“I see people communicating because they have me!” A chat with a Mercari interpreter! mercan.fm #57

Disclaimer: This episode has been pre-recorded. All Mercari employees are currently working from home as stated in our CEO statement in regards to the Novel CoronaVirus.

Whether you’re trying to build a successful company or run an efficient project, good communication is always the foundation for greatness. At a company like Mercari with employees from over 40 countries around the world, this doesn’t always come naturally.

Hi! I’m Riley Masunaga from the Language Education team (LET). For the 56th edition of mercan.fm, our podcast series, I sat down with Megumi Haga, an interpreter on Mercari’s Global Operations team (GOT).

Today’s guest Megumi Haga is a member of GOT also known as the Global Operations Team. Her team works to bridge communication between employees of all backgrounds and nationalities through translation, interpretation and intercultural training.

Megumi, best known around the office as megmeg is an interpreter with years of experience working in the IT industry. Her voice can mainly be heard interpreting at the Mercari’s all hands meetings, and at many of the heavily technical development focused meetings around the office.

What are the challenges of interpreting? How did you get into interpreting? What is the language environment like at Mercari?

We go into this and more in this English edition of Mercan.fm.

Topics from the podcast

・What are the challenges of interpreting?
・What is the language environment like at Mercari?
・How is Mercari different from other companies in Japan?
・How did you get into interpreting?
・How has learning English impacted your life?
・What advice would you give event organizers who request interpretation?

Guest: Megumi Haga (Global Operations Team)
MC: Riley Masunaga (Mercari LET Trainer)

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Enjoy!