SPRINGBOARD INTRODUCTIONS

Springboard Introductions is a set of professional networking features on our Chrome extension job search tool. While job searching or networking on LinkedIn, Springboard graduates can use it to leverage the entire Springboard community (mentors, alumni, affiliates) to make connections, have information interviews, and request referrals.

Role: Research, UX, UI, USABILITY TESTING

PLATFORM: DESKTOP CHROME EXTENSION

2 Stage Process

Stage 1 (October - December 2020)

A proof of concept referral feature to mitigate risks and prove value in building a full-fledged product.

Stage 2 (January - March 2021)

Following the launch of Stage 1, we gathered one month of user data which formed the basis of committing to a set of full-fledged professional networking features.

What follows documents my product design process for Stage 2, wherein I extracted learnings from Stage 1, conducted user research to identify networking features that are valuable to job seekers, led an ideation workshop with my team, and owned the UX, UI and usability testing of the redesign.

Before investing in an entire suite of networking features, we deployed a proof of concept experiment to answer a few key questions around risk and value. We already had a very popular job tracker Chrome extension that job seekers used to log their weekly job search requirements.

On top of this existing tool, we added a ‘Referrals’ tab wherein job seekers were surfaced a list of Springboard community members at the moment that they opened a job posting on LinkedIn. From there, they had the option to form a LinkedIn connection or send a message (if they are already connected).

Network size — Do we have enough overlap between the Springboard community and job opportunities?

— Yes. 93% of all jobs searched by job seekers have at least one Springboard community member working at that company.

Interest — Will students find this option valuable and utilize it?

— Yes, 80% of unique users used the ‘Referrals’ feature.

Value — Did job seekers who used the ‘Referrals’ feature extract any real-world value from it (new connections, referrals)?

— Yes, but. Job seekers made 8x more Springboard LinkedIn connections than before. However, actual referrals obtained was very low. We had labeled the feature ‘Referrals’ because we hypothesized that the ultimate aim of making professional connections was to secure referrals. In the end, there were less than 10 reported referrals.

Requirements for designing Stage 2

1. Continue increasing the # of connections formed between job seekers and Springboard community members. This introduces more warm contacts into our job seekers’ professional networks.

2. Help job seekers develop valuable contacts well before applying. Job seekers clearly have an appetite for leveraging the Springboard community in their job search. However, the extension only showed a list of Springboard community members at the point that the job seeker was ready to apply to a job. In reality, there are many steps in between making a connection and securing a referral from them.

To understand how we might help job seekers develop a valuable network that they can seek help from throughout the job search process necessitated a round of generative user interviews.

What are job seekers looking for when making new connections?

• Connecting with people who are related to a specific job that they want to apply to.

• When looking for people to connect with, they gravitate first towards those with similar titles to the one they applied for. These are people from whom they can learn the most about the role.

• For job seekers who have target companies and/or industries, they want to network at the company level, which lets them develop connections well before applying for any positions.

• Connections (whether it’s tied to a specific role or not) are most productive and pain-free when the intention is to learn and exchange ideas.

What do job seekers find difficult about networking? These are areas where we might alleviate challenges.

• Wanting to develop more contacts in their pursued field, but not knowing who to target

• Difficulty getting responses

• Aversion to cold outreaches

• Once they make a connection, they are unsure how to keep the contact warm

Taking the design requirements and user learnings, I conducted an ideation workshop with my PM, engineers, and career services stakeholders to generate and prioritize ideas for Springboard Introductions.

We emerged with a decision to repackage the Chrome extension as a network-building tool in addition to a job tracking tool. This meant...

1. Updating the extension’s information architecture so that networking is given more weight

2. Exposing more opportunities for connecting with and nurturing contacts throughout the user’s full job search journey.

Introducing more contextual opportunities for networking

When a job seeker is logging a new job or contact, they are privy to a roster of potential Springboard connections. By eliminating the separation between completing a task and networking opportunity, job seekers are exposed to Springboard community members within a context in which their value is most apparent.