Software Engineer Interview Experience - San Mateo, California
December 1, 2016
Positive ExperienceNo Offer
Process
They had to pre-record the answer for the question they provided and do it by a certain date.
They required you to smile to the camera, have your own personality, and look at the camera, not down.
With technical questions, they required you to use previous experience and projects as examples.
And finally, why do you want to join Rakuten?
They reminded you to give a good answer that shows you have prepared and deeply thought about the reason to join.
Questions
What is your greatest strength, and how do you leverage your strength for peak performance? Please give us an example.
Was this helpful?
Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 1 interview experience for the Rakuten Software Engineer role in San Mateo, California.
Success Rate
0%
Pass Rate
Rakuten's interview process for their Software Engineer roles in San Mateo, California is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Positive100%
Neutral0%
Negative0%
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Rakuten's Software Engineer interview process in San Mateo, California.
Rakuten Work Experiences
4.0
Great Tech, Food, Culture
Software Engineer • Current Employee
San Mateo, California, United States
March 1, 2025
Pros: 1. Nice tech stack
2. Good work culture
3. Food
Cons: I am happy with my job.
5.0
Company with product diversity
Software Engineer • Current Employee
San Mateo, California, United States
April 22, 2024
Pros: You get to work on a variety of projects, as the platform has so many touch points. Great work-life balance.
Cons: Not the best compensation and not very enthusiastic with promotions.
4.0
Enforce back-to-the-office rule!
Software Engineer • Current Employee
San Mateo, California, United States
August 13, 2023
Pros: Free lunch for the major campuses.
Free food.
Free beverages.
Half day off on Fridays between Memorial and Labor Day.
Actual vacation days (15 minimum), not the all-you-can-take BS.
The company really cares about diversity and many other PC causes.
Cons: The company cares too much about diversity and PC causes. Way too much time is spent on the weekly all-company meeting "Asakai" on these topics. It is sometimes useful and often is a total waste of time.
Please, I just need to know how the company is doing financially and get back to do my work.
Information is very siloized. One big reason is because everyone still spends most of their time WFH, at least on the engineering side. Oh, sure, we are all supposed to come to work 3 days a week, but this is not enforced at all. A natural consequence is the rank-and-file seldom talks to their peers, and only the managers know what's going on.
This is great if you are one of those people who just likes to take orders and march, but it makes a very frustrating experience if you want to have a say on what you are doing and decide whether you are doing the right thing for the company. If you have been in the company for a long time, you will be fine, because you know who to talk to and where to find stuff, but if you are new, you'd better be extra-motivated.
- 4.0Great Tech, Food, CultureSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Mateo, California, United StatesMarch 1, 2025Pros: 1. Nice tech stack 2. Good work culture 3. FoodCons: I am happy with my job.
- 5.0Company with product diversitySoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Mateo, California, United StatesApril 22, 2024Pros: You get to work on a variety of projects, as the platform has so many touch points. Great work-life balance.Cons: Not the best compensation and not very enthusiastic with promotions.
- 4.0Enforce back-to-the-office rule!Software Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Mateo, California, United StatesAugust 13, 2023Pros: Free lunch for the major campuses. Free food. Free beverages. Half day off on Fridays between Memorial and Labor Day. Actual vacation days (15 minimum), not the all-you-can-take BS. The company really cares about diversity and many other PC causes.Cons: The company cares too much about diversity and PC causes. Way too much time is spent on the weekly all-company meeting "Asakai" on these topics. It is sometimes useful and often is a total waste of time. Please, I just need to know how the company is doing financially and get back to do my work. Information is very siloized. One big reason is because everyone still spends most of their time WFH, at least on the engineering side. Oh, sure, we are all supposed to come to work 3 days a week, but this is not enforced at all. A natural consequence is the rank-and-file seldom talks to their peers, and only the managers know what's going on. This is great if you are one of those people who just likes to take orders and march, but it makes a very frustrating experience if you want to have a say on what you are doing and decide whether you are doing the right thing for the company. If you have been in the company for a long time, you will be fine, because you know who to talk to and where to find stuff, but if you are new, you'd better be extra-motivated.
Rakuten Interview Questions
Explore Interview QuestionsTaro 75Google Interview QuestionsMeta Interview QuestionsAmazon Interview QuestionsApple Interview QuestionsNetflix Interview Questions
Explore Interview ExperiencesOpenAI Interview ExperiencesAnthropic Interview ExperiencesPerplexity Interview ExperiencesWindsurf Interview ExperiencesMistral AI Interview Experiences
