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Decent company, decent environment

Software Engineer
Former Employee
Worked at Rakuten for 4 years
October 19, 2022
Tokyo, Japan
4.0
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEO
Pros

It's a big company with lots of opportunities.

The main office is located in a nice town with many amenities.

My coworkers are fun people. Lunch and dinner are provided, and I think it's healthy.

The Ichiba team (their flagship product) has too much priority over everyone else. If you're not in Ichiba, you're a second-class citizen. But it's still a decent place to be.

People are generally chill and there are plenty of holidays. Rakuten is a big company, and being an employee gives you instant access to a wide array of services that would otherwise be a pain to apply for.

Cons

Pay is "competitive", which is code for low. The execs are slightly unhinged, and some HR policies are bizarre. There is some office politics, but it's mostly between upper management. This causes some company decision-making to feel schizophrenic. The CEO has a big ego and talks a lot of hot air.

Ultimately, I left the company because my team was aggressively being moved to India. Within half a year, three quarters of my team was located in India. My friends and colleagues left, so I did too. It didn't have to be this way, sadly.

I don't have any good advice for the prospective employee. It was just the luck of the draw, I guess.

Advice to Management

Please don't move everything to India. I like having colleagues in Japan.

Additional Ratings

Work/Life Balance
3.0
Culture and Values
4.0
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
5.0
Career Opportunities
4.0
Compensation and Benefits
2.0
Senior Management
4.0

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