Open to Work
~65M users job hunt weekly. i.e. ~10% of their weekly active users
source: kinsta
~50% of job seekers use the "open to work" feature
source: cnbc
39% of users pay premium which amounts to ~$2bn or 10% of their total revenue
source: LinkedIn
According to 1 LinkedIn poll of 58 participants, 64% feel LinkedIn jobs is not beneficial
source: LinkedIn
140 jobs are viewed each second, if not applied
source: hootsuite
But, there is only 33% chance of someone with <10 yoe applying to a job.
Almost every job seeker uses LinkedIn to job search. Many even pay premium for it, but not all premium users benefit from it.
Many value the 'Open to Work' feature but its benefits are seldom experienced
Hiring managers unanimously regard LinkedIn Jobs as a productive tool whereas job seekers dont
Every click matters! When job searching leads to productivity loss, people don't find the platform reliable
AFSW enables users to search for jobs efficiently by reducing repetition, increasing transparency, streamlining access, and leading users to results where every job clicked converts to an application submission.
A better jobs page can increase subscription revenue of 'premium careers' - 39% of LinkedIn users (i.e. premium users) bring only 10% of the revenue.
Pushes LinkedIn's commitment to equal access to opportunity one step forward - LinkedIn's commitment to equal access to opportunity should include good UX and productivity as part of their guiding principles. Shipping unreliable features does not improve access and this has been a long standing problem that is investigated by many.
Networking is not everyone's game - According to LinkedIn's Opportunity index 2020, 76% believe that networking can lead to better jobs but only 22% are actively pursuing that route. Therefore, the jobs page is very much valuable.
While actively job hunting, it was evident that LinkedIn does not dedicate much resource to improving the jobs page. A quick secondary research and data sourcing confirmed that LinkedIn Jobs was highly primitive for job seekers.
84% users in the US use the platform for networking (that can lead to referrals). Many value the 'Open to Work' feature as it allows recruiters to reach out but people don't like the jobs page much
source: LinkedIn
Statistics and user reviews on LinkedIn jobs suggest severe bias towards hiring over job searching
Conducted informal interviews with 6 job seekers to understand pain points and experiences more intimately
Besides LinkedIn's objective impact of the jobs page, it reduces productivity, causes fatigue, and frequently kills hope
Users adopt various approaches to job search but the jobs page is what people ultimately rely on
While LinkedIn curates jobs, provides adequate features, insights and access to recruiters/hiring managers, it causes cognitive overload and fear of loss
LinkedIn Jobs amplifies the sense of overwhelm inherent in job hunting
Other well known platforms that are primarily job boards were researched and compared to LinkedIn to isolate best practices. Each column is ranked for the given row.
HMW design a jobs page that boosts job search productivity and results?
Defining the user is extremely crucial for a jobs page as it affects desirability and usefulness
Took an iterative approach so as to find the solution scope
LinkedIn jobs provides several collections to choose jobs but the choices also induce fear of missing out
One of the biggest drawbacks of LinkedIn jobs is the cognitive overload it causes - one listing after the other
Ensuring each listing is valuable and actionable
One of LinkedIn's core feature is the filter function which plays an invaluable role while job searching. Therefore ease of use is vital
A/B tested solutions for several features. These were the results for one of them - the experience filter
63% preferred option 1 over option 2 because ranges restricted upward and downward visibility
Testing also revealed an interesting issue regarding filters. This issue was converted as a design development ticket.
Users want continued access to filters but the green button is not only intuitive but also distracting
The revised design rolled back the filter feature to its original layout, but with a few minor design elements from version 1. This change allowed for other aspects of the page to be optimized as well.
The goal of this project was not to redesign LinkedIn Jobs. Rather, it is about improving certain features and elements
The open to work feature must be the cornerstone of LinkedIn jobs as it can streamline the job search process significantly by setting one-time preferences.
The experience filter has been greatly criticized for its unreliability. Furthermore, other meaningful data driven filters are much desired by LinkedIn users.
The current LinkedIn Jobs shows to many different collections to job search causing unneccessary stress. The revised design removes choices and allows users to control what they see.
Providing a summary option can reduce cognitive overload significantly. Furthermore, converting key sections to tabs provides visibility into what LinkedIn offers for each job and inform the job seeker's decision making process.
Making LinkedIn Jobs page suggestions(right) relevant to the task or purposeful can boost the job seekers efficiency.