I'm planning on applying for a job at Google Tokyo. From what I've read online, it sounds like the interview process is really tough. The applicant needs to be good at puzzles, know a good amount of computer science (big O notation, algorithms, discrete math, graph theory, etc), and have lots of experience coding.

I do really like mental puzzles, and I have a lot of experience coding, but I'm mostly worried about the computer science part (assuming I even get to an interview). I took a Data Structures and Algorithms class in college a few years ago, but it wasn't really my favorite class and I haven't looked at that stuff since then.

Does anyone on this forum work for Google? Is it basically impossible to get a job at Google if you don't have the computer sciency stuff nailed down?

For most interviews in Japan, I'd be much more worried about my Japanese ability than about my technical ability, but this time around is the opposite

I'd also add that Google looks for people with Masters and Doctorates, but you probably already know that since its usually listed on the position information.

I can ask my friend. He knows a guy that works at Google Tokyo now, but I don't know if he went through the usual rigors or not. He was recruited by Google straight out of his masters. He studied at a Japanese university.

vix86 Wrote:I'd also add that Google looks for people with Masters and Doctorates, but you probably already know that since its usually listed on the position information.

Yeah, I also only have a bachelors. Their recruitment page says that they will hire people with only a bachelors degree, but they usually prefer a masters or doctorate.

vix86 Wrote:I can ask my friend. He knows a guy that works at Google Tokyo now, but I don't know if he went through the usual rigors or not. He was recruited by Google straight out of his masters. He studied at a Japanese university.

That would be really awesome. I'd be really grateful for any information.

If you're applying for a software engineer position, google has among the most difficult interviews in the world. Even PhDs get stumped. Other positions don't require as deep a knowledge of computer science, but the competition may be even tougher because there are so many people that are qualified.

I applied for software engineer jobs in Google Tokyo and Google Sydney, both were pretty tough. Don't worry about your Japanese; your technical/algorithmic problem solving is pretty much the only thing that matters in the first two stages.

Good luck with it!

If you want to know the kind of questions they ask at Google interviews.

Try here (organized by job title):
http://www.glassdoor.com/Interview/Googl...-E9079.htm


Also go here (organized by company):
http://xorswap.com/

I have a full-time job offer as a software engineer at Google's Mountain View office after college (bachelor's). I wouldn't worry about the masters degree. If you have a lot of coding experience, emphasize that on your resume.

But yes, you need the CS stuff down pat. The best summary of this I've seen is here:
http://steve-yegge.blogspot.de/2008/03/g...oogle.html
under "Tech Prep Tips".

I don't think Google's interviews are harder than anywhere else, but then again, I've only really interviewed at places like Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, LinkedIn, Apple and so.

cantohamster Wrote:I don't think Google's interviews are harder than anywhere else, but then again, I've only really interviewed at places like Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, LinkedIn, Apple and so.

I suspect all those companies are inundated with decent applicants and thus can afford to tune their interview process to be very picky. I've worked for a couple of UK companies, neither of which were letting in just anybody, but they weren't as focussed on the "CS fundamentals" as I get the impression that Google &c are, and I suspect that the interviews were objectively easier, if only because the pool of competing applicants is smaller.

(I second the recommendation of the Yegge blogpost; in fact most of his blog is worth reading, though he does tend to go on at great length.)

Since I got so much good advice from everyone, I wanted to give an update on my status.

I sent my resume to Google about 2 weeks ago, but I haven't heard anything from them since

In the meantime I took Hyperborea, cantohamster, and pm215 suggestions and bought some books to review.

- Concrete Mathematics
- Introduction to Algorithms
- Data Structures and Algorithms
- The Algorithm Design Manual

I'm probably really lacking on my data structures, algorithms, and math knowledge compared to everyone else, so I'm going to need to take some time to go through these books. I also plan on using this opportunity to try studying something other than a language with Anki. I'll see how it turns out.

Getting hired by some place like Google may be too difficult right now, but in a year or so it might be possible. For the time being, I've registered at a couple 人材紹介会社 (recruitment agencies?). I'll be going in for an interview next week so I'll see how that goes.

I also need to begin applying at other places. Does anyone have any suggestions at other places I should try applying? Here's a couple things about me:

1) At my previous job, I was surrounded by a lot of really smart people. I really liked working in this environment because I felt like I had to try really hard to keep up with everyone. I learned so much more than previous jobs. This is the main reason I wanted to work at a place like Google.

2) I like using Linux. I'd like to work somewhere where I don' t have to use Windows everyday.

3) I'd like to work somewhere I don't have to use English everyday.

4) I like both programming and system admin stuff. At my previous job I was a system engineer, so I ended up doing both a lot of programming and system admin stuff.

5) I'd like to work at a small company. For example, I'm completely fine at a place with less than 20 employees. Although, I don't yet have a work visa so I think it would be hard to get a job at a small company?

6) I wouldn't say my Japanese is good or anywhere near a native speaker's, but at the very least I passed N1 in December and I haven't had any trouble in any of the other interviews I've taken.

7) I'd like to work in either 東京 or 大阪, but I'd be open to going somewhere else, especially to the south.

8) I'd much rather work doing something interesting than work somewhere where the pay is high.


To be honest though, I'm not that picky. As long as I can get a job in Japan as a programmer, SE, or system admin, I would be happy.

Any suggestions?

You can try http://www.careerforum.net

Tons of IT and programming jobs are posted.

Actually, the Tokyo summer forum is this Saturday and Sunday (6/30 and 7/1).
Probably your best chance at getting a good job. Many companies hire on-the-spot.

Sign up NOW and apply NOW. A lot of companies expect you to fill their
online application at the Careerforum website BEFORE going to the Tokyo Summer Forum.

Tokyo Summer Forum:
http://www.careerforum.net/event/tks/?lang=J

List of Companies attending(Japanese):
http://www.careerforum.net/event/tks/comlist.asp?lang=J

List of Companies attending(English):
http://www.careerforum.net/event/tks/comlist.asp?lang=E

chamcham Wrote:You can try http://www.careerforum.net

Thanks so much for this. I took a couple hours yesterday and signed up yesterday for the Career fair.

There were a couple things I'm not so sure about. It seems like the majority of the companies (maybe 3/4?) are looking for people with native-level Japanese. There are also some companies who aren't looking for IT support. It also seems like most companies are aiming for students graduating in 2013 (I'm only attending language school, and it ends in October). There was only one or two places looking for 転職／中途採用.

I ended up with about 30 places that looked good (even though the majority of them are looking for students graduating in 2013). I "applied" to about 15-20 of them. I don't really understand what the application means though. Most places just sent a generic email saying "Thanks for your email. Here's a little about our company. Please come to our booth." There was only one company that actually let me schedule an interview.

I'd like to take an interview at a couple different companies, but it's not clear what companies are conducting interviews. I guess I just have to go to the booth and ask? Maybe I applied too late?

I went to the career forum in Boston back in 2010, so it might be a little different than the Tokyo one.

Are you familiar with the looking-for-employment process of Japanese university students? Their senior year is basically dedicated to going to interviews (some beginning in their junior year).

I went to the one in the States, so it might be a little different, but in my experience, the career forum was basically for those exchange students in America who can't make it to Japan do do their job search.

I'm not saying that you can't find a job there -- I advanced pretty far with some companies, one in particular... But it eventually didn't work out. But since you're not their target audience, you'll have to put in more effort. Learn about the companies. Do research about the kind of things they ask. Learn proper table etiquette (some take you out to dinner, but it's really just seeing how you react in their social atmosphere).

I went to the Tokyo summer career forum yesterday, and I wanted to write up my impressions. Hopefully it will help you out if you've never attended a job fair in Japan. (Keep in mind that this was only my first real job fair.)

The career forum was held at Tokyo Big site, so it was pretty large. This was a career fair for people who could speak English, so there were quite a few foreigners. But still mostly Japanese people. It was about 95% 文系 people and 5% 理系 people. (I was really surprised that 理系 was so small. Maybe it makes sense though, since people who study English are mostly 文系 people?) When you walk in, there are basically a bunch of booths setup. Most booths have someone standing in front of them taking your questions.

There are a couple different types of booths. The most common type of booth had a presentation followed by a Q&A session. The presentations took anywhere from 15 minutes to 1+ hours. Other booths conducted informal interviews. It was basically a one-on-one Q&A session where they ask you questions about yourself as well as tell you about the company. Other booths did an interesting thing where they would take a bunch of resume's, then once an hour they would go through them, pick the best couple, and then give those people a formal interview. Some booths only allowed you to turn in your resume if you attended their presentation. In general, it seemed like the more popular companies had Q&A sessions and formal interviews, and the less popular companies had informal interviews.

To be honest, I honestly didn't have much luck here, mostly because I'm looking for 転職／中途採用.

Asriel Wrote:Are you familiar with the looking-for-employment process of Japanese university students? Their senior year is basically dedicated to going to interviews (some beginning in their junior year).

This was basically my problem. Most companies (at least 50%?) are looking for fresh graduates with no experience. I was almost immediately turned away when I said I had experience. Another 25% told me that they were hiring 中途, but I needed to go to their website to apply. So basically I had no luck with 75% of the companies right off the bat.

I focused on the remaining 25%. There were 2 companies that I found really interesting, as well as 2 companies that seemed interested in me. I also had informal and formal interviews at a handful of other companies.

In order to get the formal interviews, you generally needed to go through the resume submission/selection process I described above. I ended up getting selected for the formal interview everywhere I turned in my resume. I don't know if this was because I am 理系, I have experience, I have N1, or what. But at least it seemed really easy for me to get an interview.

The formal interviews didn't go very well for me though. It was basically a standard interview with an HR person. They asked questions like "Tell me about a time when in college when you faced some hardship, and then how you overcame it." One of the interviews was actually a two-person interview, so I ended up taking the interview with one other girl. She had these really nice canned answers all of these types of questions. I had basically nothing.

On the other hand, the informal interviews were more likely to be with someone who is technical, so those all seemed to go a lot better.

I'm looking for a job as a programmer, system admin, system engineer, etc. It wasn't always obvious what kinds of jobs were available at a given company. I generally had to go up to the person in front of the booth and ask what kinds of jobs were available. This was especially true of bigger companies that were hiring for basically every position.

Most places (maybe more than 60%) had signs up saying they were only hiring people who spoke Japanese natively (日本語が母国語). However, this didn't seem to be true. Every place I asked about this said that my Japanese was at an acceptable level. I don't know if they were more lenient with me because I'm a native English speaker. I wonder how they responded to, say, Chinese people?

I didn't get invited out to dinner (笑)

My friend got a full-time job at the Boston Career Forum with Toyota (which asked for native-level Japanese). He was white (i.e. not Asian looking) and taking the same Japanese class as me in college.

So basically ignore the "native-level" nonsense. Just walk up to them and start talking. He actually got the job 8 months after the Career Forum. So make sure to keep checking your inbox.

The same company has the Career Forum in Boston(usually November) and London (usually June). They're actually easier than the Tokyo Career Forum since there are less native speakers there (so the competition is less fierce). If you can afford it, I'd suggest going to them.

It's not uncommon for people to fly from Japan to the Boston Career Forum to get a job back in Tokyo.

Anyway, sounds like you had a good time there.

Just want to throw my experience with the DISCO fairs into the pile.

I went to the BCF last year and my experience was straight up depressing. Just for background, I'm working on my MBA and have an economics BA from a top 10 school. Also have a Japanese spousal visa and N1 - J2 (BJT) level Japanese ... I landed a grand total of 3 interviews and received one job offer from a company that was not even related to Japan...

It was clear from the get go that 95% of the companies at the fair were not interested in foreigners at all no matter how good their Japanese was. Most companies were very open about the fact that they were only in Boston to grab Japanese people who were studying in America and foreigners need not apply for these positions.

That left about 5% of companies who might be interested in foreigners. These seemed to be mostly comprised of big investment banks who don't care about language but want to see IVY on your resume. Because of this, there was a very large contingent of lower level Ivy league students who didn't even speak a word of Japanese orbiting around these booths.

There were a few odd companies spread around the floor who had no relation at all to Japan but were looking for "international talent", this is the only place I got traction. There were also a few American subsidiaries of Japanese companies looking to hire people too.

And headhunting companies were there, but everyone knows they'll hire anyone who can breath and operate a telephone.

The previous poster mentioned that the BCF is easier than the Tokyo one. This is not true. These forums are run by the same organization and Boston is the main event. Japanese people come from around the world to attend this fair and competition is insane even among the native speakers. The only thing about the BCF that would be easier for foreigners is applying for jobs at the three or four attending companies that are looking for native English speakers with "international experience". The catch is that these companies usually didn't have any relation to Japan so what is the point?

Anyway, I also went to the Tokyo fair in 2008 and my impression was that Tokyo was actually much more open to foreigners than Boston. A lot of companies there seemed to be openly targeting foreign students studying in Japan while Boston, like I mentioned before, seemed to be only interested in Japanese people studying in America.

A final note - I wouldn't recommend a foreigner spending a significant amount of money and wasted time traveling to the BCF unless they have the following skills

1. Minimum N1 and a STEM degree.
2. If not a STEM degree, N1 Japanese plus whatever the equivalent is in Chinese or Korean.

Why would someone to BCF if they were in Japan? Couldn't they just... interview with those companies in Japan?

I didn't really like it when I went either - it's not my style. Far too oversubscribed and lacking in focus. I don't seem to have any problem getting a positive response when contacting western companies advertising openings requiring a particular skillset in Japan, and I think that's the way to go. Avoid the crowd (and HR!!) as much as possible.

dizmox Wrote:Why would someone to BCF if they were in Japan? Couldn't they just... interview with those companies in Japan?

I didn't really like it when I went either - it's not my style. Far too oversubscribed and lacking in focus. I don't seem to have any problem getting a positive response when contacting western companies advertising openings requiring a particular skillset in Japan, and I think that's the way to go. Avoid the crowd (and HR!!) as much as possible.

Because it's one of the few chances where they can talk to and interview with these companies without playing the HR/resume game (that will likely not result in any responses).

I have a young friend who was hired by Google this year (class of 2012). He will be working in Tokyo. He made contacts at a conference for Asian/Asian American engineers in New York when he was still in school. Sorry I can't give you contact info. He's also a concert level pianist. He minored in math. I'm no expert, but it seems that contacts are the key. My sister got an engineering job recently where the hiring manager's family/ethnicity and history was similar to that of my family. I'm sure that was not the only reason. But, I'm guessing it helped.