{"id":1983,"date":"2021-03-30T19:16:08","date_gmt":"2021-03-30T19:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocate.me\/blog\/?p=1983"},"modified":"2025-04-29T08:21:16","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T08:21:16","slug":"moving-to-japan-for-an-it-job-rupeshs-relocation-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocate.me\/blog\/expat-stories\/moving-to-japan-for-an-it-job-rupeshs-relocation-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Moving to Japan for an IT Job: Rupesh’s Relocation Story"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 10<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

Japan’s tech sector is experiencing a very interesting shift. While electronics remain a strength, the country is pushing boundaries in areas like AI research, cybersecurity, robotics, and fintech. The Japanese tech sector is <\/span>hiring international workers<\/span><\/a> to address the talent shortage. When surveyed, about a third of Japanese tech hiring managers mentioned that their biggest challenge was the shortage of skilled candidates. About half plan to increase their headcount.<\/span><\/p>\n

We spoke to Rupesh Agrawal, who found a <\/span>Software Engineer job in Japan<\/span><\/a> with the help of <\/span>Relocate.me<\/span><\/a>, a job platform for techies looking to relocate. He told us first-hand what it is like to live and work in Tokyo and how to move to Japan from India. Here’s a recap of our conversation:<\/span><\/p>\n

Rupesh’s background<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Home country:<\/strong>\u00a0India
Time in the industry:<\/strong> 10+ years
Current tech stack:<\/strong> Golang, GCP, Kubernetes, and Microservices
Passions outside of work:<\/strong> Cooking<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Rupesh's<\/p>\n

What made you choose Tokyo as a work abroad destination? Was it by accident or were you actively seeking a Software Engineer job in Japan?<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

I was looking for options outside India, primarily to gain international exposure to the IT industry. I had a friend working in Japan for some time who had great experiences to share \u2014 and that’s what pushed me to search for <\/span>software engineering jobs in Tokyo<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/h3>\n

You are now working at Mercari as a Backend Engineer. How many interview stages did you have to go through to get this job? How much time passed between the first interview and the job offer?<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

I had the first interview in early December 2019 and got the offer for the position in February 2020. There were four rounds of interviews:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. A live screen-sharing coding round.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. An interview with an engineer from Mercari, which was primarily to test how I make tech decisions, handle teams, my exposure to microservices, etc.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. An interview with a hiring manager, which was a mix of technical and behavioral discussions.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. The final interview was with the VP, which mostly covered behavioral questions, but also included questions on my readiness to accept a new tech stack.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    *The interview process may differ depending on the position and other factors.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

    25 Questions To Ask Your Future Employer (Before Relocation) \u2192<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/h3>\n

    Mercari is actively hiring software engineers in Japan<\/span><\/h3>\n

    Mercari<\/span><\/a> is a community marketplace app that allows anyone to buy and sell using their smartphones. The company is always on the hunt for tech professionals who are interested in its <\/span>mission and values<\/span><\/a>, and they want to work with bold engineers, who use the <\/span>latest technology<\/span><\/a>, make autonomous decisions, and can take on challenges at a rapid pace. If you become part of the diverse Mercari team in Tokyo, you’ll have a hand in developing the industry-leading app that brings millions of people together.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"Mercari<\/p>\n

    Here are just some of their open positions:<\/span><\/p>\n