Connecting Experts

Various job candidates (denominated as “Experts” in Build It) were actively browsing through recently posted job applications but were not applying for these open positions.

I streamlined the onboarding process and added flexibility and efficiency to the system of use to increase Expert sign-up rates, boost job applications, and increase the application’s usability.

Problem and Goals

Problem: Experts visiting the site and actively looking for a job are refraining from completing their job applications and signing up.

Our goal was to increase the Expert signup rate (focusing on the app’s adoption) by 30% and application submissions by 50% (engagement). We wanted to understand the Experts: what are their likes and dislikes inside the onboarding process and how can we use this information to register users more quickly and effectively.

Research Insights

Research obtained through primary and secondary research:

• 80% of users felt that the onboarding to the site was tedious and long (obtained through qualitative interviews).
• 90% of users had a resume ready for upload (obtained through quantitative testing, HotJar/MixPanel).
• A heuristic evaluation was made with different stakeholders and experts in various subjects (multidisciplinary skill sets) to find average scores in best practices and usability heuristics (visibility, mapping, freedom, consistency, error prevention, etc.)
• A hypothetical user journey map with the Expert persona was made to create an effective discussion guideline to introduce to our primary research sessions (five). Possible pain points were discovered with various users registering to our platform.
• Hypothesis: If we provide a faster and more flexible way to submit a job application then Experts will increase application rates by 50%.

Ideation and Possible Solutions

These potential changes aim to simplify and streamline the application experience on our platform, making it more user-friendly and efficient:

• Change Information Architecture and allow users to enter their resume first. This would parse data subsequently into every input field inside the onboarding phase.  
• Allow Experts to create job applications with just a resume and their respective email. Alternatively, they can sign up and complete the signup process for added benefits inside the platform.
  
• Divide everything into smaller steps to reduce the cognitive load of a job application. Transforming huge registration forms into manageable pairs of input fields.
  

Results and Impact

These potential changes aim to simplify and streamline the application experience on our platform, making it more user-friendly and efficient:

• Job applications experienced an impressive five-fold increase (calculated).
• Lowered Expert onboarding times by 30% and increased Expert sign up rates by 38% (we aimed for 30%).
  
• 350+ Registered Experts, creating the innovators inside our platform.
  
• More qualified users available for hire as Experts with a busy schedule could still apply for jobs that they were interested in.
  
• First hires inside the platform to be made.