Students & New Graduates
At Mercari, we believe that in order for our business and organization to make giant leaps, it’s necessary to throw open our door not just to experienced professionals, but also to the next generation of talent.
News
Message
Mercari does not establish any limits on its members, regardless of factors like age, gender, and nationality. This applies to new graduates and interns as well. Gathering a team of diverse talent and skills is a vital component of building a strong workplace and achieving our Group mission of “circulate all forms of value to unleash the potential in all people.” If you thrive in an environment that encourages bold actions without the fear of failure, come join us in working toward this challenging mission.
New Graduate
Recruitment at Mercari
At Mercari, we look for new graduates that can hit the ground running after joining our team, just like we do for mid-career positions. Once you join the company, you will be assigned a mentor to help you get the hang of things, but from an early stage, new members are treated on equal footing as everyone else and expected to perform the same.
In many cases, the new graduates who join us do so after completing one of our internship programs. Going through the internship will allow you to get a feel for the culture and working style at Mercari while gaining actual on-the-job experience for the type of work you’ll be doing.
Hiring Process Examples
Mercari hires throughout the year, so these dates are just examples.
The schedule may vary for positions that don’t require a technical assessment.
Internships
Mercari is actively looking for interns both in and outside Japan. Interns are hired for a set period of time (usually about one to three months) based on their situation as well as their assigned team’s. The special thing about Mercari’s internship programs is that you will have the opportunity to be involved in your team’s actual day-to-day work. By working in the same environment as our full-time members, we hope that you will be able to not only acquire new skills, but also get a sense of what it’s like to work at Mercari. We encourage our interns to think about questions like “What do I want to do?” or “Will I be able to thrive here?” and use the time as an opportunity for self-discovery.
Voices of past interns
H.A. (Mercari Security Engineering Team)
I worked on re-evaluating Sysdig Secure, which is used for attack detection in the Kubernetes environment. One of the things that impressed me the most during this internship was the culture of the Mercari Security Team and their commitment to properly verifying whether code is “truly safe.” During my internship, I got to experience the entire security process at Mercari, while thinking about and executing each step of the process in order to provide safe and secure services to users.
S.W. (Mercari Product & Insight Analytics Team)
I conducted analyses to increase the number of listings made from the Mercari website. First, I identified the user segments that would have the biggest impact on the number of listings made on the web. Once I identified these segments, I conducted surveys and analyses to figure out what is necessary for these users to list more items on Mercari. It was a very valuable two months, during which I was able to experience what it is like to work as an analyst and learn the importance of establishing a clear goal and structure when carrying out analysis.
A.K. (Merpay iOS Team)
I was in charge of coming up with and developing new features for the dashboard screen as a member of Merpay’s iOS Team. I had the chance to get technical guidance and feedback from other team members through code review and pair programming. I learned a lot about developing a large-scale app over these two months. It was also an amazing experience being able to work with such a diverse group of people. For example, there were many opportunities to communicate in English with employees of many different nationalities and work with people in other fields like PMs and designers. The internship was a meaningful experience that gave me a taste of what it is like to work at Merpay.
Employment Conditions
Employment Conditions
Employer
Mercari, Inc.
– For non-Mercari positions, you will sign an employment contract with Mercari, Inc., and be seconded to Merpay, Inc., Mercoin, Inc., or Souzoh, Inc.
Application requirements
Students 16 years or older who are able to join in or after July 2024
– For the specific qualifications required, please see the job description of each position
Join date
No set join date, since Mercari hires all year round
– Orientation for new graduates is held in April and October
Employment period
No defined period
Probationary period
Three months
– During this period, your contract conditions will be the same as that of a permanent employee
– In some cases we may decide to extend this probationary period
Work location
Head office (6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo) , Osaka office, Nagoya office or Fukuoka office
– Measures against secondhand smoke: Indoor smoking is completely prohibited
– Work location will depend on the position
– Mercari has a work style policy called “Your Choice” that allows employees to freely choose the work style that’s best for them. Each employee can choose whether they want to work in the office, go fully remote, or some hybrid combination of the two. (Does not apply to some positions)
Working hours
Eight hours + one-hour break per day
Full flextime (no core hours)
Note: Does not apply to some positions
Days off and holidays
Two days off per week (as well as national holidays, New Year’s break, etc.)
Paid leave, congratulatory and bereavement leave, relax days, sick leave, child nursing leave, caregiving leave
Salary
Example using a monthly salary of 300,000 yen: Base salary of 221,965 yen + fixed overtime allowance of 78,035 yen (covering up to 45 hours of overtime per month)
– This salary amount is just for example purposes
– If you exceed 45 hours of overtime, a separate overtime allowance will be paid for the amount exceeding 45 hours. However, for those considered supervisors under labor laws, the separate overtime allowance will only be paid if you work overtime during late-night hours (10:00 PM–5:00 AM) for a total amount that exceeds the fixed overtime allowance.
– Since Mercari has a hybrid working style, commuting expenses will be paid based on how many times you go to the office (conditions and upper limit apply)
Salary review
Conducted in April and October
– Employee salaries are reviewed based on a performance evaluation that looks at aspects such as output and behavior
Incentives
Given in March and September
– Paid based on individual evaluation and company performance
Stock-based compensation (stock options)
Awarded
Note: Only for employees above a certain grade
Social insurance
Health insurance, employee’s pension insurance, unemployment insurance, worker’s compensation insurance
Benefits
Merci Box (our benefits system established to provide the best environment where employees can Go Bold), employee stock ownership program (ESOP), and more
– See details here
Document Screening
We want to know as much as we can about you and your work going into the interview, so please provide links or attachments to any of your past work (e.g., a blog, your GitHub account, a summary of your past research). If you’ve participated in any other internships, tell us about it, including what the internship was, your role, and any quantitative results.
Related Links
Related articles
Learn about the different new grad positions at Mercari
For Engineers
Engineering at Mercari Group: An introduction to Mercari for engineers
In this presentation, we introduce you to the culture of our engineering organization, our tech stack and tech fields, and our selection process.
Support
At Mercari, we have a system called “Mergrads” to support new graduates who will be joining our team.
Appropriate offers and salary increases
For some new graduates, there could be a gap of more than one year between their offer and official joining date. With Mergrads, we have a “new offer” system to make sure that you are rewarded for any new impactful skills (academic or non-academic) that you gain during this period that can be used in your work. This could include participating in an internship program, presenting new research findings at your university, speaking at an event, or enhancing your language or technical skills through Mergrads. If we determine that you deserve a salary increase, you will be given a new offer, and your starting salary will be higher than the compensation amount that was presented in your initial offer meeting. This system applies to people who received their offer letter six months or more before their joining date.
Learning resources
For those who have been given an offer, we will cover expenses incurred for books and programming studies.
Language Learning Support
Mercari Group’s members come from a wide variety of backgrounds, with members from over 50 different countries and counting. Our company does not define one official language, but we use both Japanese and English in our work.
The level of Japanese or English required will depend on the position and the type of work you are involved in. However, Mercari offers Japanese and English language programs as well as a dedicated interpretation and translation team to allow all members to communicate smoothly with one another, regardless of their language level or background.
Japanese language programs
The percentage of non-Japanese members is going up each year—especially within our engineering organization—and there are more and more teams communicating mainly in English. Everyone who is given an offer can immediately start using our online English conversation classes (provided by an external service), even before their official join date.
Japanese language programs
For people who are at the “Basic User” level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), we offer group Japanese lessons that you can sign up for once you join the company. These lessons focus on teaching practical Japanese that you can use in your everyday life in Japan.
If you are joining as an intern, ask your recruiter about the specific language programs available to you.
In-house interpretation and translation team
Mercari has the Global Operations Team (GOT)—a team specializing in interpretation and translation services—which helps bridge any gaps and facilitate smooth communication between the diverse members of our organization. GOT’s mission is to eliminate situations where members are not able to give their own opinion or have the same access to information as others because of language. Some positions do require a certain level of language skills, but GOT offers support to create an environment where members can get the information they need and take on any challenges they want, no matter their Japanese or English level.
FAQ
Q.
Are interns paid?
Yes. Interns are paid based on their skills and experience.
Q.
How is the salary determined for full-time positions?
Similar to our internship positions, the salary of full-time employees is determined based on their individual skills and experience. In other words, there is no one set salary amount that is offered to all candidates—the managers who were involved in the interview process discuss and decide on an offer that is appropriate for each individual. Once the amount is decided, we will also make sure to address any concerns you may have so that both sides are on the same page regarding the offer.
Q.
When and how do new graduates get assigned to a team?
Once you are given an offer, we will set up meetings before your joining date to gather information and decide which team you will be assigned to. This decision will be made taking into account your overall career development, aptitude, and potential, and also after speaking with the current members of the team. If you are a new graduate that has completed an internship program at Mercari, there is a high chance that you will be assigned to the team that you interned for. However, we will still ask you about your preferences and career plan in the interviews for the full-time position. Based on this information, we will work out a plan and decide which team is best for you to be assigned to.
Q.
What kind of onboarding do new graduates go through?
The onboarding for new graduates takes about one month, and it is largely divided into two parts. The first is the shared training, where you will be guided through the basics of working and being a Mercari member, such as business manner training and our general orientation. For engineers, the second is DevDojo, an in-house training program that is more focused on the tech side of things. It covers development at Mercari Group and the tech stacks our engineers use. For non-engineering positions, we will design an individual onboarding program catered to you for this second part, taking into account your skillset and field of expertise. For more details, please ask your recruiter.
To view some of our past DevDojo materials and videos, see this page.
Q.
Can I work remotely?
In most cases, yes. Mercari has a system called “Your Choice” that gives members the freedom to choose where and when they work. Each individual and team can choose the work style that best enables them to demonstrate value and optimize their performance. However, this does not apply to all positions, and depending on the team, you may also be asked to go to the office a few times a month for onboarding purposes. Check with your manager to confirm the work style for your team.
Q.
I can’t speak Japanese (or English). Will this affect my work?
Mercari Group’s members come from a wide variety of backgrounds, with members from over 50 different countries and counting. Our company does not have one official language, but we use both Japanese and English in our work. The level of Japanese or English required will depend on the position and the type of work you are involved in. However, Mercari offers Japanese and English language programs as well as a dedicated interpretation and translation team to allow all members to communicate smoothly with one another, regardless of their language level or background.
For more information on our language learning programs and the interpretation and translation team, see this page.
Q.
What is the technical test (coding test) like for engineering positions?
The purpose of the coding test is to assess your computer science-related knowledge. In the coding test, you will be asked to solve computer science/mathematical problems through code. During the test, you will be presented input values and be asked to write a program in order to produce the expected output values. The test is conducted online, and it can be taken at a time that is convenient for you. Please note that the test process or format may change depending on your skills and abilities.
Information on the tech stacks used at Mercari Group is available here.
Q.
I applied to work at Mercari Group in the past. Can I apply again?
If you are applying for the same internship position as last time, you will need to wait until three months have passed since your last application.If it is a full-time (new graduate) position, one year must have passed since your last application for the same position. However, if you would like to apply for a different position, you can do so at any time. If you applied to Mercari through a recruitment agency within the past year, as a general rule, we ask that you apply again through the same recruitment agency. All communications will also take place through the recruitment agency. However, if you would like to apply directly to Mercari this time, we will accept your application once we get the approval of the recruitment agency.