Product Brief

Connect is a mobile application that plays job matchmaker and finds the best company-candidate fits based on user qualifications. Connect’s simple interface makes it easy to quickly browse through jobs as an applicant, or candidates as a recruiter, and the standardized resume and application process saves huge amounts of time on both ends. Qualified and interested candidates who mutually match with recruiters will be able to network through in-app messaging, interview scheduling, and have continual feedback regarding their status. 

context

After being done at my Apple internship and returning back to university, recruiting season was in full swing. I was applying for jobs again, and taking a long time to find ones that I was a good fit for. The problem was, this process was taking a really, really, really, really, really, really long time - even longer and monotonous than this run-on sentence full of commas. For a lot of these applications, I never heard status feedback. Why did this happen? Was recruiter workload too high? How could I make this more convenient for both sides?

I wanted to solve this problem. As a result, I framed this as a design challenge: 

How can I create an experience that improves the hiring process for both companies and candidates?

Asking this question helped direct the rest of my process of research, brainstorming, and ideation for my designs.

(Note: The below design is for job applicants. Currently working on the recruiter portion.)

research

In order to create a better solution, information was collected through surveys, competitor analysis, and market research before brainstorming.

market research

Before jumping into the design, I wanted to see if - and where - there was value for a product.

Based on this research, I found that company recruiters spend even more time reviewing non-standardized applications and resumes. As a result, company’s spend on average around $3500 in turnover costs [1]. Positions often go unfilled due to the inability to find qualified, interested applicants easily. In June 2014, “~33% of 848 small-business owners and chief executives said they had unfilled job openings because they could not identify qualified applicants” [2]. The skills gap has cost U.S. companies “roughly $160 billion a year” [3].

The current job market lacks a bridge to effectively connect the most qualified job candidates with the best companies. Only "26 of the Fortune 500 companies offer a mobile-optimized job application process" [4] even though there are more than "7 billion devices" [4].

By creating a product that would bridge the gap between applicants and recruiters, a huge unmet need could be solved.

survey findings

In order to better understand problems facing job applicants in today's market, potential product users and products in the market, I collected 54 responses using Google survey form found here.

The most significant findings are displayed below.

After determining the key features of the product, some of the questions I had during my thought process included, for example:

On the Resume page

• Based on applicant and recruiter expectations, what is the most important resume information when applying to jobs?

• How do I handle information architecture consistency for applicants and recruiters? Examples might be use of consistency in tables, headers, and body text; and handling of edit states. How and why do companies like LinkedIn handle editing information?

• Will students or young professionals frequently tailor resumes for different positions? Or will they apply with the same resume?

• How can I design a less repetitive resume editing process? This led to a nested Resume Overview page enabling multiple saved resumes.

• Should the "Application" feature within the Profile section, or does it warrant a separate tab in the tab bar?

• I chose “Application” as the main page feature and separate tab to increase visibility. 20-30 year olds would be more likely to apply than edit, and add multiple resumes, instead of editing.

On the Networking page

• Where does networking take place for most users? Career fairs, coffee shops, meetups, and hackathons.

• What are the results of networking? A business card, learning more about a company, a position, and hopefully a referral for a job.

• How do I connect applicants and companies for future meet ups and recruiting? Are there real-life mental models to mimic expectations?

• Should applicants to share business cards with recruiters, as applications? Or should recruiters share with applicants? How would each impact influx on recruiter inboxes?

• How do I create recruiter card sharing, while minimizing applicant messages, and maintaining candidate feedback? This led to relevant job postings available on shared business cards.

Can't read my illegible handwriting in the carousel above, but want a more in-depth look at my thought process? Attached are a larger size .pdf of my wireframes, here.
 

Branding

I chose the name Connect, because of what the product represented: connecting with others to create opportunity. Throughout the app, I used an analogous harmony color scheme with blue hue to emphasize a professional feel, and to indicate tappable states. I felt the logo needed to be updated to provide a more post-post modernism feel, and below was the result: something akin to a WiFi signal symbolizing the link between everyone on the outside and inside.

High Fidelity Mockups

Login

First-time and new app download users are prompted to create an account or sign in. Returning users that log off their account have the choice to remember their username.

If you're creating an account for the first time, you'll be asked for your basic information before transferring to the Resume overview page.

resume

Let's say you're an applicant. In order to apply for jobs, you (the applicant) need to have a resume on-hand. The resume tab allows you to quickly name and create your resume. If you're applying to multiple positions and want a more tailored resume for each one, simply add another resume in the Resume Overview page. Each one can be modified at any time later.

Resumes are standardized with the most important information displayed top to bottom, allowing recruiters to quickly scan information, determine qualified candidates, and provide applicant feedback.

job preferences

To tailor job postings to each individual, you first fill out job preferences. This page is found under the Preferences segment in the Jobs tab.

Requiring preferences surfaces job postings where your interests, your background, and the job requirements are met. As a result, you and the companies you apply for are more likely to mutually match.

I grouped Preferences as a segment within the Jobs tab. It made sense from an information architecture standpoint: personal preferences affected where people applied for jobs. This grouping also allowed me to include all main features on the tab bar, instead of decreasing visibility via using a hamburger menu.

Location FTUE

In addition to this, users filling out location preferences for the first time are run through a FTUE. In this, desired countries of work and work eligible countries are selected. While in most cases, candidates are likely applying within their countries of work, I also wanted to consider edge cases (such as foreign students applying for a work visa). In addition, using this FTUE allows for more tailored feed of preferred cities with jobs available to candidates (and on the opposite end, gives the ability to add all cities in a country).

job application

After filling out preferences, job postings appear. Each posting overview displays the company, position, location of work, and requirements. Requirements appear in the overview to give you a better idea of what your role would entail, in addition to confirming if you're a good fit. 

Tapping the details button allows you to explore the job post in more depth if needed. You can easily apply to, or decline a job application by tapping bottom buttons, or using swipe left/right gestures.

If you apply for a job and previously created multiple resumes, you can specify your wanted resume before submitting the application.

Messages

If there is a mutual match between you (the applicant) and the company, recruiters receive your contact information. They'll be able to message you to set up an interview, and give you the chance to ask any questions throughout the interview process.

Unread messages are highlighted in bold, with a blue dot indicator next to their name. 

Feedback

Within the Feedback section, there are three segments: Interviews, Offers, and Rejections.

Here you can: view upcoming interviews, along with your schedule and the position responsibilities; receive company offers, and choose to accept or decline them; and identify if a company decided to move forward with another candidate. 

I opted to display upcoming interviews in two separate table cells: Interviews This Week, and Future Interviews. Much of the user demographic I interviewed scheduled work-related tasks on a week-by-week basis (if not day-to-day) basis. Resultantly, I created these two sections to help applicants plan around their week with the interviews.

network

Ever have a great conversation with a recruiter or someone you met at a networking event, career fair, or hackathon? You can ask for them to send you a connection request.

Accepting their request allows you to follow up and see what jobs they have available. Jobs you find interesting can be added into the Applications segment to be viewed later.

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