”COREKARA” is the exact opposite of the image of Japanese companies.

The company “COREKARA” operates AdSIST, a tool that automatically attracts customers to online stores.
Ricardo, an engineer has been involved in the development of this tool and is one of the key members of the production team.

He is currently working with five other members on the development of AdSIST plus, an operation support tool for advertising agencies.

After visiting Japan as a tourist and liking it so much while he was in Japan.
Ricardo worked as an English teacher before becoming the engineer he had always wanted to be. It was his first time to work for a Japanese IT company and he was anxious about working for a Japanese company itself, but when he found out that the atmosphere of the company in “COREKARA” was different from what he had imagined his anxiety quickly disappeared.

Ricardo is highly motivated to improve his skills as an engineer and develop new products. In this interview, I asked him about the “COREKARA” corporate culture, the appeal of the company and the work environment from an international perspective.

RICARDO

 

Joined the company in 2019, belongs to AdSIST circle.
Born in Mexico, he is the first overseas engineer member of “COREKARA” since the company was founded.
His hobbies include visiting places rich in nature and playing online games.
He is always willing to learn and has a kindness that allows him to get along with anyone.

“COREKARA” has changed my image of Japanese companies where people wear suits, work overtime and are always on their toes.

I majored in one subject at the university, but it was not for me, so I changed my major to computer science.
Studying computer science was interesting and I was hooked, so I went straight to work as a freelance engineer in the US. I also liked to travel, so I went to many places, one of which was Japan. My father studied in Japan when he was in college. I had heard about Japan from my father, so I was interested in it. When I actually went to Japan, I liked it very much.
After studying Japanese for about a year, I decided to look for a job. I wanted to be an engineer, but I thought it would be difficult to find a job in an IT company with my Japanese level, so I gave up and chose a job as an English conversation teacher.

However, when I was working as an English teacher, I honestly didn’t feel that I was suitable for the job.
That’s when I started to think about working as an engineer. So I registered my resume on a career change website, summarizing my experience and skills and received an offer from “corekara”.

Before we started working together, there was a one-month trial period to see if we would be a good fit for each other and during that time I got to know the atmosphere of the company.
about 10 of us got together for lunch and everyone was kind enough to welcome us and teach us. I felt that the company had a family-like atmosphere. It was my first time to work in a company with many Japanese people, so of course I was worried. I was also worried about whether or not I would be able to fit in, since Japanese companies have an image of people wearing suits to work and always working overtime. However, from now on I would be working for a company that was the complete opposite of the image I had of Japanese companies. My worries were swept away and I decided to join the company.

The job is to come up with the best ideas while respecting the opinions of the members.

Even though I had experience as an engineer, the IT industry moves fast and the situation had changed quite a bit since I was working as a freelancer, so it was more like “taking a step forward” rather than “coming back.

Since joining the company, I have been involved in the development of our own system “AdSIST” as a full-stack engineer using Node.js, Vue, Vue.js, PHP and MongoDB. Currently, I am a member of AdSIST plus’s engineer. The development team consists of engineers from various countries such as Malaysia, Mexico, Brazil, and India and communication among the engineers is done in English.

Since we were always involved in development with a small group of people, we could not progress our work if we were confined to our own roles. I had to find various tasks on my own and actively take responsibility for them in addition to the tasks assigned in front of me. It was very difficult, but I got through it by cooperating with trusted members to advance the development.

I am a member of AdSIST plus and I find it very easy to work here because each member is independent. I am also aware that I am a talkative person with a strong personality, so I try to put aside my own thoughts and pride and listen to and respect the opinions and ideas of each member to come up with the best ideas.

A multinational group with a wide variety of ideas.

Our goal for the future is to become a “Group of hard working weirdos”. Before I joined the company, the word “hentai” was directly translated into Japanese and I wondered what it meant.
I was wondering, “What does this mean? (I thought)”. Is it okay to join the company ? However, I was convinced and sympathized when I learned that “do-hentai-group” means “a group of unique members who challenge each other as a team, fully demonstrating their abilities and passion for what is in front of them.

I think the most attractive thing about the future is “diversity”.
Especially since the development team consists of members of various nationalities, there are many things we can learn from their different backgrounds and ways of thinking. It is interesting to see how the diversity of the team members allows us to come up with innovative ideas from different perspectives as we work together to create development tools.


I also think that the flexibility of our organization contributes to the ease of working.
When the new coronavirus epidemic started, we were quick to call for encouragement of telework and established a system for telework. I believe that infectious diseases such as this one are perceived somewhat differently depending on the national character, so I feel it was a good thing that we were able to choose telework, especially in terms of allowing foreigners with families to work with peace of mind. Telework has also improved the productivity of our development team.

For engineers, learning is essential in order to keep up with the latest technologies.
When I work on a new project at work, I spend a certain amount of time learning before I start implementation and I also check the news and social networking sites daily to gain knowledge. I was interested in engineering and wanted to become an engineer, so I don’t feel obligated to study and I enjoy learning.

However, it is important to switch between on and off, so on my days off, I go with my girlfriend to places rich in nature such as the mountains or the ocean or eat delicious food to refresh myself. I also go to Spo-cha with my colleagues or play online games.

Don’t assume that you can’t do it, but take the first step.

My goal in my work is, above all to make AdSIST to develop.
I feel proud and responsible to be involved in the growth of AdSIST as a product. Even if AdSIST were to leave my hands, I would like to be involved in the development of other applications. In order to do so, I need to improve my skills as an engineer and keep my antennae open.
Also, in the future, I would like to marry my girlfriend and start a family in Japan, so I plan to obtain a permanent residence permit. I would like to stay in Japan forever.

If I were to give advice to foreigners who are about to join a company, I think it would be to not think that it is impossible for you. Especially if you are thinking of working in a Japanese company, you may be wondering, “Will I be able to fit in? Will I be able to communicate well? Will I be able to fit into the Japanese corporate culture? And so on. You may feel anxious and want to choose a different path. I once chose to work as an English teacher because I couldn’t get rid of the anxiety. In the end, however, I am aware that it was because of this period that I fell behind in my career as an engineer. That is why I would like everyone to take the first step and not hesitate to say, “I can do it”.

From now on, the official language of the development team will be English, so don’t worry if you are not good at Japanese. However, the environment surrounding us is full of Japanese, so if you are not good at Japanese, you may have a hard time. On the other hand, I think this is the perfect place for those who want to learn Japanese in the future or enjoy conversing in Japanese. If you are interested, please feel free to apply to ”COREKARA”.

＼Message from the members／

◼Ricardo is friendly and likes joking with people all the time, but as much as he likes jokes, he cares about the job that he does.
He is committed to his work, to the point of trying to think about the smallest details to deliver a high quality product or experience for the user. He is passionate about his career and I would say, seems to be enjoying it as much as he seems to enjoy making jokes, which is a lot.
(From AdSIST engineer member)

◼Ricardo is a one of the member that leading the development team in our new product, AdSIST plus.
He can always calmly anticipate risks, is very reliable.
In addition, he’s very attentive, and it is so helpful that he always communicate at the timing the we need.
Let’s continue to create services that will change the world together!
Also, personally, I like the his playful side which he occasionally showed. I would love to see the side more!!
(From AdSIST sales member)