A New Era of Job Search Experience! Auction format x iOS/Android app development
- design5386
- Jan 8
- 7 min read
Executive Producer, SB Human Capital Co., Ltd. Takeshi Sakamoto Graduated from the College of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University in 2006. Joined SB Human Capital Co., Ltd. as a systems engineer and worked on developing a career change site in the HR business. He was later seconded to a partner company in Thailand where he led the development of a job search platform and managed local staff. Upon returning to Japan, he launched “Carri-Occ,” an auction-style job change site, and has since served as its lead developer.
SB Human Capital Co., Ltd. offers comprehensive HR services to help companies solve recruitment challenges. The company's strengths lie in its tech-driven solutions like the job change site "eCareer" and the talent search portal "eCareer FA." They also provide recruitment process outsourcing and talent placement services, which streamline hiring efforts and reduce burdens for employers—ultimately helping businesses secure top talent.
In this interview, we look back on the development of the "Carri-Occ" mobile app and hear Sakamoto’s thoughts on the production process and his impressions of the finished native app.
Table of Contents
A First-of-Its-Kind Auction-Based Job Search Site: “Carri-Occ”
New Approach to Reaching Users via a Fresh Touchpoint
Support from a Partner with Proven App Development Experience
Increasing Downloads and Applications: Reaffirming the Need for an App Version
A First-of-Its-Kind Auction-Based Job Search Site: “Carri-Occ”
Could you tell us more about “Carri-Occ” and what makes it unique?
Sakamoto: “Carri-Occ” is the industry's first job change site to adopt an auction-style system, offering a new way for companies and job seekers to connect. Companies place "bids" on candidates based on their skills and experience. This allows job seekers to understand their market value in real time, and companies can efficiently identify high-potential candidates who align with their hiring needs.
We're living in an era where it’s no longer companies choosing candidates, but candidates choosing companies. With the labor force expected to shrink further, the value of job seekers is becoming increasingly fluid—even those with similar skill sets can be valued differently depending on market demands. We created this auction-based system to help job seekers navigate this changing landscape and gain a clearer sense of their worth. Because salary and conditions are presented openly, job seekers can better understand how companies evaluate them, making the job change process more satisfying.
Companies benefit too. A significant portion of users registered on job sites are inactive, which wastes time for companies needing to hire promptly. In contrast, those who list their profiles in an auction format are often actively job-hunting, signaling high intent. This makes Carri-Occ particularly attractive to recruiters.
As a secondary benefit, the auction format tends to attract highly skilled job seekers, increasing the chances of meeting exceptional talent.
At what stage did you become involved with the Carri-Occ project?
Sakamoto: I joined the project in its early stages. Initially, I was in charge of system development for our main product, the job site “eCareer.” After a few years, I was assigned to a partner company in Thailand, where I worked on localizing and developing HR products for the Southeast Asian market.
When I returned to Japan, I became involved in launching Carri-Occ as a new business initiative. From defining system requirements to overseeing development and forming the project team—I’ve been deeply involved in the project from the ground up. After the web version went live, we decided to develop a native app as a new touchpoint for users.
Launching a New Touchpoint!
Tell us how the idea to create a Career Auction app came about.
Sakamoto: Since the launch of Career Auction, developing a mobile app had always been one of the things we wanted to do. However, at the time, while we recognized the importance of having an app, we didn’t consider it an urgent task. Therefore, we prioritized other critical tasks, and while the idea of an app was always there, we never got around to actually starting it.
However, things changed significantly over the past one to two years. Due to the shifts in the job market, increasingly diverse user needs, and especially the rise in job hunting via smartphones, the need for an app grew dramatically. These external factors rapidly increased the urgency, and the project finally took off.
What were the key factors behind that increased urgency?
Sakamoto: There were two major points worth highlighting. The first was that important emails related to job hunting were not being delivered properly, affecting the selection process. This was due to several reasons—users setting their spam filters, changes to automatic filtering in free email services, etc.
The second factor was the growing need for new touchpoints to reach younger users who primarily use native apps rather than web systems. With this user base expected to grow, developing an app became a crucial step in ensuring we could reach and support them effectively.
When it was decided to move forward with app development, what challenges did you face initially?
Sakamoto: We faced two main challenges—lack of internal resources and a general lack of knowledge and experience in app development. We had to decide whether to outsource or develop it in-house. Given both the urgency and priority, it was clear that outsourcing was the way to go.
Then came the question of whom to outsource to, and what criteria to use in making that decision. After much consideration, we focused on “track record” and “cost” as our main evaluation axes and conducted a comparative review. Ultimately, we chose HumAIn Inc.
Besides those factors, “human quality” also played a role in our decision. Before the project even started, during the estimation phase, it’s difficult to get the full picture of a potential partner company. That’s why our initial interactions with them were important indicators. The people at HumAIn Inc. were very supportive and helped address our concerns and questions throughout the process, making our first app development experience a smooth one.
Once the development began, how did you feel about the communication and overall collaboration with us?
Sakamoto: We requested to use Slack as our main communication tool, and communication went smoothly throughout the project. I was especially impressed with the art director’s quick responses and speedy design revisions.
In our weekly meetings, HumAIn Inc. consistently shared agendas in advance and allocated time to address our questions and concerns, which made us feel reassured. Even small things—like checking whether the meeting frequency was appropriate—showed the hospitality and attention to detail from HumAIn’s team.
That said, communication with the bridge engineer was sometimes challenging due to language barriers. However, the project manager at HumAIn summarized the majority of the information for us, and we had agreed to the inclusion of a bridge engineer in advance, so it wasn’t something we were dissatisfied with.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused. We will review and strengthen our collaboration structure involving bridge engineers.
Supported by an Experienced Development Partner
We heard there were particular phases where HumAIn’s support was especially helpful.
Sakamoto: Releasing an app requires not just development, but also passing the “app review” process. This involves verifying the app’s functionality and ensuring it complies with store guidelines. If it passes, it can be published—but if it fails, it must be revised and resubmitted.
Since this was our first time dealing with both app development and the review process, we didn’t even know where to begin. But thanks to HumAIn’s extensive experience and knowledge, we were able to navigate this smoothly. Their meticulous support even with the smallest details was truly reassuring.
Also, during development, one challenge was the complexity of the career sheet we already used in Career Auction—it had many input fields. However, the team at HumAIn fully understood the specifications and creatively adapted the UI/UX design to make the app user-friendly. Since we lacked design expertise on our side, being able to fully delegate the design work was incredibly helpful.
Furthermore, after the app was completed, HumAIn provided us with design assets such as buttons and icons. These materials are invaluable for future improvements and feature additions, and we are very grateful for their support. Thanks to their help, we were able to successfully release the app.
How would you rate your newly developed app for Carri-Occ?
Sakamoto: I’d rate it 80 out of 100. This is mainly because, as I mentioned earlier, it was my first app development experience, so I don’t have anything to compare it with.
When compared to other companies' apps, there’s still a lot we can improve, which is why it’s not a perfect score. However, I see that as a positive—we have plenty of room to grow and evolve. This time, we prioritized speed and cost, and HumAIn took that into account and worked closely with us, so I’m truly thankful.
Another point I really appreciated was how HumAIn stepped in to define certain behaviors and specifications that we hadn’t clearly outlined ourselves. Ideally, we should have addressed those details during the requirement definition phase, but when we couldn’t, they filled in the gaps. I think we made a lot of difficult requests, but the team responded with such professionalism and positivity.
Downloads and Applications on the Rise! Confirming the Demand for the App Version!
It’s been less than a month since the app was released—have you received any user feedback?
(At the time of interview)
Sakamoto: Since it was just released, the amount of data we have is still limited, but we’ve confirmed positive results on key metrics like user registrations and job applications.
We anticipated that as usage increased, we might receive bug reports and such, but so far we haven’t had any, which is a relief.
Moving forward, we want to improve the quality of our service through the app so that job seekers can have an even better experience. We see this release as just the beginning and plan to continue enhancing the app to provide the best possible support.
Lastly, please tell us about your vision for the Carri-Occ App going forward.
Sakamoto: About six years ago, Carri-Occ Auction was launched as the industry’s first auction-style job platform. With the development of the Carri-Occ App, we can now provide an even more convenient and accessible service to job seekers.
Once a user creates their career sheet, they can receive offers and updates in real time on their smartphone, allowing them to proceed with their job search anytime, anywhere. To make the most of this convenience, we’ll also focus on marketing and advertising strategies to raise awareness of the app version.
While maintaining the satisfaction we've built with the web version, we’ll continue to evolve by leveraging the unique advantages of the app to better support users in their job search. We’ll keep improving the service based on user feedback through continuous trial and error.
We firmly believe that companies and workers should be on equal footing. That’s why we remain committed to helping every job seeker receive the fair and appropriate treatment their experience and skills deserve.
Carri-Occ App Version
【App Store】https://apps.apple.com/jp/app/id6737322103
