JOBMATCH
A user research and concept validation project to learn about and improve the job search experience.
PROJECT SUMMARY
JobMatch was developed through user research and concept validation to create a better job search experience by matching job applicants with a company's opportunities based on the applicant's skills and values.
JobMatch provides applicants the ability to select what they value in a company and match with that company on more than their skill set.
We wanted to explore how job seekers are looking for jobs and what their biggest pain points are during their search.
This two-week sprint involved planning, conducting and synthesizing qualitative user research as well as developing mid- and high-fidelity prototypes for concept validation.
MY RESPONSIBILITIES
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User Research
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User Experience Design
TIMELINE
Two-week Sprint
TEAM
A fully remote project with a team of 3 User Researchers and User Experience Designers
USER RESEARCH
& ANALYSIS
Our team determined that we could establish patterns leading to common pain points for job seekers by conducting user interviews.
We wanted to focus on the online job search experience.
So we targeted:
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those who have searched for a job online over the past 12 months
We conducted 4 user interviews remotely via Zoom.
We used affinity mapping to find patterns in our observations and develop insights. A pattern of a need for additional company transparency emerged. We found applicants valued company transparency in terms of disclosing the company's overall culture and posting accurate job descriptions. This transparency ensures that the applicant's desires/ideals are aligned with the company's vision and mission.
“Applying for jobs is a numbers game.”
- Research Participant
UNDERSTANDING THE USER
From our insights we developed the persona, Cristina, who has the goal of finding a new role that will take her current skill set into consideration at a company that has similar values as she does.
Cristina allowed us to further summarize our research and insights into a journey map that suggested her lowest emotional point of the journey to find a job may be determining if it is worth the time to apply for a role.
“You can’t really tell that [it is the right fit] from a job posting.”
- Research Participant
[When searching by experience level] “This is not entry level, but it’s here, and I’m wasting my time.”
- Research Participant
Job Applicant Cristina's Problem
Cristina needs more comprehensive information about companies and roles so that she does not waste time applying for roles that are not tailored to her skill set and interests.
How might we provide applicants an easy way to access unfiltered company culture information?
How might we facilitate a line of communication between applicants and company representatives?
How might we encourage more companies to be transparent in sharing details on their company values?
How might we provide more relevant roles to applicants?
OUR INITIAL FOCUS & MID-FIDELITY PROTOTYPE
Initially, we thought if we could open the lines of communication between applicants and the appropriate representatives based upon a proper match, we could improve the job search experience by allowing applicants the opportunity to further vet a company ahead of submitting an application. We considered 4 things:
For Job
Applicants -
Let's save them time by providing better matches and access to companies that align with their values.
For Companies -
Let's improve recruitment efforts and retention by providing better matches
Our Competitors lack -
The information that candidates want
Our Platform Justification -
Start from desktop as our research indicated that job applicants primarily submit applications via desktop and search for opportunities via mobile & desktop devices.
Our mid-fidelity prototype explored the flow of reaching out to a company representative at a company an applicant has been matched with.
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The applicant would have the option to schedule a meeting or directly message representatives, such as a Hiring Manager, at a company that the applicant matched with based on skills & values.
A PIVOT WHILE INCREASING FIDELITY WITH SECONDARY RESEARCH & USABILITY TESTING
While our mid-fidelity prototype of this scheduling concept tested well, we found ourselves questioning whether we were fully solving for applicants' pain points.
We determined it was more important for applicants to be properly matched to begin with, in order for applicants and representatives to have meaningful conversations.
We decided to shift our focus to fleshing out the onboarding process.
We fleshed out the onboarding process by conducting secondary research via reviewing articles regarding what participants should look for in a job.
Secondary research lead to an onboarding process that allowed applicants to be matched based on selected:
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Skills
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Company Values
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Company Culture
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Location
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Desired Salary Range
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Desired Benefits
HIGH-FIDELITY PROTOTYPE
SOUND IS OFF
UNMUTE FOR ADDITIONAL CONTEXT
TIME: 1MIN 48SEC
TITLE OF THE CALLOUT BLOCK
LESSONS LEARNED
This project indicated there is an opportunity to improve the job search experience by empowering the job applicant to match with companies on more than skill set. Companies can potentially improve their applicant search by identifying their values and culture and allowing access to the appropriate company representatives for interested and qualified candidates.
Our solution tested well and may be further developed by exploring:
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the addition of help tooltips for further clarification
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the addition of save and "easy apply" buttons
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card sorting to determine if our keywords are in categories that make sense to users
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the creation and testing of the mobile onboarding process
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further testing of the mid-fidelity concept of contacting a company representative