This is a feature article that involves PayPay employees giving their honest opinion on why they joined, and the surprises they encountered after joining.
This time, we sat down with Wakana Ara from Marketing Promotion, Marketing Strategy Department in the Marketing Division.
Wakana Ara
Marketing Strategy Department, Marketing Division
We implement measures that encourage people to use PayPay more, including campaigns such as the Summer PayPay Festival (Natsu no PayPay Matsuri) and Super PayPay Festival (Cho PayPay Matsuri), as well as projects like PayPay Coupon. I’m especially engaged in promoting collaboration between group companies like SoftBank and Yahoo! JAPAN that can generate synergies.
PayPay Inside-Out
Please tell us what you do at work.
Wakana
We carry out marketing measures in cooperation with SoftBank to encourage SoftBank smartphone users to use PayPay more, and promote the use of our own Go to Market (GTM) services such as PayPay Coupon and Bill Payments.
Other activities include promoting the use of mini apps at the time of their launch and planning concurrent campaigns in cooperation with the departments in charge within the company. I am also responsible for handling the Super PayPay Festival, which is held several times a year, and the Summer PayPay Festival as the secretariat.
PayPay Inside-Out
What is your career background and why did you join PayPay?
Wakana
I previously worked for an e-commerce company for six years. During the last three years, I was in charge of marketing for flea market apps, especially involved in 1-to-1 marketing and promoting the use of new services. When I started considering switching jobs, I wanted to improve myself in a new environment while making use of my experience for further growth.
At that time, I learned that one of my seniors at my previous job joined PayPay. I was able to hear about PayPay’s open and energetic culture from that person, and it gave me a good idea of what it would be like to work there, so I decided to move to PayPay.
PayPay Inside-Out
What surprised you after joining PayPay?
Wakana
I was surprised at the wide scope and scale of the work I was responsible for and involved in. I’m gaining good experience every day because I can carry out measures to promote the use of our app on a budget scale that I’ve never dealt with before.
I also feel that each member is highly capable. I’m constantly learning how to compile data, prepare documents, and improve workflow. The other thing that surprised me was the fact that all communication is essentially done online. Under the WFA system, people can work anywhere in Japan. Nonetheless, I was amazed at the smooth communication between people working from various places in the country.
On the other hand, the downside is that because I switched companies during Covid, communication is limited to Zoom and Slack. While this is convenient because we can communicate any time, it also means that a lot of communication is text-only. It’s easier to see how team members are doing and understand what they’re thinking when you meet them in person, but that’s a lot more difficult when telecommuting.
PayPay Inside-Out
Are you happy that you joined PayPay?
Wakana
As PayPay grows at a dizzying pace every day, there’s a lot of new information and updates, so I have to check with various departments each time… This can be a challenge, but with the support of my team and cooperation from other departments, I’m able to chug on.
My experience from my previous job came in handy here, and I feel that I’m growing, which was my reason for changing jobs, so I’m glad that I joined the company. You will be given much to do, so I think this is the perfect workplace for people who want to think and do things on their own initiative, and for people who want to grow.
Current job openings
*The recruitment status is current at the time of the interview.
Thanks to：Wakana Ara / Edited by：Sota （PayPay Inside-Out Editorial Team / Translation: Language Communication Team / Translator: Justin / Translation Editor: Jeanette
*Employees’ affiliations are as of the time of the interview.
