Beyond Translation: Designing Job Search for Japanese Job Seekers

By: Frances James, Director, International UX Research at Indeed.com

When Indeed first launched in Japan, we were optimizing for speed, and started off by shipping an almost equivalent product experience that was working well in the U.S. and other Western markets. Of course we invested time to localize all the content into Japanese, and accounted for legal and compliance regulations, but despite all this, performance lagged behind expectations.

In the U.S., one of Indeed’s biggest challenges is actually too much engagement from job seekers - Employers often complain about the overwhelming volume of applications that they have a hard time sorting through. In Japan, the opposite was happening: some job postings received no applications at all.

When I joined the team, this was our burning question: Why aren’t job seekers applying?

We had some theories, but no real answers. So we set out to conduct user research with Japanese job seekers. We wanted to understand how they search, when they decide to apply, and what factors influence their choices.

The key insight? Applying for a job in Japan is a much more deliberate process than in the West. Job seekers here want to feel confident that a role is a good fit - both for them and for the company - before they hit the “apply” button.

They wanted details we hadn’t been prioritizing:

• What’s the workplace environment like?

• Who will I be working with?  What are the ages and genders of my potential colleagues?

• What train lines is the office close to? How long will it take me to walk there from the nearest station?

• Will I feel like I belong there?

In contrast, U.S. job seekers often apply broadly first and only start filtering once they hear back from interested employers.

Armed with these insights, we made big changes to our job postings in Japan. We added more detailed descriptions, workplace photos, and practical information that helps job seekers visualize what working there would really be like. This wasn’t just a localization step - it was a mindset shift toward designing for the expectations and needs of our Japanese audience.

The result? A significant increase in application rates over time.

Lesson learned: Going “global” isn’t just about translation or feature parity. True market fit means deeply understanding local behaviors and needs, and adapting your product experience accordingly.