It is very exciting for me to have the chance to spend my summers 2020 at Mercari Japan. When I applied to be a Backend Engineer at Mercari Japan and when I got the offer letter, it was like being on a roller coaster.
I’m going to talk about my interviews in some detail to give everyone a general idea of how professional and fun it is for Mercari to choose potential employees.
Getting hired at a top tech company like Mercari is no easy feat. With competition fiercer than ever, you need to enter each interview fully prepared if you want to land the job In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover the most common Mercari interview questions and provide tips to help you craft winning responses.
Overview of Mercari’s Hiring Process
Mercari’s hiring process typically involves:
- Initial phone screen with a recruiter
- Technical assessment or coding challenge (for some roles)
- 2-3 technical or managerial interviews
- Discussions with team leads/directors (for senior roles)
- Reference checks
The process can take a few weeks to several months, It’s crucial to be prepared for both technical expertise and cultural fit assessments
Frequency of Common Mercari Interview Questions
Based on analysis of past interview experiences, here are some of the most frequently asked Mercari interview questions to expect:
- Performance optimization (15 occurrences) – How to optimize a large ecommerce platform like Mercari
- Customer service (12 occurrences) – Resolving customer complaints and improving experiences
- Design principles (10 occurrences) – Creating visually appealing, user-friendly interfaces
- Data analysis (8 occurrences) – Using data to identify trends and improve processes
- Product development (7 occurrences) – Prioritizing features and making strategic decisions
- Team management (5 occurrences) – Keeping engineering teams aligned with company goals
- Conflict resolution (3 occurrences) – Addressing customer dissatisfaction with solutions
Understanding the frequency of these topics helps you know which areas to focus your preparation on. Let’s explore some of the top questions in more detail.
How to Optimize the Performance of a Large Ecommerce Platform
With Mercari handling enormous volumes of traffic and transactions daily, interviewers want to know if you can keep the platform running smoothly. They may ask:
“How would you approach optimizing the performance of a large-scale ecommerce platform like Mercari?”
Tips to ace it:
- Acknowledge the complexity of optimization at scale
- Discuss experience with tools like load testing, A/B testing, data analysis
- Suggest solutions like improving server capacity, code refactoring, database optimization
- Highlight success optimizing similar platforms, if applicable
- For junior roles, show enthusiasm for learning Mercari’s tech stack
Emphasize your technical expertise while demonstrating analytical thinking and problem-solving skills. Optimization is crucial for customer experience, so convey your commitment to optimizing performance.
Handling Customer Complaints and Improving Experiences
With an app used by millions, Mercari needs people who can handle challenges and maintain great customer relationships. Interviewers may ask:
“Can you describe how you’ve effectively resolved customer complaints or issues in a previous role?”
Tips to ace it:
- Reflect on specific examples of resolving complaints successfully
- Showcase problem-solving, communication, and empathy
- Discuss how you listened, proposed solutions, followed up, and learned
- Emphasize commitment to customer satisfaction and continuous improvement
Demonstrate your customer service skills while highlighting your calmness under pressure. Conveying your dedication to the customer will impress interviewers.
Design Principles for Visually Appealing, User-Friendly Apps
Mercari wants designers who can create interfaces that engage users and drive growth. You may be asked:
“What techniques do you use to create visually appealing and user-friendly designs for a mobile app or website?”
Tips to ace it:
- Discuss design principles like color theory, typography, UI/UX design
- Highlight techniques you use, e.g. wireframing, usability testing, A/B testing
- Share examples of improving aesthetics and usability
- For junior roles, show enthusiasm for learning principles and gaining experience
Showcase your design knowledge while demonstrating awareness of both visual appeal and functionality. Convey your user-centric approach to design.
Using Data Analysis to Uncover Insights
With data driving strategic decisions across Mercari, expect questions like:
“Describe your experience using data analysis tools and techniques to identify trends and improve business processes.”
Tips to ace it:
- Focus on practical experiences with Excel, SQL, Tableau, etc.
- Discuss instances where your analysis led to tangible improvements
- Emphasize how your skills helped recognize patterns and enhance processes
- For junior roles, convey theoretical knowledge you’re eager to apply
Demonstrate your comfort working with data tools while highlighting your analytical mindset. Show how you can translate insights into real outcomes.
Balancing Engineering Innovation and Business Goals
For engineering leaders, Mercari wants people who understand team management. You may get asked:
“How do you ensure that engineering teams stay aligned with company objectives while maintaining high-quality output?”
Tips to ace it:
- Discuss promoting clear expectations and mutual understanding of goals
- Share how you track progress, foster continuous improvement, encourage standards
- Highlight strategies like reviews, knowledge sharing, open communication
- Cite examples of successfully balancing innovation and alignment
Showcase your leadership abilities while emphasizing business acumen. Convey your effectiveness at strategic alignment.
Turning Around Dissatisfied Customers
Even with the best systems, unhappy customers happen. Interviewers want to know:
“Explain how you would handle a situation where a customer is unhappy with the resolution provided by a Customer Experience Specialist.”
Tips to ace it:
- Stress your commitment to customer
How Did I Apply?
I applied at Mercari for the position of Backend Engineering Intern during the first week of August. Along with most of the basic details, I filled referrer as a senior of my institute. This was helpful because, as I learned later, the recruiters personally ask the referrer for feedback on the candidate. Also, the referrer becomes your direct contact point with the HR.
As a note, I asked many of my seniors who work at the company for feedback on me during the hiring process. I’ve worked with most of them before.
What After Online Screening?
Fortunately I cleared the online screening round!
Within a week or two of taking the test, I was told about the interview and asked to give five times that worked for me. As soon as I gave them the information and my availability, I heard back the next day with the interview time.
The interview was over Google Hangouts with a Mercari software engineer. The interview was pretty laid-back. We started by introducing ourselves and talking about our interests. Then we talked about the projects and experiences I listed on my resume. People asked me to show the code for almost all of the OpenSource projects on my GitHub. It was pretty in-depth. After that, I was asked to name the projects I was most proud of and describe the difficulties I faced while working on them.
They went over all the problems I had encountered while working on those projects and asked me, based on what I now know, what changes I would like to make to my methods to make the solution work better. Overall, this was one of the best interviews I’ve had. Things that helped me do well were reflecting on many of the mistakes I had made in the past, talking excitedly about my past projects, and being okay with how ignorant (or naive) I had been before.
Interview of Bijaya Prasad Kuikel of Mercari, Japan with EJable
FAQ
How to answer tell me about yourself in an interview?
What are scenario-based interview questions?
What questions do Mercari interviewers ask?
If you’re applying for a job at Mercari, you can expect to be asked a variety of questions about your qualifications, work history, and availability. In this guide, we’ve assembled a list of Mercari interview questions and answers to help you prepare for your interview.
How do I prepare for an interview at Mercari?
Prepare yourself for your interview at Mercari by browsing Interview questions and processes from real candidates.
How Mercari employees can share insights & advice anonymously?
On Glassdoor, you can share insights and advice anonymously with Mercari employees and get real answers from people on the inside. resume screening coding interview required to write in golang behavioral interview, the employees require you to answer your actions which is along with mercari core value, go bold, be a pro, all for one HR interview
How to interview at Mercari (Tokyo)?
I interviewed at Mercari (Tokyo) Firstly, have a online interview with the recruiter, need to answer some questions in Japanese. Then, have a design challenge assignment. I didn’t go through the next step after submitted the assignment, but the recruiter told me the comment from the interviewer about my assignment which I appreciate.
