. First half are general questions about work situations, the second half are the tough logic questions similar to a GMAT, GRE, SAT question.
3. Interview 1- with an HR staff. We had a good time and chatted about lots of random things.
4. Interview 2- upper level HR staff. Felt noticeably harder and needed more in depth answers although the questions were similar.
5. Interview 3- executive interview with a random high level executive. Looking for more in depth answers.
6. Interview 4- final interview with another non-HR staff member. This was about making sure that you really want to join.
7. Essay- read the principles of success and write an essay on it.
8. Japanese test- 20 minute phone call with a recording machine asking you to answer various questions that range in difficulty.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
There weren't any hard questions, but I'd suggest thinking of thoughtful answers beforehand and be prepared for random Japanese questions even if your interview starts in English. There were usually 2 or 3 standard interview questions they'd ask me to answer in Japanese.
I applied through college or university. I interviewed at Rakuten
Interview
Video interview. Basic. One question in Japanese. I was very prepared for the Japanese questions as I have read reviews about it. Other questions are pretty easy but this was my first job interview so I got very nervous and felt like I did not do that well. Still waiting for an answer.
I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Rakuten (Vancouver, BC) in Jun 2015
Interview
I applied through Rakuten's recruitment website where I was required to submit an ES (Entrysheet). On there I had to answer questions about what my job seeking criteria is and why I want to work for Rakuten. There was also an optional question that asked me to describe my experiences using Rakuten's services. The last part of the ES was to fill out information about my education background and any work experiences I have. After submitting the ES, there were also an aptitude test and a personality test to complete.
Rakuten informed me through email 2 days after I sent in my ES and told me to do a pre-recorded interview since I am not located in Japan. For every question I was given about 30 seconds to think about my response and roughly 2 minutes to record my answer. You can choose to answer in either English or Japanese. There were 5 questions in total that were pretty basic and expected but for the last question I was specifically asked to answer in Japanese.
I'm still waiting for the result as I just finished my first interview.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell us about yourself and how you got to this point.
Tell us about your greatest achievement or about a time you faced a challenge and how you overcame it and your experiences about it.
In Japanese please tell us the reason why you want to work in Japan.
I applied through other source. I interviewed at Rakuten
Interview
3 rounds of interview, with 1 online test, 1 Japanese oral test, 1 essay and 1 video recorded interview for Japanese language level test.
Basic questions through the interview. And I did the first round on site in the career forum, and the rest of them through skype.
The first two rounds were 70% the same, but deeper illustration and new thoughts are necessary so that the answers would not be exactly the same. The last round only last 15mins for me.