Revolutionizing Recruitment with
Case Study 3
Case Study 3
openknect
openknect
Web App
This web app was my first real-world UX project, which I collaborated on with 3 other designers. In conducting extensive research and testing throughout the process, my user research skills improved tremendously. I completed my volunteer period before the high-fidelity version was finalized, so I can only upload the mid-fidelity version for the case study.
This web app was my first real-world UX project, which I collaborated on with 3 other designers. In conducting extensive research and testing throughout the process, my user research skills improved tremendously. I completed my volunteer period before the high-fidelity version was finalized, so I can only upload the mid-fidelity version for the case study.
Challenge: 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.
Challenge: 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.
Sector: Government Staffing
Sector: Government Staffing
My Role: UX Designer, work closely with a UX leader and two other team members
My Role: UX Designer, work closely with a UX leader and two other team members
Project Time: 2 months
Project Time: 2 months
Tools Used: Figma, FigJam, Maze, Adobe Illustrator
Tools Used: Figma, FigJam, Maze, Adobe Illustrator
PROJECT GOALS
PROJECT GOALS
Optimize Application Management
Improve the application management system to streamline candidate evaluation, reducing delays and facilitating the efficient shortlisting of qualified candidates.
Optimize Application Management
Improve the application management system to streamline candidate evaluation, reducing delays and facilitating the efficient shortlisting of qualified candidates.
Optimize Website Usability
Enhance the website's user experience to ensure candidates can easily navigate and apply for government positions, creating a user-friendly platform.
Optimize Website Usability
Enhance the website's user experience to ensure candidates can easily navigate and apply for government positions, creating a user-friendly platform.
Meet Candidate and Client Expectations
Develop a trustworthy, efficient, and secure platform that aligns with the expectations of both candidates and government agencies, simplifying and securing recruitment process.
Meet Candidate and Client Expectations
Develop a trustworthy, efficient, and secure platform that aligns with the expectations of both candidates and government agencies, simplifying and securing recruitment process.
Business Objectives
Business Objectives
Improve Transparency in Hiring
Develop and integrate platforms or tools that offer real-time tracking of the recruitment process for both job seekers and employers. This goal aims at creating a more open and transparent hiring environment where all parties are informed of their status, progress, and the next steps in the recruitment cycle, thereby building trust and improving communication.
Improve Transparency in Hiring
Develop and integrate platforms or tools that offer real-time tracking of the recruitment process for both job seekers and employers. This goal aims at creating a more open and transparent hiring environment where all parties are informed of their status, progress, and the next steps in the recruitment cycle, thereby building trust and improving communication.
Reduce Recruitment Costs
Utilize technology to streamline the staffing process, minimizing administrative burdens and reducing the costs associated with hiring for government agencies. By streamlining the application and evaluation processes, aim to create a cost-effective, efficient, and trustworthy recruitment solution that aligns with the goal of providing qualified personnel to the public sector.
Reduce Recruitment Costs
Utilize technology to streamline the staffing process, minimizing administrative burdens and reducing the costs associated with hiring for government agencies. By streamlining the application and evaluation processes, aim to create a cost-effective, efficient, and trustworthy recruitment solution that aligns with the goal of providing qualified personnel to the public sector.
Enhance Recruitment Efficiency
By optimizing the application management system and website usability, the company wants to streamline the staffing process for local and state government agencies, ensuring the rapid and efficient shortlisting of qualified candidates, significantly speeding up the hiring cycle for government positions.
Enhance Recruitment Efficiency
By optimizing the application management system and website usability, the company wants to streamline the staffing process for local and state government agencies, ensuring the rapid and efficient shortlisting of qualified candidates, significantly speeding up the hiring cycle for government positions.
the journey
After establishing our business objectives, our team embarked on a comprehensive information and data collection effort, engaging in market research, competitive analysis, heuristic evaluation, and user interviews. These approaches were aimed at understanding the audience, identifying market trends, gaining usability insights, and validating assumptions to ensure the success and relevance of our platform.
Market Research
Job seekers dislike how impersonal and disconnected the experience feels when applying through a job site versus directly with a company. 76% of job seekers said they prefer to apply directly on a company's career site rather than through a third party platform. (Harry poll, 2019)
61% of job seekers say the application process is their least enjoyable part of job hunting (Glassdoor study, 2021)
Declining application completion rates - 60% of candidates fail to complete applications due to length or complexity (Lighthouse Research, 2022)
55% of applicants never hear back from a company after applying according to recent Glassdoor data (Glassdoor Candidate Experience Survey, 2022)
Conclusion
Streamline and personalize application processes to provide a straightforward, responsive experience. This includes clear communication, minimal repetitive steps and transparency into status.
Address any skills mismatches by expanding talent pools, developing internal talent and providing training opportunities.
Closing the feedback loop by keeping candidates updated on status, even if rejecting them, improves perceptions of the experience. Automated updates help at scale.
Competitive Analysis
Limited Search Refinement
While some competitors allow anonymous browsing, their search and filtering tools are inadequate for precise targeting. Some significant frustrations include:
Minimal filters beyond keyword and location
No options to filter by experience level, salary range, job type, etc.
Poor results relevancy even after applying basic filters
No bookmarking or saving of searches to revisit later
Filters reset after navigating away from results page
No recommendations based on past searches and activity
Insufficient Application Process
Most competitors lack robust application monitoring. Key pain points include:
No overview dashboard to view status of all applications
No reminders to follow up after applying
No notifications when applications are viewed or advanced
No tracking of how far along the hiring process each application is
Limited visibility into which materials have been downloaded by employers
Heuristic Evaluation
User Control and Freedom
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.
Aesthetic and Minimalist Design
Insufficient white space makes pages feel cluttered visually. More strategic spacing and alignment is needed.
Lack of icons fails to take advantage of visual shorthand for improved scannability.
Color contrast issues create visibility problems in places.
Company branding and visual identity is not very distinct. A cohesive and unique style could enhance memorability.
Information Structure
Page titles and headings do not represent the content well.
Imagery, icons, tables, or charts are rarely used to summarize or enhance information.
No distinct content hierarchies or taxonomies used to organize information.
Unclear which pages are intended for job seekers vs employers.
User interview
We interviewed 13 job seekers. The goals were to understand their difficulties in navigation, profile management, job search, visual design, and gaining feedback on the current design. We sorted the interview responses and survey questions with similar topics using Affinity Mapping, which allowed us to identify trends and patterns. These insights have helped us generate the users' pain points.
Target Audience
Technology and business employees
College and university students
Public sector job candidates
No age limit
Focused Questions
How users utilize job platforms to apply for roles
User experiences with these platforms
Key factors considered when job searching
Aspects that sustain engagement post-application
Platform Credibility
I trust a website when it demonstrates the ability to protect my personal information
I prefer websites that offer a streamlined process, as it encourages me to come back
I find websites with well-designed interfaces and user-friendly experiences to be more trustworthy
Users judge platform trust based on verified users, data security, reputable sources, transparency and reputation.
Trust a platform when there are a lot information from reliable, verified sources
Trust in the platform: numbers of people using the website with a big network of credentialed employers on the platform
I trust the websites that are clear and easy to navigate
Trust website that are popular to everyone
Application Process
Want one standard platform so do not have to go through individual company's website to apply
I find websites with well-designed interfaces and user-friendly experiences to be more trustworthy
Users are frustrated by repetitive uploads, duplicate questions, and spam when applying.
I prefer not to repeatedly upload my resume and answer the same questions for each job application I submit
Don't like that there are some overlapping or outdated jobs
Frustrated that some platforms will ask the same questions that could be obtained from the resume that they made user uploaded already
Frustrated of outdated and irrelevant job positions
Sometime get spam message while searching for jobs
Application Management
Notion, Excel, Google Sheet are used to keep track of job application
Keep track of job applications by going back to email inbox and look through confirmation emails
Users track applications via emails, external tools and reminders because platforms lack integrated organization and tracking
Lack of ways to keep records of multiple employers and applications within the same platform (specifically Linkedin)
Whenever I apply for a job I set reminders in other apps
Frustrated that some platforms will ask the same questions that could be obtained from the resume that they made user uploaded already
Cannot keep track of applied job
Unsure of the application process (status)
Application Process Update
Wish for an instant or quick qualification when applying (don't like waiting or being ghosted)
I would appreciate it if job search platforms had a responsive support system in place, allowing me to find answers to my questions quickly and efficiently
Users want confirmation, updates, quick support and responses when applying
I expect to receive a response or notification confirming the receipt of my application, as well as regular updates about the progress of the hiring process, so that I can stay informed and keep track of my application
High response-rate from recruiter increase trust in platform
Responsive employers (Indeed)
Preferred Functionalities
Linkedin's easy apply is convenient because you can applied with just your profile and resume
Like the specific filters of some job search platform to find best match (experience, location, sponsorship, etc.)
Users are frustrated by repetitive uploads, duplicate questions, and spam when applying
Some platforms offer "Auto-fill Resume" which is very convenient when mass applying to jobs
I want to receive notification when that company have an open position
Save button would be very helpful
I want to have personalized job recommendation
Like the "Save" and "Favorite" jobs function
Love job alerts through email for new job listings
Love the "Easy Apply" function of Linkedin
Don't like that there are some overlapping or outdated jobs
user persona
John Doe
After analyzing User Data and User Persona, here are the Pain Points that we came up with. These Pain Points, consistently highlighted by the users, reflect critical areas in need of improvement to enhance the overall user experience and operational efficiency.
Pain Points
Tedious Application Process
Tedious application processes involving repetitive actions, duplications and spam
Building Platform Trust
Lack of trust in platforms due to insufficient verification, security, credibility, transparency and reputation
Disjointed Application Tracking
Disjointed tracking of applications makes user have to use different tools and channels
Lack of Application Process Communication
Lack of confirmation, updates and communication during the application process
Missing Valued Platform Features
Platforms missing desired features for matching, notifications and alerts
After identifying the 3 main Pain Points and Business Requirements, we started asking the “How Might We” questions to transform user pain points into opportunities for creative and actionable problem-solving
How Might We?
Simplify application requirements to reduce steps?
Integrate a dashboard for tracking and updating application statuses in one place to improve the platform experience?
Allow users to save job searches and get notified of new relevant listings?
Display trust certificates and credentials to assure users?
After developing How Might We questions, we crafted a solution statement to focus the innovative ideas generated into a specific, actionable direction. This approach ensures that we're not just creating imaginative solutions, but also directly addressing the real problems and opportunities highlighted in our HMW questions, making our solutions more user-centered and effective.
Solution Statement
Our solution optimizes the job seeker experience through an intuitive platform with an efficient job search engine. Advanced matching and streamlined application via autofill and one-click apply enhance effectiveness. Personalized tracking dashboards, real-time status updates, and responsive support increase simplicity and transparency.
We created user flows after defining a problem statement to understand how users will interact with our solution and to ensure it's intuitive and efficient. This approach helps us identify and address potential user pain points early in the design process.
User Flow
We've designed the flow to be as easy and clear as possible for users. Jobseekers can view highlighted openings on the homepage or navigate directly to the job listings page, and the application process allows autofill and auto-upload to simplify the user journey. Our goal was to create straightforward pathways through viewing, selecting, and applying for open roles.
the SOLUTIONS
THANK YOU FOR YOUR VISIT
Please check out my and for more.
user task
© 2024 PORTFOLIO
by anH V LE
- Visit the Home page
- Read Highlighted jobs and search for Preferred jobs
- Filter jobs
- Read Job description
- Apply
- Log In
- Fill/ Autofill information
- Submit
To explore various options and decide what elements to include in the low-fidelity mockups, our team produced several iterative sketches depicting different versions of the platform interface and key features.
Sketches
By selecting the most suitable elements from various wireframe versions, we synthesized them into the low-fidelity prototype.
Low fidelity prototype
After creating an initial low-fidelity prototype, we conducted usability testing with 14 users. This allowed early identification and correction of pain points and design flaws before continuing to a high-fidelity version.
Usability testing
Participants: 14
Tool Used: Maze
Flow 2:
Flow 1:
Search for a job
Manage job profile
Saved jobs
Application
Resume Upload
Apply for a highlighted job
Sign In/Sign Up
Complete an application
Key findings:
67
average usability score
109 S
average time spent on the homepage
66.7%
missclicked rate on the 'Search for a job' task
User feedbacks:
Most commented:
The interface was easy to use (4 users)
Room for improvement:
Reposition the search bar (3 users)
Add color for the progress bar (1 user)
Optimize homepage orientation
After receiving usability testing performance results and feedbacks, we began making adjustments to the mid-fidelity prototype.
Mid fidelity prototype
Home page
before
after
Improvements from Usability Testing: Reposition the search bar
Optimize homepage orientation
The logos of key clients and vendors were shifted to the hero section of the home page to reduce clutter, so the search bar was more focused when users first land. This simplifies homepage content to just the most critical tools for finding and applying to jobs so users can quickly navigate.
The in-depth details partners and the descriptions of all platform services, were consolidated into a new section on the About Us page in order to present a unified view of that information and prevent redundant details between the Home page and About page.
We decided to erase the 'Why Choose Us' section and instead focus on providing value and building trust and credibility through high quality job postings.
job page
after
before
We've adopted the Material Design 3 system, moving the navigation bar to the left sidebar on the Job Search and Application pages, offering more space for detailed labels in this vertical layout and enabling a compact mobile menu on smaller screens. This design is accessible to users when logging into the website, enhancing usability and navigation.
Dividing the job listings and detailed descriptions into side-by-side panes allows users to quickly scan and preview opportunities without losing context, keeps both overview and details conveniently accessible together, and creates a more efficient, user-friendly search and exploration experience.
application page
after
before
Instead of naming each section of the application subpages, we numerically label them to increase visibility of the user's progress through the application stages. To make the application process faster and easier, we allowed users to upload their existing resumes or upload a new one directly from their device. Instead of making the resume revision step a separate page, we incorporated it directly into the application process to streamline the user experience.
After the job application is successfully submitted, we included a confirmation popup to to ensure users are clearly informed of their submission status.
FLOW
Apply for a highlighted job
Sign In/Sign Up
Complete an application
Dashboard
after
before
The Dashboard feature is exclusively available to logged-in users, presents a comprehensive view of the total number of job applications submitted and interviews secured, enabling users to effortlessly monitor their job-seeking progress.
When users click the 'Save' button on any job post, it will appear on their Saved Jobs page, and the website will automatically send notifications about updates on that job or related open roles. This feature enables users to effortlessly track and receive notifications, eliminating the need for manual reminders.
We introduced an Inbox page, allowing OpenKnect to send users updates on application status or notices about jobs they've applied for. This inbox allows users to communicate directly with OpenKnect, helping to save time and enable better tracking compared to going through external email communication.
We've enabled users to upload different versions of their resume in cases they are applying for several different jobs or want to tailor their resumes to specific companies or industries. By allowing resume versioning, users can more easily re-apply without having to manually upload resumes each time, saving time and avoiding potential confusion or uploading the wrong resume version for a particular application.
Even though we can send notifications about users' application status, for now, we weren't able to update users' application status on the dashboard. Despite this being one of our few manual steps, we believed it was still very helpful in terms of allowing users to update and keep track of their status without having to go through other third-party platforms.
job filter
after
before
Improvements from User Interview: More filter options for jobs
When interviewing users, we interviewed some who are international students, and they were particularly looking for jobs that do or do not offer sponsorship, as well as whether the companies accept CPT/OPT. This made us realize the need for expanding our search filters to include more options for international students, making their progress easier and more transparent without having to email companies directly.
FLOW
FLOW
Search for a job
Manage Dashboard
View Notifications
Check Inbox
Check Saved Jobs
View My Resume
View My Applications
Contact us + About us
about us
We moved the 'Why Choose Us', 'Vendors', and 'Clients' sections to the About Us page to consolidate background and credibility information in a single location. To foster trust, motivation, and encourage users to apply, we included inspirational quotes from our company's CEO and other successful government authorities on the website. On the Contact Us page, we used the 'Knect' from our company name, OpenKnect, as a call to action, inviting users to sign up for our emails to stay updated on job postings and other relevant information.
contact us
Design System
Aa
#008E75
#0F52BA
#344054
Roboto
Accessibility
We adapted the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines in our color design to enhance accessibility for users with disabilities and create more inclusive, usable, discoverable, compatible, and secure experiences optimized for diverse users and contexts. We primarily utilized color combinations rated AA or AAA to ensure optimal legibility and readability for users throughout the platform interface. This sufficient contrast between elements ensures readers can comfortably distinguish content, while avoiding extremely high ratios that may create visual strain.
take aways