👁️ Project Summary
I spearheaded this project as the sole designer, driving its vision and execution. I wore many hats, brainstorming feature ideas, optimizing the user experience, crafting visual designs, and collaborating with stakeholders.
This holistic approach resulted in positive business outcome i.e. significant increase in user engagement, improved hiring efficiency for employers and measurable growth in platform conversions.
Throughout the process, I had the support of my product and tech counterparts, who provided valuable feedback and reviews.
Project Timelines: May‘24 (2 weeks)
Project Category: Placements and Hiring
Stakeholders: Product Manger, Product Designer, Developers, Placement Operations Team, Hiring Partners.
What did I do?
Competitive analysis
User interviews
Identifying key metrics
UI / UX
High fidelity prototype
Developer Hand-off
About the company
Novatr is to architects and engineers what launchpads are to rockets. As India's leading AEC-focused ed-tech platform providing online training, it helps fast-tracking careers with industry-certified courses and collaborative learning, propelling professionals towards success in the ever-evolving AEC industry with tech-first and future-proof skills.
Team & relevant stakeholders
I was the sole designer who owned this project and worked on it from start to finish. But I did collaborate with a lot of other people to bring our ideas to life.
1 PM, 1 PD, 5 engineers + more
Objective
Revolutionise Novatr user profile to become the go-to platform for connecting top AEC talent with leading employers. This will be achieved by creating a dynamic, data-driven experience that increases candidate visibility, streamlines the hiring process for employers, and ultimately drives a increase in platform conversions.
Overview of the project
Imagine a LinkedIn profile on steroids, but specifically designed for the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry.
Novatr's User Profile goes beyond a static resume. It's a dynamic platform that showcases a learner's skills and achievements, much like a designer's portfolio. Think of it as a one-stop shop for AEC professionals:
Build & showcase: The platform becomes a repository of their project work, certifications, and accomplishments, acting as a visual testament to their expertise. (Think of Behance for creative professionals, but tailored for the AEC industry).
Effortless Candidate Sourcing: Help Hiring Partners skip the resume shuffle and empower them to make informed hiring decisions faster by showcasing a candidate's proven abilities – all readily accessible on their profile. (Similar to GitHub Jobs where code contributions showcase a developer's skills).
Business Context
Novatr offers learners a public profile for direct sharing with potential employers. This profile serves as the sole source of information for recruiters during the placement process. As placements are a key focus and expected outcome from the course, creating a strong public profile ecosystem directly impacts company growth.
Why did we need a User Profile v2?
Novatr already offered user profiles for learners, but they were underutilised due to a lack of optimization and insufficient motivation for learners to maintain them.
For learners, their profiles failed to effectively showcase their unique skillsets and achievements in a way that grabs the attention of employers.
For employers, they grappled with a cumbersome hiring process due to a lack of comprehensive insights into candidate qualifications, leading to wasted time and potentially missed out on top talent.
🚨 This resulted in missed opportunities for both learners and potential employers.
Drag to see before & after.
User Profile v1 & the problems associated with it
During platform migration (Oneistox to Novatr), profile design wasn't fully transitioned. As a result the page is visible to some user cohorts but not all.
The current profile format suffers from information overload. This excess of often irrelevant details makes it difficult for hiring managers to quickly grasp a candidate's core skills and qualifications, hindering efficient decision-making.
The current process relies on HP manually opening numerous individual URLs via email, which is a cumbersome and inefficient way to review candidate details. There's no way to confirm if HP even receives or reviews the profiles sent via email.
Data - related issues
🎓 Learner Side
We don’t have data / insights regarding:
• average profile completion % by a user
• what % profiles are at what stage of completion in a cohort
• no data around how many times a particular profile is viewed
• what is the average scroll %.
💼 Hiring Partner Side
We don’t have data / insights regarding:
• how many profiles did HPs open
• what is the average time spent on each profile
• which profiles did HPs view or not view.
User Interviews : Diving Deeper
💼 To understand hiring partner priorities when evaluating learner profiles, I conducted user interviews and also gathered their feedback on current Novatr profiles.
🎓 To gain insights into learner self-presentation, I reviewed learner CVs and portfolios, analyzing information they emphasize to attract potential employers. This approach helped bridge the gap in learner interviews due to time constraints.
Competitive benchmarking
Solving for multiple stakeholders
📌 User Scenario 1:
Logged-in User Edits Their Profile
📌 User Scenario 2:
Not Logged-in Hiring Partner Views a Profile
📌 User Scenario 3:
Logged-in User Interacts with Another Learner's Profile
Novatr User Profile
Novatr's user profiles are more than just a digital resume. They're a powerful platform for showcasing individual qualifications, building a strong online presence, and attracting the attention of top employers. By revolutionizing the user experience, we've created a dynamic, data-driven platform that connects AEC talent with leading companies, streamlining the hiring process and driving platform conversions.
Profile Badges
By adding a touch of gamification with dynamic badges, we aimed to create a more immersive and rewarding learning environment. These badges not only celebrate achievements but also serve as powerful incentives for learners to stay involved and connect with potential employers, ultimately leading to increased engagement and retention on the platform.
Other Components
To enhance the user experience, we developed a range of mobile and web components such as link attachment functionality, informative empty states, certification displays, success messages, visually infographic skills showcase and many more!
Retrospect and Next Steps: Elevating User Profiles for Hiring Success
In the next phase of the project, we're focusing on creating a user profile experience that truly helps candidates stand out, build their individual brand value and get hired. Here's what we'll be working on:
⚡️ Elevating First Impressions
Video Introductions: We'll be introducing video introductions, allowing candidates to showcase their personalities and communication skills beyond static text profiles.
⚡️ Leveraging AI for Efficiency
AI-powered Biographies: We're looking to implement AI that generates draft bios based on a candidate's profile information. This will save them time and ensure their bio highlights their most relevant skills.
⚡️ Building Trust and Credibility
Credential Verification System: We're planning to integrate a system to verify the authenticity of certifications and achievements listed on profiles. This will build trust with employers and strengthen each candidate's credibility.
⚡️ Streamlining the Hiring Process
Interest and Shortlist Flags: We'll be introducing features allowing hiring managers to easily mark profiles as "interested" or "shortlisted" for targeted follow-up. This will simplify the hiring process and help them prioritize top candidates.
⚡️ Encouraging Profile Engagement
Tailored Profiles: We'll be encouraging candidates to tailor their profiles for specific job descriptions, highlighting relevant skills and experiences. (Placement Ops led)
Ranking System: Depending on our platform's goals, we may implement a ranking system based on profile completeness, skill endorsements, or project engagement. This could incentivize users to maintain and update their profiles.
⚡️ Advanced Search and Filtering
Job Role/JD Matching: We'll be implementing a robust search and filter system that allows Hiring Partners (HPs) to filter profiles based on specific job roles and job description (JD) criteria. This will save both candidates and HPs valuable time and effort by ensuring only the most relevant profiles are displayed.
⚡️ Enhancing Visual Engagement
A Dynamic Skills Showcase (Inspired by GitHub): We're exploring a unique visual representation of a learner's skill development, inspired by platforms like GitHub. This dynamic display will automatically update based on a learner's progress within a cohort, showcasing their skill acquisition in a fun and engaging way. This approach aims to move beyond static data by providing a more organic and visually compelling representation of a learner's journey.
Closing thoughts
While individual features within the Novatr LMS ecosystem like performance tracking, skill maps, and leaderboards offer unique insights, their true value lies in contributing to a single, holistic learner profile. I was entrusted with the incredible opportunity to lead this project from initial concept to execution, an accomplishment made possible by the unwavering support and valuable guidance of my product lead and design manager.
