PathFinder
The career transition platform
I worked as the UX/UI designer | UX researcher & User Interaction designer
I used Adobe Xd, Adobe Ps & Miro to present my idea in 10 weeks
PathFinder is a responsive website and a dedicated app, designed to help people through their career transition path. The website is a platform that provides learning resources and career development suggestions, for those, seeking positive change through their professional journey.
Design thinking process
Design thinking was my user-centered approach to problem-solving for this project. It helped me create solutions that address my real users’ problems and are functional and affordable. There are five phases in the design process:
Empathize
Define
Ideate
Prototype
Test
Empathize
Primary research​
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To empathize with target users, I conducted interviews as my foundational research method to collect in depth information on
their opinions, thoughts, experiences, and feelings.(qualitative data). I interviewed people who were looking for a change in their professional journey for different reasons. I learned about their needs and pain points.
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Interview goals:
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Why do people go to a career transition website?
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What common challenges do people face through their career transition journey?
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What do people expect from career transition websites?
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What makes them disappointed and frustrated In the middle of their journey?
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What makes a career transition website overwhelming and unenjoyable to use?
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What features could keep them interested and engaging while using a career transition platform?
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What specific areas do they need help with during their Journey?
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Target participant characteristics:
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​They are ages 18 and older.
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They all live in the US.
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They are people seeking a difference through their professional journey.
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They are from all genders and abilities.
Secondary research​
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I conducted secondary research to gain more empathy for my product’s main users. Also I used it to backup my own
primary research.
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Study finds:
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More than 21% of US employees are not passionate about their current jobs. (Due to a survey from zippia.com).
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An employee who is passionate about their work, and is able to see the purpose behind even their simplest of tasks,
is known to be both happier and more productive at work. (Due to an article by Geoff Glass from LinkedIn).
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74% of Millennial and Gen Z employees in the US are likely to quit within the next years due to a lack of skills development opportunities. (Due to a study by workplaceintelligence.com).
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In the last year, 32% of those 25 to 44 have considered a career change. Since starting their first job after college, 29%
of people have completely changed fields. One of the main factors for these changes is the desire for a salary increase (39%)
or the interest in a different field (21%) and those looking for upward mobility came in at (20%).
( Due to a survey from Apollotechnichal.com).​​​
User personas
After interviewing 12 people, I categorized them in 3 groups of users based on their similar goals, needs and pain points. Finally I came up with 3 personas who represent each group.
Define
Who would use this website?​​​
I found the answer to this question from my interviews, personas and user journey maps. I named the three groups of main users based on their different needs. I categorized their pain points into five main groups that need to be addressed in my product.
Career Seekers
The ones who are at the start
point of their career journey.
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​They need resources to help them with their career choices.
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They need to learn about what careers fit their
Interests, needs and desires. -
They need help to upgrade their resume in a
way that is eye-catching for recruiters. -
They need to get ready for their first interviews.
Career changers
The ones who desire to change their current career field
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​They need to learn about the careers and salaries in their field of interest.
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They need to clarify their transition path and look for their best career matches.
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They need to learn new skills and further their
education. -
They need to update their resume to be fit with their new career field.
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They need to get ready for future interviews.
Career climbers
The ones who are seeking advancement in their current field.
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They need to boost their skills and enhance their knowledge at their current field.
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They need to learn more about their fields’ related companies and given salaries.
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They need to upgrade their resume to showcase their new achievements.
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They need to learn more about top companies’ interview questions and answers to get ready for future interviews.
Problem identification
After creating personas and user journey maps I was able to find out the main struggles among users,while seeking a change through their career journey, which helped me to identify improvement opportunities.
Pain points
Career transition websites are hard to navigate.
Learning resources,
related to career
transition are not
easily accessible
and filterable.
Career transition websites do not clearly follow a
specific goal. There are usually too much information and no start/end Point.
Career websites provide too much un-categorized
information thus, users can’t stay concentrated
And motivated.
They need to get ready for job applications and interviews but they feel confused by the load of information, sample
resumes, cover letters and interview preparation kits,online.
Hypothesis
statements
I believe that a platform that is easy to navigate and enjoyable to use, will allow users to get less confused and stay focused on their career goals.
I believe a platform that provides filterable, categorized and easy
to use learning resources will allow users to boost their knowledge and learn new skills with less confusion.
I believe a platform that clearly defines the start point and end point
of the pathway to a solution would cause less overwhelming feelings
and would allow users to continue their path.
I believe a platform that provides assessment tests and best career
matches as a result of the test will allow users to get less overwhelmed
and start to realize their real needs and strengths/weaknesses to set clear goals.
I believe a platform that helps with application process and application
materials step by step and clearly will allow users to go forward with their new career changes.
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What is the problem and what do users need?
Users struggle to navigate their career transitions effectively due to a lack of personalized, easy-to-use resources. Users need a platform that provides tailored guidance, enhances their knowledge, and offers actionable career plans to simplify their transition journey.
Goal identification
Our main goal for this project was to make it easy for users to go through the process of career transition by making the website and application user friendly and easily accessible.
How did we address users’ pain points in our product?
​I defined 2 different use cases for the website and the application.
​The website is specifically for learning, setting goals and planning. While the application is a tool to get users ready for
future interviews.In the following I will elaborate on the design process of the responsive website. You can also learn more about
the “PathFinder interview prep tool” through this link.​
Ideate
Step 1
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First hand ideas, 24 hour time slot​
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Before analyzing competitors, I gave myself a 24 hour time slot to come up with sketches of raw ideas. I placed my first-hand ideas on a mobile app screen because it was the easiest screen to work on for design and testing. I tested my final prototype with a group of four people who were generally familiar with technology and gathered their interesting opinions which helped me later on during the ideation and design phase alongside with the competitive audit and crazy eights.
Pain Points,insights and conclusion​
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The app is overwhelming to use.
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Insight: categorize information in various groups and name them clearly.
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It is disappointing to sign up first before knowing what the app is about.
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Insight: add the option of guest experience and show a demo about the app.
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The app is not personalized and could not be as useful as it should be.
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Insight: Make a questionnaire for users to follow and create personalized interaction.
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It is not clear for users, what tasks should be completed through the app and what it is mainly used for.
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Insight: eliminate the less important functions to make the main goal stand out and diminish confusion.
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The existence of two navigation menus is confusing.
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Insight: keep the bottom navigation menu and eliminate the sidebar menu for the mobile app.
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The name of the application is not an indicator of what is inside It doesn’t even give a clue.
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Insight: change the name of the platform to a one word description of what is inside.
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Conclusion:
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What I realized after testing this one day idea, was that people are looking for clearness and less confusion in such a platform. They need to get to answers to their problems easily and without hesitation. Organizing the website in a clear way and personalizing user's experience and interaction with the website are the two main factors to consider for designing a career transition platform.
Step 2
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Competitive audits​
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I conducted competitive audits to use it as a tool to explore ideas for my design. I identified my key competitors and evaluated their strengths and weaknesses to learn what has worked and what has not worked for them. I addressed a few questions through my audits:
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1. How did my competitors approach designing their products?
2. Are my competitors’ websites difficult to use?
3. Are there user needs my competitors do not meet?
In the following I will bring up a summarized evaluation of two of my competitors that I learned from, the most:
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Insights from competitive audit:
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My goal was to come up with ideas that help my product stand out from the competition. I realized that the main Issue that I can solve to do better than my competitors and improve the usability of my website is giving the option of personalizing user's experience while interacting with my design.
Step 3
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Programmatic thinking, HMV questions
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I made HMV questions to start thinking of potential solutions to the problem. It helped me think about the problem from different perspectives.
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Problem statement
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"Sarah, an employee facing uncertainty in her career transition journey, needs a personalized website experience to navigate different aspects of her professional change. Because she needs to learn about her next steps and make informed decisions considering her
unique skills, interests, needs and goals."​
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How might we help users be certain about their career decisions?
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How might we change the settings of the platform in a way that is only for use of one person?
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How might we find answers to user’s potential unawareness about themselves?
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How might we make the process of career change enjoyable and interactive like playing a game?
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How might we help people find out they don’t want to go through a career change?
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How might we help people enjoy their current job and feel good about it?
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How might we help people get certain about their personal needs?
Step 4
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Creative thinking, Crazy Eights
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Crazy Eights method helped me to get my ideas floating, I sketched eight different designs in 8 minutes, each with a new idea to solve users’ problems. In the following I will describe four of the ideas I generated with the Crazy Eights activity.
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1. Easy filtering options for learning resources. As users are able to filter the resources by source of content, related industry and type of content.
2. Shows user’s need to find solutions for her uncertainties. The website should provide an assessment test to let users find clear answers by bringing up clear questions.
4. Provides easy and filterable access to training options like courses and certifications.
8. Provides a step by step plan with clear start point and end point for users to reach their goals.
Step 5
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Inform ideation
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To come up with the ideal solution for my design challenge, I created a goal statement. It helped me describe my product and its benefits for the users.
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Goal statement
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Our career transition website will let users access filterable learning resources tailored to their own specific needs and get informed about their specific career fits. Which will affect users who want to make changes in their professional journey. By providing assessment tests and personalized experience.
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We can measure effectiveness by analyzing the actions of people taking the test.
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Step 6​
​​Wireframes, round 1​​
I used the progressive enhancement approach and started sketching with the largest screen in mind. It allowed me to highlight the most important content from the start and come up with a clear vision of how the website should appear on all device sizes and types.
Prototype and test
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First usability study
UX research study plan in detail
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Study type: unmoderated usability study
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Participants: 5 participants who are seeking a change in their career
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Location: remote, using Zoom
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Length: 30-60 minutes
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Users' pain points and quotes
Usability study in detail
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"I got frustrated and confused by too much unnecessary information."
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"Navigating through the website is too hard that I would get frustrated and decide to close it."
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"The website is rich in content but the content is not totally accessible for users."
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"The footer of the webpage looks too crowded and not helpful."
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"The side menu for sorting and filtering in the resource page is taking too much space and makes it frustrating."
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"Career assessment " seems like the most important action in the website. But it is underestimated and not in the right place."
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"Some of the names like “resources” and tools are not compatible with they’re content."
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"The organization of the website is not clear."
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"I believe the website should be more focused on the main goal which is showing one’s career matches."
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Second usability study
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Study type: unmoderated usability study
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Participants: 5 participants who are seeking a change in their career
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Location: remote, using Zoom
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Length: 30-60 minutes
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Users' negative and positive experiences
Usability study in detail
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Users claim that the option for guest experience should be given at the homepage and not after signing up.
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Users say that interaction with the website is easy and enjoyable.
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Users believe navigation through the website is easy. And the organization of the website makes it usable.
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Users believe the personalization of the website is well defined with an assessment test.
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Users found it useful to get to their specific career matches right after doing the test.
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Users wish the questions and answers of the test were categorized and more instructional to be more helpful.
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Updated user flow and site map
After the second usability study I updated my goal statement, user flow and site map. This helped me prioritize users’ needs and better describe my improved design.
User flow
Site map
Final mockups
Landing page
Guest experience design
After the second usability study I added the option of experiencing the website as a guest to the home page to reduce the frustration and help those users who are using the website to find “learning resources” reach their goal without hesitation. After clicking the “guest experience” button, they will be directed to a new homepage and get the chance to also know more about the “career development” section of the website before starting a test.
Guest homepage
"Learning resources" and "Career development"
The guest homepage guides users to learning opportunities which include "training options" like apprenticeships and workshops. And "self learning options" which is categorized contents from different online sources. Users can also learn more about the services that the"career development" section of the website has to offer before choosing to sign up.
Personalized homepage
Personalized experience design
The other important change I made after the second usability study was with the test, I found out that users need more instructional questions to help them have more confident at making decisions. I grouped the questions and named each group to be identifiable.
Questionaree
"Identification questions" and "Pop up messages"
Also I designed personalized pop up messages to give reassurance to users while completing the test. Based on my research there are three groups of users who might use this app, the first question of the test will help users identify their needs to be guided through their specialized questions.
Career development
Career matches screen design
In the career matches section I added compatibility percentages based on users’ answers to build the feeling of reassurance for the user and to speak more clearly about their career matches.
"Loading screen" and "Confirmation screen"
I designed a loading screen to keep users engaged while waiting for the next content to load.
designing a confirmation screen was also needed to confirm to users that their action has been completed as intended and to guide them through their next steps.
Main flow
Guest flow
Accessibility considerations
Understandability
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I created clear and concise content with a simple language.
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I ensured consistent navigation and functionality across the site.
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Color and contrast
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I made sure that my color combination contrast passed the WCAG guidelines to be easily seen and accessible to all users.
Typography
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I used readable font sizes and styles to be accessible to all users.
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I provided adequate spacing between lines and paragraphs.
Typography and color palettes
Next steps ...
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To conduct research and usability studies to measure effectiveness of the app comparing to other career transition platforms.
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To work on the different features of “career matches” and conduct research to know how to define user’s “Strengths and weaknesses” for a job from their answers to assessment questions.
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To add a feature named “notebook” to the “learning resources” section so that people can keep track of their progress through
the app.
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Work more on the “resume” part of the app to see how we can get help from AI to improve users resumes based on their career choices.
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Takeaways ...
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​Users shared that the final app could be really helpful for finding one’s career fits without hesitation. The instructional questions could help people make sure the app is designed for their specific needs and concerns, which reduces the level of anxiety and uncertainty while making a professional choice.
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The design process I went through for “PathFinder” helped me realize that users’ needs, feelings and concerns are the most Important issue to consider while designing a product. To make sure we as designers are on the same page as users our tools are interviews, surveys, usability studies and iteration.These tools help us get closer to what users really want and are eager to use.