Job interviews in Japan are just like anywhere else. No matter what job you want, you need to give your career and the skills you can offer your employer a lot of thought. Sometimes interviews are already scary, so having to do them in Japanese can make things even scarier. Even if you’re not very good at Japanese, knowing the most common interview questions and how to answer them can help you stand out.
As you put on your best clothes for the interview, don’t forget that it’s never too late to learn some common Japanese interview questions, just in case.
In Japan, interviews usually don’t start with small talk like they do in the West. Instead, they get right to business. There are generally three parts. The interview will begin with questions about your Japanese level. Next will be easy questions that most people can answer. Finally, you will be asked about the company and how you feel about working there. Here are some typical “introduction” questions.
Once the interviewer knows how well you speak Japanese, they will ask you some easy questions to learn more about you. What’s wrong with softball questions? A softball will still hurt you if you don’t pay attention and get hit in the face by one. Therefore, study up on these terms even if they seem easy.
They are likely to ask you some tougher questions now that you hit the softball out of the park. Some of the things they may ask you include:
Interviewing at YuMe, the leading programmatic video advertising platform? Landing a job at this innovative company can be competitive, but going in fully prepared will give you a leg up
In this comprehensive guide we’ll explore YuMe’s hiring process breakdown commonly asked interview questions with sample answers, and provide expert tips to help you ace your YuMe job interview.
Overview of YuMe’s Interview Process
The YuMe interview process typically consists of
- Initial phone screening
- 1-2 technical phone interviews
- 3-5 onsite interviews (combination of technical, behavioral, case studies)
- Panel interview
- Reference checks
- Offer
The number of interview rounds depends on the role. Expect 4-7 total interviews for most positions.
YuMe interviews are described as conversational but methodical. Interviewers aim to understand your thought process and technical competency through situational and behavioral questions.
They want to see you demonstrate analytical thinking, communication skills, and passion for advertising technology. Coming prepared with knowledge of YuMe’s products and mission is key.
15 Common YuMe Interview Questions and Answers
Here are some of the most frequently asked YuMe interview questions along with tips for crafting winning responses:
1. Tell me about yourself
- Focus on your professional background tailored to the role you are interviewing for
- Emphasize relevant skills, accomplishments, and passion for the industry
- Keep it concise – 3 mins max
Example: “I am a digital media expert with over 7 years of experience driving growth for leading advertisers. My expertise spans programmatic buying, audience segmentation, and campaign analysis across both linear and digital video. I thrive at the intersection of data and creativity. Currently, I lead a team of 10 at [Company] managing an annual media spend of over $5M…”
2. Why do you want to work for YuMe?
- Demonstrate your knowledge of YuMe’s products, mission, and values
- Share why you are attracted specifically to YuMe over other ad tech companies
- Convey passion and alignment with YuMe’s innovative approach
Example: “I am deeply inspired by YuMe’s vision to pioneer the future of digital video advertising through cutting-edge technologies like programmatic TV. Having led programmatic campaigns in my current role, I’m drawn to YuMe’s AI-driven approach and cross-screen capabilities. I admire your patented ad insertion technology and commitment to audience transparency. I would be excited to join a team of forward-thinkers pushing the boundaries of video advertising.”
3. What do you know about our company/products?
- Research YuMe’s products and solutions thoroughly
- Understand their core offerings and differentiators
- Memorize key facts/figures about the company
Example: “YuMe offers a comprehensive suite of programmatic video advertising solutions spanning connected TV, desktop, and mobile. Some of your standout products are Cross-Screen Audience Amplifier which leverages first-party data for sequential storytelling across screens, and Digital Video Ratings which provides impression-level brand safety metrics. Key facts that stand out to me are that YuMe reaches over 200M unique monthly users, serves over 1.3B video ads daily, and has patented ad insertion technology for set-top boxes.”
4. Why are you leaving your current job?
- Avoid criticizing your current employer
- Focus on seeking growth opportunities aligned with your goals
- Share why YuMe specifically is the next step in your career path
Example: “I’ve learned a tremendous amount in my current role and my company has provided great opportunities for career development. However, I’m now looking to take on more responsibility and expand my digital video expertise. YuMe is doing groundbreaking work at the intersection of TV and digital video, which excites me. I feel this is the ideal next step to challenge myself and make an impact in transforming the future of video advertising.”
5. Tell me about a challenge you faced at work and how you overcame it
- Choose an example that demonstrates grit, creativity and analytical thinking
- Outline the situation, actions you took, and results
Example: *”When I joined my current company, campaign performance lagged due to reliance on outdated third-party data. Leveraging my analytics skills, I conducted multi-touch attribution analysis, identifying significant data quality issues and revealing our high-funnel display tactics had minimal impact on lower-funnel conversions.
To address this, I proposed a shift to invest more on premium first-party data sources and refine targeting to users likely to convert based on our CRM data. I partnered with our data science team to build a propensity model and reallocated spend to more effective tactics like Connected TV and video.
This strategy increased conversion rates by 42% and ROAS by 31%, validating the importance of leveraging high-quality, actionable data.”*
6. How do you stay up-to-date on industry trends and developments?
- Demonstrate proactive learning orientation
- Share specific resources, publications, events, and networks you leverage
- Emphasize application of knowledge to improve your work
Example: *”Staying current on advertising tech trends is crucial, so I dedicate time each week to learning by:
- Reading industry publications like AdExchanger, AdAge, and Adweek
- Attending programmatic conferences such as Programmatic I/O and AdMonsters OPS
- Leveraging social media by following thought leaders and companies like YuMe
- Discussing emerging technologies with colleagues and peers in my network
I then look for opportunities to apply new knowledge, whether optimizing campaigns by leveraging innovations like CTV or testing machine learning to uncover new audience insights. This continuous learning allows me to bring cutting-edge ideas to my role.”*
7. Describe your experience with programmatic advertising
- Share campaigns and results that demonstrate your programmatic expertise
- Highlight skills in areas like campaign setup/optimization, audience segmentation, analyzing performance data etc.
Example: *”I have managed programmatic video campaigns for 3 years across both OTT/CTV and mobile apps. On the buy-side, I served as the programmatic lead for [Company], managing a $2M annual budget across 3 major brands. I executed the entire workflow from audience targeting to creative personalization and post-campaign analysis.
On the sell-side at [Company], I worked cross-functionally to package and sell our OTT ad inventory programmatically. Here I gained experience with yield optimization, curating & packaging audiences, and troubleshooting ad delivery.
Overall, I’ve achieved an average CTR lift of 12% on programmatic campaigns by relentlessly optimizing based on performance data.”*
8. Tell me about a time you successfully influenced cross-functional teams or executives
- Choose an example demonstrating leadership, communication, and influence skills
- Share the situation, actions you took, and outcome
Example: *”As the lead on a new CTV advertising product launch, I needed to coordinate across our engineering, product, and sales teams to deliver on an aggressive timeline.
Knowing collaboration was critical, I met with each team early on to understand objectives and potential roadblocks. I maintained transparency through regular project reviews, while also communicating the big-picture vision to maintain alignment.
To influence accelerated development, I shared compelling market data on the demand for our proposed product features. For sales enablement, I coached reps on how to convey our unique value proposition.
We ultimately launched 2 months ahead of schedule. This experience reinforced that cross-functional leadership hinges on uniting people behind a shared goal through transparency, insight sharing, and consistent communication.”*
9. How would you improve our product X?
- Thoroughly research their product beforehand
- Identify potential gaps or opportunities to optimize user experience
- Present your suggestions clearly and back up with data/reasoning
Example: *”From my research on Cross-Screen Audience Amplifier, I believe there is an opportunity to enhance it by expanding integrations with additional third-party data providers like Acxiom, Liveramp, and Oracle.
By augmenting your data marketplace, you could empower clients to build even more customized, actionable audience segments across devices. I would also suggest leveraging machine learning to enable ‘lookalike modeling’ – allowing clients to easily discover new audiences that resemble their 1st party CRM segments.
These enhancements could increase audience targeting flexibility for clients and position YuMe as an innovation leader in cross-screen advertising. I could see this driving increased utilization of the product and client retention.”*
10. What advertising KPIs are most important to track? How would you optimize campaigns to improve them?
- Discuss 2-3 core metrics relevant to the role
- For each, share strategies to optimize based on that KPI
Example: *”Three vital advertising performance metrics I would optimize for are:
Engagement rate – Measures how captivating an ad is. To improve, I A/B test elements like creative, call-to-action, ad length.
Click-through rate – Indicates an ad’s ability to drive action. Optimizing landing pages, audiences, and bidding strategies boosts CTR.
Conversion rate
Japanese Job Interview Questions and Answers
FAQ
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