Reimagined LinkedIn Jobs: Elevated application experience through two proposed innovative features
The LinkedIn Experience
Context
Presently, LinkedIn job seekers find themselves relying on an array of external resources and tools, such as Google Calendar, Google Sheets, and Excel, to maintain organization and meticulously track their job applications.
Aim
The aim of this project was to design an improved experience for job seekers while increasing transparency and productivity
Team and Duration
Team of 4 ( Myself+ 3 UX designers) | 3 weeks
My Role
Product Manager and Designer + Researcher
While we were all involved in all aspects, I took the lead on developing the features and designs and assessing the current LinkedIn Jobs product.
Before my primary research, I assessed LinkedIn's job application process and conducted a competitive analysis using a feature comparison matrix.
This is the three-phase job application process, with a strong emphasis on the communication method used at each stage.
Feature Comparison Matrix shows market research that evaluates contrasting capabilities from multiple services.
In my subsequent interviews with job applicants, I confirmed the presence of shared issues while also identifying new user pain points as well
During user interviews, I posed a series of questions to gather insights on participants' utilization of the LinkedIn Jobs platform. Additionally, I delved into their experiences, difficulties, and requirements throughout the entire application process.
Key Insights:
80% of users conveyed that the application process through LinkedIn was tedious and time-consuming because they would need to use external tools during the post-application phase of the tracking process. Here is the current flow of the LinkedIn Application/Post-Application process illustrating flaws and/or time-taking actions identified by the users
Easy Apply feature was used way more than External Apply due to ease of use as well as a slightly easier tracking capability
With so many applications, interviews, and deadlines to track, it was hard to go through each of them over and over to confirm that nothing was missed
60% of the users mentioned that experience levels on job posts don’t match job titles such as “entry level.”
Feature Prioritization
A variety of pain points emerged during interviews, highlighting diverse user challenges. These pain points drove a brainstorming session to generate potential features. Subsequently, we prioritized these features for the MVP phase, employing the MoSCoW framework. The prioritization process considered user insights, project viability, timeline constraints, resource requirements, and, notably, the potential impact on our success metrics.
MoSCow Framework HERE
Our research revealed that 70% of users interviewed were visual learners. They mentioned that, given their busy schedules, managing applications to numerous companies, each with multiple interview phases, was an overwhelming effort.
So I designed a Scheduling feature
Scheduling
Whether applicants are applying through LinkedIn or an external site, all the interview information can be informed here
Importance: Increases productivity and a time saver for both applicants and recruiters!
Clear Visuals
Users would have both a “calendar” and a “list” functionality based on their preferences to view their events
Importance: Increases usability for target users
Through my research, I identified 3 key opportunity areas for improvement:
Users often had to resort to third-party resources to manage job applications during the post-application phase, leading to additional work and inconvenience for job applicants.
While job applications made directly on LinkedIn were at least being tracked within the platform through the "My Jobs" section, external applications still entailed a lengthy and cumbersome process.
Applicants emphasized that the interview processes they encountered were often protracted and opaque, leading to a sense of uncertainty. They expressed the need for more transparency regarding their progress and feedback throughout the interview stages.
so I designed a Job Tracking feature
How does this add value?
Addressing candidate workload is an opportunity LinkedIn can capitalize on to enhance its position as a comprehensive career platform for both candidates and recruiters, reinforcing its competitive edge
Streamlined Post-Application Tracking
This feature caters to both LinkedIn applications and External Applications.
This way, all tracking stays on one platform!
The overall usability testing was positive with several areas highlighted for improvement in both features.
ADD OLD. AND NEW DESIGNS HERE WITH NOTES and arrows of improvement
First, let’s meet Alex!
Our objective for Alex is to have a seamless post-job application process on the LinkedIn Job platform
Hi, I’m Alex
I am a college student and I am looking for full-time job opportunities. I am a first-time job seeker. With classes in full swing, networking, and spending time with friends, I need help keeping track of everything.
I have already started applying through other job platforms but I am already behind in following up with companies that haven’t replied. Please help!