Rakuten Kobo General Intern Interview Questions
& Process

The interview included a technical section focusing on javascript, and a behavioral section. It was pretty manageable, and everyone I talked to was really nice.

It started with a quick call with HR. After that, I had an in-person meeting with the manager. The manager was really rude, cutting me off mid-sentence and just not being welcoming at all. They ghosted me for three weeks until I basically had to chase HR to get an update. I found out through my JobVite status. A few days later, they finally emailed to say they went with someone else. I tried asking for feedback, but they never got back to me. That was the end of it. Super unprofessional.

An HR manager called me about a week after I applied. She was a bit disorganized and forgot to tell me the interview time and who I'd be meeting with, so I had to ask. Still, the initial chat was fine, she seemed nice. I prepped by researching Kobo, its departments, the industry, and the internship role, feeling pretty ready. The actual interview, though, was a whole different scene. The vibe from the managers was super unprofessional and chaotic. Three managers interviewed me, and honestly, they acted like a bunch of frat boys. They were more into cracking inside jokes and trying to be cool than conducting a proper interview. It was obvious they hadn't prepared any questions because they'd have these awkward, long pauses, saying "uh...um..." before asking random, out-of-the-blue questions. The HR manager who initially called was okay, but the other two were rude and made no effort to make me feel at ease. They seemed incredibly bored, chuckling at their inside jokes that I wasn't part of. This really happened. It seems like they forgot that interviews are a two-way street. After that experience, I definitely didn't want to work there. The craziest part was they didn't ask me a single question about myself, my personality, or my education. It was all about my knowledge of Kobo, the industry, and market trends. It felt like they were just messing with me, trying to catch me off guard with what I knew. They were clearly winging it. I'm glad I didn't look back after leaving. It's not an environment I'm eager to join, thanks. This company seems to be run by immature people with inflated egos who were promoted randomly, especially since there are no women in leadership at HQ. I was really disappointed with Kobo's culture, expecting something different from what I thought was a "hip, young and book-loving" company. I'd advise anyone interviewing with Kobo to be extremely careful. The interviewers were condescending. Also, Kobo products are becoming outdated, and they likely won't keep up with Kindle and other e-readers. Their declining profits and lack of R&D and growth opportunities show the company is struggling to stay relevant, which was reflected in their corporate culture.