01Introduction

Matcha, Tech Jobs in Japan for FilipinosA freelance project

Connecting Filipino tech talent with companies in Japan

Matcha Jobs is a job board for Filipino IT professionals who want to work in Japan. I designed it as a freelance project in 2022. Job seekers use it to find and apply for jobs, and Japanese companies use it to post jobs and find talent.

  • Freelance
  • Job board
  • Two-sided platform
  • UI/UX design
Role
Lead UI/UX Designer
Team
Product officer, 1 junior designer, 1 developer
Year
2022
Platform
Website
The Matcha Jobs homepage on a tablet, with a cherry blossom photo of Tokyo, the Matcha logo and a job search bar

The project

Matcha only had a one-page website. My work was the first complete design of the full site. I kept the green logo and green accent from the one-pager, and used blue as the main color so the site feels calm and professional.

Two groups of users

  • Job seekers

    Filipino IT professionals who browse jobs in Japan, create a profile and apply.

  • Hiring companies

    Japan-based companies that post job ads and search registered talent.

Competitive analysis

Before designing, I looked at other job sites. I compared their user flows, features and the services they give to job seekers and to companies. This helped me understand what users already expect from a job board.

The job sites I compared: JobStreet, Indeed, OnlineJobs.ph, GaijinPot, Kalibrr, Monster and LinkedIn.

User flows

The product officer and I mapped one flow for each type of user. Our goal was to keep searching and applying simple for job seekers, and to keep posting jobs and managing candidates simple for companies.

Job seekers

From the homepage, a job seeker searches for a job, opens the details and applies.

Job seeker flow: home page, search a job, search results, job details, then apply. New users sign up, create an account and profile, upload a resume and verify their email. Logged-in users go to the application form, then a confirmation page, and wait for the employer's response.

Hiring companies

A company can post a job ad or search the talent list, then review the people who applied.

Hiring company flow: home page, employer page, company registration, pricing and plans, payment, then the dashboard. From the dashboard, a company can post a job, fill out the details and wait for applicants, or search talent, view job seeker profiles and message or invite them to apply.

UI design

I designed every page of the site. I made one layout and one set of styles for all pages, so the junior designer could follow the same pattern.

For job seekers

Job seekers need to judge a job quickly and know what happens after each step.

Job seekers

  • The job details page for a Software Engineer role at Fujitsu in Tokyo, with the salary and relocation help at the top, and the company card and similar jobs on the right.

    Job details

    Salary, location and relocation help are at the top. Company info and similar jobs sit on the right, so job seekers can compare without going back.

  • The companies page: a search bar and a grid of popular companies, each with its rating, location and number of open jobs.

    Companies

    Popular companies with their rating, location and number of open jobs.

  • A Hooray! confirmation after a job seeker edits their profile, with a Proceed to Profile button.

    Profile saved

    A clear confirmation after editing a profile, then a link back to the jobs.

For companies

Companies have their own landing page and a profile that shows all their open jobs.

Companies

  • The employer landing page, with its own headline for companies and a Start Hiring button.

    Employer page

    A separate landing page for companies, with its own message and a Start Hiring button.

  • A company profile page with the company details and a list of its open jobs, with search and filters.

    Company profile

    Each company has a profile with its details and all its open jobs, with search and filters.

  • The About us page, with the leadership team and a short bio for each person.

    About us

    Shows who runs Matcha and why, to build trust with both sides.

Life in Japan

Many job seekers have never lived in Japan. I added a Life in Japan section with articles about work culture, housing and food.

Life in Japan

  • Life in Japan articles in a grid, each with a photo, its topic, a title and a short preview.

    Articles by topic

    Each article shows its topic, title and a short preview.

  • The Life in Japan section page, with a Tokyo skyline banner and a short introduction above the articles.

    Life in Japan

    A banner and introduction for the section.