What to know and how to apply for Softbank, Japan's leading telecommunications giant

Written by: Claire Liu | Date published: 5th February 2020

About Softbank

Softbank is a multinational conglomerate company. They're well-known as a telecommunications provider, with over 34 million users for their mobile communication services.

“We aspire to be a company that contributes to society by providing innovative services across a range of industries, going beyond the realms of conventional telecommunications carrier business models.” - Softbank’s Corporate Philosophy

Since the information revolution, Softbank has aimed to use information to help improve the well-being of people and society. With their slogan “Smart & Fun”, Softbank integrates work style reform initiatives to maximize productivity and growth as an innovative and creative company.

The Softbank Group is a corporation consisting of many subsidiary companies in a variety of industries. With their Softbank Vision Fund, the company is known for helping out many startups and encouraging entrepreneurship.

Softbank Corps is the backbone of the group, that focuses on telecommunication and mobile services. When you say ‘Softbank’, the first thing people think of is this. However, they have many other notable subsidiaries including:

Line Mobile

A mobile telecommunications subsidiary company between Line Corporation and Softbank, they serve as a mobile virtual operator as well as providing mobile SIM plans. You can view their website here.

Yahoo! Japan

A Japanese internet company formed between a joint venture between Yahoo!(US) and Softbank. You can view their website here.

Paypay

Paypay is a cashless online smartphone application company that is used in different stores (whether online or offline) widespread around Japan.

For a full list of Softbank's subsidiary companies, click here.

Investor Relations Information

Softbank has grown to unbelievable heights from when it was first founded in 1981, and continues to make new breakthroughs in the market. The company currently has the net income of 1.2 trillion yen and 31 trillion yen worth of total assets, making it the 36th largest public company in the world.

President and CEO of Softbank, Ken Miyauchi, equates Softbank's success with the company's three main advantages. The first is the ability to evolve continuously. The second is their ability to grow businesses, and third, their ability to overcome adverse environments.

Headquartered in Tokyo, Softbank currently has over 74,900 employees and 249 group companies. Softbank also runs the world’s largest technology venture capital, Vision Fund, which supports companies around the world like Wework (US), Grab (Singapore), Uber (US), FirstCry (India), Klook (Hong Kong), Gympass (Brazil), Oneconnect (China), and many more.

Job opportunities and application information for GMO

Softbank is a very popular choice among fresh graduates as it is a large multi-industry group and thus offers many opportunities. Softbank hires around 300 fresh graduates yearly and competition is high, so here are the information to get you started:

Recruitment Flow

The recruitment process at Softbank is very similar to the rest of Japan, with the official briefings starting from March 1st. Before that however, the pre-entry sheet is available for filling in.  

1. Pre-Entry Sheet (differs according to course)
2. Entry Sheet 
3. Interview x 3
4. Job offer

As Softbank is a multi-industry group, the recruitment process can seem a bit intimidating. With ventures into a span of industries, the recruitment process is divided into 6 main ‘tracks’ in which you build your career path on. You can find further information through their recruitment page here.

Full-time Positions at Softbank for Fresh Graduates

For more detailed information, Softbank has a website in English that you can read through here. However, here are the summaries of the tracks you can apply for with Softbank as a fresh graduate:

Generalist Track

This track is the most general career path to follow and includes roles in Strategies, Marketing, Service, Planning, Customer, Support, Accounting, Business, Planning, Human Resources

Sales Management Track

This track is more focused on the Sales side of the company, with roles in Consumer Sales and Corporate Solutions

Engineer Track

This track is the technological side of the company with roles in Solutions Engineer, Network Engineer, System Engineer, Data Engineer and R&D.

Associate Track

The associate track is the role that supports all the various business units within Softbank and provides consulting and recommendations.

Sales Track

Different to the Sales Management track, the Sales track refers to the retail staff that provide face-to-face service to customers at Softbank storefronts.

Internship Opportunities at Softbank

Softbank offers summer internships which becomes a great jumpstart for those interested in the company. In fact, if you do well for the internships, it can be a short cut for you to be selected straight for the interviews for a possible job offer. 

The internships themselves take place from between August to September and applications can close as early as May. So keep your eyes out for when the applications open!

Softbank offers four internships, namely:

01gateway

The 01gateway internship is focused on innovation and entrepreneurship. This internship is about teamwork as your team aims to pitch the best business idea for the rapidly changing world of technology.

Applications close around July, and the internship takes place from August to September every year.

Ture-Tech

An internship focused on real-life projects and aims to provide students with practical hands on experience. The Ture-Tech projects for 2019 took place in Yawatahama City and Higashimatsushima City.

The duration of the project ranges from several days to over a week, taking place sometime between August and September. Applications close early June and you can find more details here.

Job hunting Internship

The main internship for students and aims to help students familiarize themselves with the work environment in Softbank as well as develop necessary skills. This short course is around 10 days, while the long course is roughly a month. Both take place sometime between July to September with applications closing in May. The home page for the job hunting internship can be found here.

Special Consideration Internship

Softbank is a company that values diversity and strongly believes in equal opportunities. There is an internship catered for those who carry some sort of disability and help them reach their potentials. The internship takes place sometime between August to September, and applications close at the end of May. The website for this internship can be viewed here.

Last but not least...

Softbank puts high value in diversity and they offer much of their recruitment information in English. If you are interested then it is highly recommended to check out Softbank’s official recruitment page here.