OpenKnect, a startup that kicked off in 2022, is on a mission to make government staffing easier for local and state offices by connecting them with skilled and qualified personnels. They hit a few bumps initially with their application system and website usability, and their first big project is all about fine-tuning their website. This website aims to create an effortless and friendly journey for applicants, making the job application process straightforward.
OpenKnect faced a number of challenges, including an inefficient application management system that caused delays in shortlisting candidates, and a poor website user experience that hindered candidate applications. The competitive government staffing industry requires system improvements to compete. Meeting candidate and customer expectations for an intuitive, efficient and secure recruiting platform is highly important.
Our team took a two-step approach to overcome OpenKnect's challenges. Firstly, we revamped the website entirely to make it more functional and user-friendly. Secondly, we developed an internal system to streamline application management and workflows. By working closely together with developers and the stakeholders, we efficiently carried out the plan, ensuring we met our deadline.
Let me walk you through my design process that helped me come up with the solutions
.png)
Market research is essential to gain a better understanding of the market at the early stages of the project. It helps me identify what I already know, and what areas I still need to explore. It provides me with a deeper understanding of the target audience and keeps me up-to-date on the latest trends. These insights are crucial in shaping initial personas and formulating the right questions for primary research.
💼 Over 50% of job seekers prefer to find jobs online, while 45% rely on friend recommendations (Glassdoor, HR and Recruiting Stats for 2019)
📉 LinkedIn's popularity among recruiters has dropped from 92% in 2017 to 77% in 2018 (Jobvite)
🙋🏻 67% of recruiters say their biggest challenge in hiring is the lack of skilled and high-quality candidates.(Devskiller)
📑 A staggering 98% of Fortune 500 companies use Applicant Tracking Systems and other hiring algorithms. The most popular systems are Taleo (30%) and Workday (16%). (Jobscan)
I came across two types of similar companies when it comes to applying for jobs:
requires you to sign up before you can view job listings, which can be frustrating as it forces you to create an account before you can even see the job opportunities available.
This type of company allows you to browse through job listings before signing up, giving you greater flexibility and control over your search.
The stats highlight the importance of optimizing online presence, use referrals, streamline hiring processes, address skill gaps, optimize ATS usage, and provide a quick and efficient application experience to attract high-quality candidates for recruiters and employers.
🔍 Job seekers might find it difficult to narrow down their search results because these companies offer limited advanced filtering choices.
📑 There are not enough adequate tools to track job applications, as basic email or text notifications fail to engage users and lead to missed opportunities for retention.
The current company website, created by the founder who's also an IT engineer, lacks good organization, visual appeal, and ease of use. It is safe to say that the website doesn't follow Jakob's 10 usability rules. There are four main points that I found where the website could do better:
Insufficient white space makes pages feel cluttered visually. More strategic spacing and alignment is needed.
No use of icons fails to take advantage of visual shorthand for improved scannability.
No hero section to inform users about company's mission statement and boost engagement
Company branding and visual identity is not very distinct. A cohesive and unique style could enhance memorability.
.png)
Search functionality is missing to allow users to lookup information as needed.
No personal account creation allows saving preferences or resuming processes.
No shortcuts to jump between page sections or highlighted content anchors.
.png)
No distinct content hierarchies or taxonomies used to organize information.
Unclear which pages are intended for job seekers vs employers.
Imagery, icons, tables, or charts are rarely used to summarize or enhance information.
-p-800.png)
There is not a clear indication which page the user is on
No indication of click state on navigation bar and elements
Our target audience include: IT/Business Professionals, Junior/Senior Students, and those looking for jobs with no age limits.
To really get what these users go through when hunting for jobs, our team conducted 1:1 interviews with 13 people. We wanted to know how they use search platforms to apply, how those platforms work for them, and what makes them stay involved in tracking their applications.
How participants use job search platforms to apply
Understand their difficulties in navigation, profile management, job search, visual design, and gaining feedback on the current design
The important factors they consider when searching for a job and keep them engaged with the platforms after applying
Once the interviews were done, we took notes all the answers in Figjam and grouped them by common themes. Looking at these responses, we discovered the participants' main motivations and frustrations during the application process on a platform. To make sense of it all, I have grouped similar interview answers together, which allowed me to identify trends and patterns. These insights have helped us have a better understanding of what the users really need.
Users seek a trustworthy platform with a user-friendly interface, clear information, secure data handling, and a seamless application experience.
Users need an extensive solution that tackles the various challenges they face when looking for jobs and applying.
Users need a comprehensive solution that addresses the diverse issues they encounter during their job search and application process.
Users are looking for job search platforms to include these preferred features. This is to make their experience better, boost efficiency, and match up with what they expect.
Users need ongoing updates about their job applications and the advancement of the hiring process. This helps them stay in the loop and manage their applications effectively.
.png)
Having gathered a lot of information about the audience and what they want, I created a user persona. This lets me concentrate on solving the big issues – meeting the important needs of the most significant user groups.
This is Raymond. He's a former professional chef, and is actively searching for a job as a digital designer after graduating his design bootcamp.
With the user persona, and insights from the research stage, I turned my knowledge into Point Of View (POV) Statements to frame the problem from the user’s perspective. After defining the design challenge in POV, I generated a series of How Might We questions to directly address Raymond's needs, enabling us to generate focused ideas.
Job seekers struggle to find trustworthy websites, causing concerns about scams.
→ How might we build a trustworthy job search platform with verified listings, safeguarding users from scams and fraudulent activities?
Irrelevant, outdated, or unqualified job postings frustrate job seekers.
→ How might we develop a search engine platform that maximizes the job search process, helping users find relevant, up-to-date, and qualified job postings that match their preferences?
Job seekers find the application process tiring, especially when navigating external pages and monitoring application progress becomes challenging.
→ How might we simplify the job application process, allowing users to submit applications using their resume and profile, while also providing a built-in tracking feature within the same platform?
Users lack an integrated tracking system on job search platforms, leading to inconvenience and manual input of application information using external tools.
→ How might we improve the job search platform by integrating an efficient application tracking system, eliminating the need for external tools and allowing users to conveniently manage and track their job applications within the platform?
After considering both business goals and user aspirations, we pinpointed shared aspects that would serve as a compass in determining essential features.
.png)
After reflecting on the business requirements and user goals, we have identified two types of users: non-logged-in users and logged-in users. As a result, we will create two site maps. One will be for general users, while the other will be designed specifically for users who have logged in.
The reason is to allow users the freedom to explore the website before providing their personal information, thus enhancing their trust in the platform. The logged-in users will be developed as a web app with a sidebar and navigation drawer or rail, which will vary based on the device being used.
After carefully exploring the findings from my research, I've designed a user flow that serves as a helpful roadmap for a variety of tasks, while also playing a significant role in improving the overall design process. This thoughtfully crafted pathway ensures that every step of the user journey is well-informed and user-centric, resulting in an enhanced and enjoyable experience.
Before going digital, our team sketched out some key screens necessary for fulfilling the tasks in the user flow. Sketching first allowed me to brainstorm different ideas on how to effectively design the screens. Each screen has been designed in a way that allows the user to focus on one main task. However, in order to maintain focus on the flow, we temporarily removed the navigation drawer on the left for the logged-in user.
We transformed the sketches into digital wireframes, adding interactions to form an interactive prototype. This prototype will serve as the testing ground to gather insights on functionality, navigation, and support design refinements. Here's a glimpse at a few screens:
In order to assess the overall quality and ease of navigation of the design, as well as identify areas of errors or difficulties during the early stages, we conducted testing with our wireframes using Maze link. We believe that colors sometimes could be distracting, and decided to test early.
Apply for a highlighted job
Sign in or sign up
Complete the application
Search for a specific job
Manage profile: check saved jobs
Check applications
Figure out how to upload resume
Unmoderated & moderated remote testing through Maze
9 participants - unmoderated testing, 4 participants - moderated testing
No age limit
Have applied to jobs before or actively looking for jobs at the moment
Average usability score across the 13 participants
Is the average time that users spent on the homepage
Misclick rate
Out of 13 participants succeeded with the tasks
Out of 13 participants deviated from the expected path
.png)
Since OpenKnect has not established their brand identity, I stepped out of my comfort zone to develop and design the company logo before moving on to UI Design. Having a logo is crucial at this stage since the logo will be used multiple times across the design.
After discussing closely with the founder of the company about the company's image and values, I developed the logo based on these three keywords: connection, positive, and success
My inspirations came from circuits and talent elements. The circuit also emphasizes the importance of connection and the flow of energy and information. The circuits are leaving an empty space for another one to connect, emphasizing "open" and "knect"(connect).
.webp)
.png)
