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JobsDB
A Research-Based Client Project on Online Jobsboard
Duration
2 weeks
Team
Agatha Leung
Eva Ho
Ika Andriana
Sampson Poon
Xavier Chan
Role
UX designer
Work
User research
Competitor research
Data interpretation
Report formulation
Overview
JobsDB is the leading job-seeking platform and career marketplace in the Asia-pacific under SEEK Ltd., the world’s largest job portal by market capitalisation. Facing fierce competition in the local market, JobsDB would like to investigate how new channels and technology are used and whether these innovative channels can address the needs of job-seekers.
Scope of Work
The main goal of this project would be finding out that the role played by communication platforms and social media in job-searching, by conducting user research and analyzing the strategies used by different competitors. We would also like to identify the ideal features and information that candidates want, so as to learn the way to enhance their satisfaction thus building loyalty.
Target Audience & Segmentation
18 - 24 years old
Grey Collar Field
What are grey collar jobs?
Grey-collar is the workforce that is not classified in blue-collar nor white-collar. It includes roles like part-time jobs, hospitality, F&B, retail, etc.
Competition Mapping
Facing fierce competition in the career marketplace, it is better for us to understand the strategies used by other platforms so as to know what areas to improve on and how to surpass among all.
Competitors Analysis
We have done few research on JobsDB’s main competitors and have come up with some points that are worthy of attention and some to improve on.
The followings are four of the competitors that we have looked into...
CTgoodjob
Company profile
Blog Posts
Industry Insights
Document templates
No direct contact Info
No AI job suggestions
Unclear Hiring period
No Application status
Part-time.com
Many Grey collar jobs
Direct Contact Info
Save multiple CV
Low-quality posts
No mobile version
Security Issue
Lack services
CP jobs
Physical magazines
Recruitment events
AI job suggestions
Skills-set matching
Inconvenient filters
Less grey collar jobs
Unclear Hiring period
No review section
Labour Department
Most Reliable
Direct Contact
Hiring numbers
Many grey collar jobs
Outdated web design
No AI job suggestions
Tiresome registration
SWOT Analysis
We create a SWOT analysis to list out the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of JobsDB against the competitors
The Current Trend
JobsDB and other traditional job-seeking platforms are now focusing mainly on the white-collar segment. There are relatively fewer grey-collar-job opportunities up there and therefore candidates tend to use other platforms when searching for grey-collar jobs.
My teammates and I start our research journey to dig deeper into how candidates like and dislike the current job-searching process so that we could build the most suitable solutions.
Interviews
We start with primary research by conducting two rounds of user interviews and surveys to discover the users’ behaviour and preferences during job search and application. The first round is mainly for gathering insights.
1st round interview & survey
22 interviewees
28 respondents
2nd round interview & survey
2 interviewees
17 respondents
After looking into the data gathered, we have found some common concerns, behaviours, and ideas from our respondents. Then we sum up with a few suggestions and features. Based on these, we create some follow-up questions for our second round research to validate our findings.
Critical questions
What are the challenges when you are looking for a job via online platforms?
Any concerns over job searching and application through new channels?
What are your ideal features of jobs board for grey-collar job search?
Do you prefer the use of new channels over traditional jobs board?
Affinity mapping
Shortly after conducting the user research, we proceed to the interpretation of data. By doing the affinity map with our teammates, we quickly organise ideas and insights and thus come up with certain recommendations for improvement on the features, service and content of JobsDB's jobs board.
Positive findings
Multiple filters for sorting
Clear categorization on landing page
Clean and intuitive design
Updates on application status
The above are the elements that users like about jobs board design. As for the usage of new channels, we find that some users prefer using them as they think that there are more grey-collar opportunities out there. They also like the fact that they can communicate directly with hirers without any ado on the application process.
"I would like to contact hirers directly on Facebook or Instagram, after looking at the pictures and posts on their pages. There I could get a brief understanding of the working culture and vibes."
-Rachel (2 years experience in the F&B industry)
"I would love to have as many filters as possible on the jobs board as they help me sort out the ones that are really suitable for me. "
-Lilian (3 years experience as part-time tutor )
"There are many chatrooms on WhatsApp and Telegram for casual or part-time grey collar jobs. You are able to receive notifications if there are availabilities."
-Anonymous (2 years experience in the retail industry)
Painpoints
Unclear Application Status
The application status is unclear as a few respondents mentioned that it sometimes stays on the "viewed" stage for more than three months without further notification.
Multiple Accounts needed
After being redirected to a different jobs board, users are required to create another account and to update application documents once again.
Limited Company Info
The lack of hirers' information puts users in doubt and causes trust issues. It makes users feel like the job posts are not genuine therefore hesitant to apply.
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Low Transparency
There are job posts that do not display hiring periods and do not even get withdrawn over a year. This puts users in doubt and they feel like wasting time on available jobs opening.
Personas
User Journey Map
From the recommendations that we have come up with, we have picked up a few important and contributing ones to put into the journey map. With the suggested features and services, users would be more secured with the high transparency of hiring posts (automatically update of job posts), they would be motivated with job comparison (comparing job posts on the same page), and they would be loyal users with the community functions (forums and personal connections).
Solutions based on user research
In the first round of interview, we asked our interviewees if there are any ideal and must-have features that help smoothen their online job-seeking process. From that we have gathered some insight and we would like to substantiate their workability. Therefore in our second round of interview and questionnaire, we ask our respondents on their opinions on these features to see if these are really desirable.
The following would be the finalised solutions from our primary research:
Feature-wise
Who Viewed My Profile
Holistic Mobile App version
Service-wise
One-Click Application
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Set up Verification Badge
Hashtag for better AI Matching
1 profile across platforms
Info-wise
Automatic update on job post
Display Hiring numbers
Comparison between job posts
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Standardized company info
More Solutions based on secondary research...
From our secondary research on the current practices of JobsDB's competitors in specific, and career marketplace in general, we find some interesting features that might also be implemented to solve the pain-points of job-seekers.
After refining and combining findings from both primary and secondary research, we have generated a few new ideas that could be put into practice.
If you'd like to learn more about my research, contact me for more details.
Much to our surprise, only about half of our respondents welcome the use of new channels, including social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, and communication applications like Whatsapp and Telegram, for job search and application.
However, there are still some elements that could be taken as reference for further improvement. For example, users like using social media to search for companies' information as there are legit comment and photos. Also, direct application and contact with hirers save users' waiting time.
How they like new channels.......
- Elise (applied job through Facebook )
"I like the fact that I can use one single platform for both leisure and job-seeking."
"Direct contact with hirers save my waiting time as it ensures quick responses."
- Anna (applied job through Whatsapp )
How they dislike new channels.......
"Those platforms are not designed for job application."
- Justin (does not prefer new channels)
"Accounts are not verified. They might not be legit and there might be scammers."
- Jeff (does not prefer new channels)
This is my very first research-based UX project and it is a bit demanding to get all the in-depth analysis done within the 2-week time frame. I would say that the most challenging part is finding a certain number of interviewees to ensure the credibility of our research. However, we manage to recruit the targetted number of respondents and gain a considerable amount of insights.
It is a great experience for me as I learn the importance of attitudinal user research. When conducting qualitative research, in this case, interviews, I learn to be objective and neutral as I do not want my personal opinions to influence my findings. At the same time, when gathering measurable data with quantitative research, I learn to set questions to discover patterns and viewpoints of users.
How are competitors doing?
Primary Research
Major takeaways
Data Interpretation
Define our users
Introducing our solutions
How about new channels?
Brief
Competitors
Process
Solutions
Insight
Takeaways
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