Oct 2023
Enhancing students’ confidence and clarity by streamlining the job application process
Overview
We've all experienced the frustration of tirelessly submitting job applications, hoping for that one offer. It's exhausting. That's why we've developed CareerConnect—a career guidance tool. In this project, my goal is to spotlight how technology can revolutionize the job search experience, providing users with confidence and efficiency. With a specific emphasis on assisting students entering the job market without prior experience, CareerConnect aims to alleviate the challenges they face.
At A Glance
Team
Duration
Ibrahim Rasheed
Nancy Zheng
48 hours
My Role
I actively participated in shaping the design process, taking charge of tasks related to empathy, user flows, wireframing, and prototyping. Additionally, I led user research efforts and collaborated in synthesizing research outcomes to generate feasible ideas.
The Challenge
Create a versatile solution that empowers job seekers or independent workers to find purposeful projects, cultivate meaningful networks, and navigate the intricacies of the current job market. The proposed solution should include the use of emerging technologies.
Our Solution
A career exploration tool to transform and guide uncertainties into informed decisions
where passion meets profession
01 - Data input
Understanding the user to provide accurate results
User submits their resume that clearly outlines skills, experiences, qualifications
User completes a quiz for AI to better understand preferences and goals.
02 - AI analysis
Comparing user information with job posting applications
CC will detect a job posting and begin scanning information
AI will look for qualifications, skills, preferences and proficiency in applications required for the job.
03 - Feedback delivery
Helping users’ resume through scoring and feedback
Users will receive a score regarding job compatibility
The software will outline what you have vs. what you are missing
CC will then suggest jobs that better match your profile
The Process
Interview results reveal that students struggle with the stress of applying to jobs
Interview findings underscore the challenges students encounter during job applications, including inaccuracies in postings and overwhelming job descriptions. Furthermore, the prolonged response time from companies heightens uncertainty.
And so based on the pain points, our key takeaways are:
Postings are inaccurate and time-consuming to read
Users are overwhelmed by the amount of qualifications required
The long wait time for hearing back can create uncertainty and doubt in the user’s qualifications.
Leveraging Gain points into opportunities
While we categorized pain points through interviews, we also made sure to note of gain points that participants expressed. Their insights would help us understand and create a solution that drives the development of features focused on providing clear, digestible job descriptions and personalized job recommendations.
Empathizing with our target audience through the usage of a persona
Taking the data that we collected, we created a user persona to help us understand and empathize the goals, concerns, and motivations with our target audience.
And so based on these findings, we aim to create a solution that aligns with this statement
“I want to understand what role matches best with my preferences, skill set and goals before I begin working”
Defining the problem to identify goals and focus
Utilizing the "How might we" framework, we posed questions aimed at understanding the core issues users encountered during the job application process. This approach allowed us to pinpoint actionable goals that guided the development of our solution, ensuring that we addressed the most pressing needs of our users effectively.
How might we help anxious co-op students identify job opportunities that align with their specific skill set and career ambitions?
During our brainstorming session, we generated multiple ideas in 10 minutes, evaluating each against our pain points. Each idea was evaluated against our established criteria, focusing on how effectively it addressed the pain points we had identified. After careful consideration, we selected the idea that best aligned with our goals and had the potential to deliver the most impactful solution.
Putting a 10-minute timer to generate a plethora of ideas that addressed our identified pain points
Designing a user-centered flow
Looking back at our pain points, we sketched a user flow that will help us understand how users will interact with our product, guiding us towards a more user-centered design.
Flow:
Giving information to the AI by uploading a resume and filling out a preference quiz
AI takes that info and analyzes it
Users receive feedback of the key takeaways of the job posting
Aligning user qualifications with job requirements through feature functionalities
These features were thoughtfully crafted to alleviate the complexities of the job application process for students as described in our research. Ensuring a smoother and more rewarding experience as they embark on their professional journeys.
Aligning user qualifications with job requirements through feature functionalities
These features were thoughtfully crafted to alleviate the complexities of the job application process for students as described in our research. Ensuring a smoother and more rewarding experience as they embark on their professional journeys.
