Small/Medium Businesses have dreams. Job seekers have aspirations. A job search platform to bring these two together = hope for all!
Eye of the Tiger 🎶
An Intro
Small/medium businesses face difficulty finding employees. Job seekers feel stuck in a tough job market. What if there was a one stop shop job search service to bring these 2 groups together?
The Challenge
Although small/medium businesses (SMB’s) make up 99% of the US economy, they struggle to hire qualified talent, especially businesses without a HR department. Covid-19 pandemic has impacted job seekers and unemployment is higher than ever, especially for ethnic/gender minority groups.
The Results
The version 2.0 of the MVP for the desktop experience finished development in June 2021 and successfully launched to the public.
Recruiting companies and local businesses uploaded job posts and users applied. The CEO and company pitched the desktop and mobile designs to receive funding during seed rounds.
My Impact
Initially hired as a UX intern, I was given the opportunity to be the sole designer for the desktop and mobile user experience from end to end. I was also the point of contact for my CEO, marketing manager and developers throughout the design process.
My Role
Lead UX Designer
Product
SAAS
Desktop & Mobile
Timeline
September ‘20-
June ‘21
Tools
Figma, Google Suite
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A Quick Snippet (If you’re short on time)
Chapter 1: Setting the stage (background): Why is this even important?
“Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet, Just a man and his will to survive” - 🎶 Eye of the Tiger by Survivor 🎶
Small/Medium businesses make up 99% of businesses, employ over 40-50% and make up 64% of new jobs in the US. SMBs provide opportunities to minorities and 1.1 million minority owned businesses employ more than 8.7 million workers. SMB’s are crucial for the US economy.
SMB owners run all facets of their business. They wear different hats of being the financial accountants, front facing staff, manager to their employees, etc. They can’t afford an official HR department to post job listings, nor do they have financial resources, time or training to navigate major job search engines. SMB’s have difficulty finding talent when the labor market gets tight and inflation causes higher wages.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, SMB’s were hit the hardest, with 56% feeling their business was affected. However, SMB’s adapt quickly to the market to stay competitive, hire local workforce, foster growth and innovation and are an integral part of their local communities. 💪
Who are Small and Medium Business Owners (SMB’s)? -> Hard working Fighters
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Joseph and Hannah Cho
In their 40’s
“We have many things to think about. It’s hard enough to run our store but it’s even harder to find the right employees”
Owned their business for 10 years
Saved up money for years to open their store
Minority
Treats their employees like family
Hard working and always putting their all into their business
Family Oriented
Joseph and Hannah’s Frustrations Are:
Employees quitting frequently
Spending time finding and hiring new workers
Building strong relationships with candidates and being a valuable team member
Joseph and Hannah’s Goals Are:
Finding long term employees that will be a good fit to their team
Quickly and efficiently finding employees to spend time and energy on other parts of the business
TLDR - Challenges SMB Owners Face:
Don’t have financial resources, HR team, time or training to post new jobs onto large search engines like LinkedIn
Finding long term employees = can’t spend time and energy on other parts of the business
Finding talent amongst competition in labor market and inflation of higher wages
Job seekers look for an opportunity to work. They aren’t just a number but are people with aspirations to find meaningful work where they feel valued, belonging and purposeful.
Journal reports that 28% of job seekers, who are recent grads, find that identifying jobs to apply for is the most challenging part of their search. During and after Covid, the labor market has seen a growth of layoffs and unemployment. Companies are also deprioritizing their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusions.
41% of job seekers utilize LinkedIn for their information but research finds there is on average one job opening for every 2 applicant - an increase from 2022’s 1:1 ratio. Also, the amount of time it takes to complete the hiring process is an all time high of almost 44 days. There’s also an increase of ghosting from hiring managers and the process deflating job seekers in their need for work.
TLDR - Challenges Job Seekers Face:
Difficult to identify and find jobs to apply to
Linkedin is a common resource for job searching but the competition is high
Completing the hiring process takes too long
Job seekers are constantly ghosted, not knowing where they are in the process
Ben Harvey
32 years old
Eager to Learn
“It’s been difficult to find a job during the pandemic. I have a lot of soft skills and experience to offer and would love to be given a chance.”
Hard working, responsible and resilient
Years of experience in a manager position at a store
Family Oriented/provides for his family
Good at working with a wide variety of people/customers
Who are Job Seekers? -> Resilient Fighters
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Ben’s Frustrations Are:
Being rejected from job interviews
Waiting on hiring managers
Mentally feeling like he’s not good enough
Ben’s Goals Are:
Join a good workplace or company to have job security
Have financial stability to provide for his family
A chance to build a career
Once upon a time, small & medium business (SMB’s) owners started their businesses with a dream. One dreamed of opening a Korean restaurant to share the flavors of their home country to America. Another, owning a hair salon to fulfill their passion for beauty. Both ignited with a dream to chase. Years later, these SMB owners have poured their blood, sweat, tears and money into their businesses. However, it’s been difficult to find qualified employees they can trust with their dream.
Never Giving Up on Our Dreams...Ready for the Story?
“Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past, You must fight just to keep them alive” - 🎶 Eye of the Tiger by Survivor 🎶
Once upon a time, there was a job seeker who was laid off during the Covid-19 pandemic. They believe in their talents and skills but after endlessly applying to jobs on popular job search engines like LinkedIn, they have lost hope in their aspirations.
The solutions and requirements decided were:
For SMB Owners
An All-In-One system where they can view their posted listings, applied candidates and schedule interviews
Credits System to pay for what they need -> Alleviates financial burden
For Job Seekers
An easy way to see the status of their applications
Some Solutions:
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Chapter 3: The process is important - Training is key to win the fight!
“And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night, And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger” - 🎶 Eye of the Tiger by Survivor 🎶
How might we help simplify and speed up the hiring process for Small Business Owners like Joseph and Hannah to find new employees?
How might we provide Job Seekers like Ben more job opportunities and a greater transparency in the hiring process to find a new role?
How might we help? What’s the problem?
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How will the product map? (Site Map)
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What are some tasks users will need to accomplish?
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Chapter 2: Don’t believe the research? Here’s what actual users are saying...
Top 2 results from a survey with
5 Job Seekers:
What they like about job searching
Quick applications
Clear and specific job listings
What they dislike about job searching
Long and time consuming apps
Being ghosted by hiring managers
Common themes in an interview with
2 SMB Owners:
They don’t want to pay a premium for job search services
Would like a pay-per-use system for premium features
Boost Your Resume Banner
Banner with reminders of how job seekers can get hired
Progress and Badge System
Gamification to encourage users to reach milestones in using their credits
Credits Statement - Like a Bank Statement
A chart to see where credits were utilized in a time period
Dashboard
Quickly seeing your options to earn or use your credits!
Pay Per Use: CREDITS
4
What will make this app stand out? Having Credits - a pay per use system. This alleviates financial burden on users and incentivizes and gamifies users to continue having a useful experience.
Training by Sketching
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An All-in-One System: Interview Scheduler
3
For the experience to be a all-in-one platform, users can schedule interviews within the app.
The interview scheduler will emulate a calendar scheduler
An All-in-One Login Dashboard
1
User’s dashboard once they sign in with widgets to give a quick access link and summary of their activity
Familiar to Zillow: Job Listing Search Page
2
User will have the ability to search for a job based on a map and how far the role is (like Zillow!)
Once the user clicks on a job, a popup with the job details will appear.
Chapter 4: Time to Fight...for our SMB Owners and Job Seekers Dreams
“It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight, Risin' up to the challenge of our rival” - 🎶 Eye of the Tiger by Survivor 🎶
After all the preparation, it was time to build our final product - time to rise up to the challenge and create an MVP to bring and advocate for our SMB owners and Job Seekers dreams to life!
With the CEO, marketing manager and developers, our sketches became real:
SMB Owner Experience
1
Dashboard
Widgets that gives an overview
Add New Job Right from the Dashboard
Input information like Title, Description, Media, Benefits, etc.
Reschedule Interview
Contact job seeker directly and reschedule within the app
Do Phone Interview Right from the App
Skip Zoom or using another device - the SMB owner/recruiter can do the interview directly from the app
Quick View of the Applications with Next Steps
SMB Owner has quick view of the applicant’s and where they are at in their process
Settings and Privacy
Ability to change settings, login as well as authorized users
Dashboard - All-In-One Quick Access to all features (including mobile app)
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Search for potential employees by location and other filters
On the app, users can also view by a map of where employees are located. This can decrease the % of SMB owners who face employees who quit or cannot work due to location
Use like zillow - find employees who are near by and local
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Each applicant shows a progress tracker. SMB Owners can take action like schedule an interview, message and send an offer to the applicant
User Can Schedule Interview
Put Input Details
Interview Request Sent/Scheduled
Upload Offer Letter Make an Offer Right From the App
User Can See an Offer Log, Counter or Accept
All-in-one Place to view job listings, applicants and their progress
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Company Profile
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Company Profile
With Location, About Us, list of Employees, Photos and Videos to give users an idea about the business and a list of Job Listings
Pay-Per-Use to decrease cost for users to spend on what they need: Credits System
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Earn or Spend Credits
To gamify and incentivize, users can gain or spend their credits in what they need
Credits Progress Chart
Users can earn badge status based on how they earn or spend credits
Credits Statement (Like a Bank Statement)
Chart and Statement of how credits were earned or spent over a period of time
Users can buy more credits - similar to an E-Commerce Checkout Page
Users can buy credits in bundle for cheaper
Job Seeker Experience
2
Application Tracker
Job Seeker can expand their application tracker to view their status and next steps for greater transparency
Accept, Counter or Reject
Job Seekers have control by countering, accepting or rejecting right from the application
Scheduling an Interview
Job Seekers can schedule a time that works for them to interview with the SMB owner or hiring manager
Dashboard
Job Seekers have an overview of their notifications, schedule for the day and application tracker
Dashboard - All-In-One Quick Access to all features (including mobile app)
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Job Seeker Profile - Time to Shine
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Profile
Job Seekers can add their location, about me, past experiences, resume, socials, education and even photos and videos to help give SMB Owners and hiring managers a rounded view of who they are.
Search for a Job Like zillow!
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By a Map
Job Seekers can zoom in or out, create a boundary to find jobs in a specific area
Search by Location
Job Seekers can search by their location or refine their search below:
Job Listing
Job Seekers click to view job and they’re taken to a pop-up of the job listing. If they like it, they can quick apply below to save time:
Phone Interview
Job Seekers don’t have to use another application to do a screening.
Send a Message
Job Seekers can communicate to the hiring manager here as well
In Person Interview Details
Job Seekers have information they need for their in-person interview
If a Job Seeker is No Longer Interested
Job Seekers can cancel their application process with a SMB/Company easily
If Job seekers need to interview, they have an Interview center
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Gamifying the Experience to Encourage Job Seekers
Job searching is exhausting. Giving job seekers ability to earn, spend, reach new goals and a break down of their activity will motivate users to keep going and boost their chances.
Earn Credits by Referring a Friend or Sharing on Social Media
Spend Credits by Boosting a Resume to Raise Chances
Be a Good Neighbor and Gift a Credit
quicken the job search process with credits
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All-in-one view of the progress of their application - No more ghosting
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Next Steps
Job seekers can see their applications that they’ve submitted, interviewed with, are in review and have offers.
They can also click into each application to message the hiring manager, take action on next steps and view additional documents.
Last Chapter: SMB Owners and Job Seekers are Closer to Their Dreams
MVP is Created but the Fight for Our Users Dreams is Not Over
The MVP designs were finished in July 2021. The product had a soft launch as the developers were building the rest of the application and 5+ SMB Owners were able to post job listings.
The application has gone through new versions since 2021. It’s currently being pitched to venture programs. This was Version 1.0 MVP designs and it needed some UI polishing and have adjustments for developer restrictions.
"Thank you for sticking to the end!
Why don't you stay cozy like Baylee and try another case study!"