Introduction
This is the second UX design project I completed as part of the Google UX Design Professional Certificate.
Project duration
May - June 2022
My role
UX Designer - Designing an early career network platform.
My responsibilities
User research, UX/UI design, wireframing, prototyping, usability testing.
The problem
Students and young adults make career choices without enough awareness of the working world and the various paths and opportunities open to them.
The goal
Help students in their move from school to their career.
Gain insight into possible career paths and what each of those involves.
Help young adults with skills development to succeed in their early careers.
Research
Primary research
In order to get a better understanding of the process of choosing a career path and the pain points associated with it, I interviewed 3 students remotely who were in their Baccalaureat/A-Level exams year.
All participants mentioned that they feel pressured to make the right decision for their university or career path choices.
2 out of 3 participants confirmed that they don't really know which career they want to pursue. The other participant, although not certain of their choice, are passionate about art and want to deepen their skills and knowledge further in that area.
All participants shared that they do their own research when it comes to university or career path choices.
Needs
make informed university choices later in the year.
know which type of career they want to pursue.
Pain points
finding relatable resources on career paths.
difficulties to project themselves in a work environment.
Desires
hear real experiences from people who are already in their careers.
connect with a community to bounce ideas off, and share knowledge and experiences.
Secondary research
I also looked into existing research on this subject and cross-referenced multiple articles and studies. Below is a summary of my key findings.
A study conducted by the Student Room, UK student community, reveals that one in five students regrets their university choice.
The results revealed that given the choice again, over 20% of students would not choose their current university:
the main reason being the overall university experience, with 18% of respondents claiming university overall was not really for them.
other factors influencing students’ regret included not researching the university properly before applying (18%), picking a university too far from home (17%) and pressure from other people influencing their choice of institution (15%).
Another study from the London School of Business and Finance (LSBF), shows that nearly half of all the workers in the UK (47%) would like to change careers. The study also reveals that:
23% of all UK workers regret their current choice of career – with 30% of them being younger workers aged between 25 and 34 years old.
66% of Millennials (people aged 18-34) want to change careers.
Despite the above numbers, many people are still unwilling to change careers, mainly for the below reasons:
29% lack of financial security.
20% uncertain about what to switch to.
15% fear of failure.
Primary user groups
1
Students who are making university and career choices
- from age 17 until they finish their studies.2
Young adults who are in their early careers and want to change or develop further
- from when they start working until their mid-thirties.Personas
Meet Hugo, a high school student, who needs a way to explore the working world because he needs guidance and support to help land the right job.
Meet Lucy, a young and ambitious woman who needs a way to connect with peers because she wants to explore job opportunities and develop her skills.
Research impact
The intensive research I did for this project really broaden my views and understanding of the problem and allowed me to refine goals and opportunities for the early career network platform.
The early career platform should support the primary users in their career ambitions through sharing of experience and knowledge, skills development, and networking opportunities.
Ideation
Ideating on the problem
After the research, I began to dive into the ideation phase.
I started by listing out possible How Might We statements in relation to problems that some of my users are facing. My ideation left me with around 20 statements that I distilled down into two key statements that I wanted to explore:
How might we empower students in their career choices so that they feel confident in their decision?
How might we make searching career paths for students more personalised and relatable?
Using the two key statements above, I began to sketch out ideas using the Crazy Eights method, taking 8 minutes to come up with 8 different ideas.
I then moved on to my paper wireframes and designed 5 home screens spending only 1 minute on each screen. At last, I highlighted my prefered elements and created a final refined wireframe before moving on to the digital wireframes.
Crazy Eights
Paper wireframes
Paper wireframes
Digital wireframes
In order to be time-effective (the project had to be completed in a month), I had to prioritise the screens and user flows I was going to test. Below are some examples of the digital wireframes that I used to test my low-fidelity prototype.
User testing
I interviewed 4 participants to gather their thoughts on the functionality of the app and if there were any key features missing. I also used the usability study as an opportunity to engage with the participants, in order to collect their needs and requirements for the user flows I hadn't designed yet.
Findings
Key feedback from the usability study:
users need a search function to explore articles and events with the ability to filter the results.
the app needs to focus on discovery and exchange rather than the planning and execution phase i.e. career plan and job search.
users need to be encouraged to network outside of their comfort zone.
The study feedback was very constructive and pushed me to review the entire structure of the platform. The users felt that the platform's focus should only be on the discovery phase. In fact, users were not at all interested in job search or career plan sections as they felt they would rather go on separate specialised platforms for those.
With this in mind, I reworked the sitemap and came up with the idea to revamp the app in a much simpler way with only two categories: explore and connect.
Iteration of wireframes
Based on the feedback from the usability study, I split the previous home screen content into two new platform categories: explore and connect.
New explore screen
New connect screen
Solution
Design system
Final designs
Spotlight on series
The spotlight on series is one of the main features of the app. It is presented in an interview format where young adults are sharing their experiences and journey.
The aim is to give some insight into different types of roles and industries and bring something new to the user.
The interview is short and focuses on someone's personal story, to keep engagement and make it more relatable to the users.
There is also a function to listen to the interview with the possibility to download the episode and allow offline listening.
Connect screen
The connect screen focuses on two sections: events and networking.
The idea is that the platform Rise will relay external events, so the user can see what is happening in the next coming days. If interested in joining one event, the user will be redirected to the external event platform for more details and registration.
In regards to the networking section, I needed to find a way to push the user outside of their comfort zone. It is easier to build a network through proximity i.e. people we studied with, or previous and current colleagues.
The "spin the wheel" feature, randomly matches users from the platform in order to promote wider networks and deliberately expose the user to diverse perspectives and points of view.
Responsive web design
Take-aways
What I learned
Designing the platform Rise, stretched me to think differently when creating a platform for users to feel understood, supported and guided in their career ambitions; in order to drive individual actions and social good. I wanted my users to feel reassured and allow them to confidently make career decisions by:
providing enough opportunities (explore paths, strengthen skills or build a network) so the user can reach their full potential.
giving access to a wider network i.e. interdisciplinary and internationally.
contributing to equality of opportunity.
promoting better engagement with employers at the start of their careers.
Next steps
Conduct a usability study with the high fidelity prototype and iterate designs based on feedback.
Explore inclusivity issues like the fact that the platform is displaying English content only. Perhaps there could be an option to have "hubs" that are representations of local networks. In addition, this could take into consideration work behaviours and cultures that might be different from one country to another which currently is not being considered.