NaviJob
Mentorship | Social Engagement | Retention
Empower foreign professionals with mentorship and networking
Overview
NaviJob is a unique app that helps foreign professionals overcome job challenges in the US. It offers personalized mentorship, exclusive networking opportunities, and tailored industry insights aligned with users' career goals, supporting effective career advancement.
Responsibilities
User Research・Ideation・Wireframing・Prototyping・Usability Testing
Tools
Figjam・Figma・Keynote・CapCut
Team
Solo Project
Timeline
January 2024~Jun, 2024
THE PROBLEM
Foreign professionals in the USA face significant career barriers due to a lack of occupational recognition and critical information.
Experienced professionals from other countries encountered barriers like job title recognition, a lack of understanding of job expectations, or a lack of the necessary educational qualifications in the United States.
Accountants are needed everywhere, but after moving here, I realized accounting isn’t the right career for me.
”
Why do these problems matter?
Limits career advancement and financial stability for foreign professionals and their families.
Leads to underemployment and skill underutilization in the workforce.
Restricts diversity and talent contributions to the US economy.
THE SOLUTION overview
Empower users with recognition, connections, and career insights
NaviJob is a personalized app designed to help professionals advance their careers by connecting them with experienced mentors, facilitating local professional networking, and providing direct access to essential career and training resources.
USER RESEARCH
Understanding user needs through personal stories
During interviews, I aim to explore the interviewees' movements, thoughts, and challenges. These married families from various countries offer a unique perspective on their experiences relocating to the United States.
"Accountants are needed everywhere, but after moving here, I realized accounting isn’t the right career for me."
"At that time, we didn’t do enough research and believed it should be more diversified. I now think it’s probably less developed than other states, which we hadn’t considered before."
"I think I can trust this source because real people post and share their hands-on experiences. This is how I gain the kind of knowledge I need."
“Facebook is another way that you meet people living here and they provide their experience and the information which I need.”
"I am relocating to this area because of the school district. If it is highly rated, I will move here."
Research insights
Secondary RESEARCH
Competitor analysis
These competitors are government-sponsored platforms that provide comprehensive data and information to support users in understanding various occupations. However, user experience could be greatly enhanced by integrating the strengths of each platform into a visually appealing and easy-to-navigate interface that combines individual profiles effectively.
Key market opportunities
Framing the opportunity area
Defining the opportunity area to the career transition
I developed two personas representing the primary users of our product. The primary persona guides the creation of a user-centered design, while the secondary persona represents users who seek trusted advice from experienced professionals.
Opportinity
IDEATION PROCESS
Defining the solution to meet users' goal
Before wireframing, I translated the primary persona's needs into clear user goals. These goals guided the design of features that directly address their challenges, helping to organize the information architecture and streamline task flows.
Understand occupation roles and requirements
Seek advice and valuable insights from local or authentic individuals
Enhance skills and education
Depicting the storyboard to visualize the solution
I created a storyboard for the task flow: "The reel for a typical day in a profession." This process was valuable for exploring concepts, defining key features, and brainstorming solutions for future product iterations.
User flow 1: Searching for a specific occupation and accessing its content
User flow 2: A member schedules an appointment with a mentor
Wireframing
Structuring the solution with Low-fidelity wireframes
I sketched low-fidelity wireframes to translate my initial ideas into a clear, tangible structure, mapping out the core user interface and interaction flows.
Final Design | Feature 01
Explore detailed and relevant career insights
User Needs
Access clear occupational qualifications and in-depth role information.
Solution
The Occupation Session features all occupations in the USA, enabling users to browse and access detailed information.
The "A Day in the Life" videos highlight real job tasks and work environments, helping users gain a realistic understanding of each role.
Final Design | Feature 02
Connect with mentors for personalized advice
User Needs
Access clear occupational differences and in-depth insights from local professionals
Solution
In the Mentor Session, users can book consultations with experienced professionals in the USA to gain valuable career insights and guidance.
Final Design | Feature 03
Engage with communities for practical advice and networking
User Needs
Receive real-time feedback from relevant professionals and connect with people established in target industries.
Solution
The Community Session allows users to ask questions, gain local insights, and network with professionals in their fields.
Final Design | Feature 04
Discover local training and education
User Needs
Improve professional skills to meet U.S. job market demands.
Solution
The Training Session helps users find nearby colleges, organizations, licenses, and certification courses to enhance their skills.
Validating results
I conducted usability testing with six potential users to observe their reactions and gather feedback on two task flows and my concepts.
I really love the mentor function because it allows people preparing to move to another country to learn from those who have already experienced living there. It's a valuable and engaging feature.
”
Task 1: Searching for the "Interior Designer" occupation to learn about its requirements.
Task 2: Scheduling an appointment with a mentor (Shawn M. Jr.).
Participants found the app easy to navigate, citing its clear categories and user-friendly search bar. All testers completed their tasks successfully, with one finishing in just 15 seconds.
The "Ask Mentor" feature, in particular, received overwhelmingly positive feedback, confirming its value to users.
Takeaway
The app's navigation and search functions are intuitive and user-friendly.
1
2
Some confusion remains around using occupation groups.
3
prioritized iterations
Improvements 1.
Re-evaluating the onboarding process
Before & After
I will keep these pages as users can click on “Continue” to skip them
Improvements 2.
Clarifying the process for joining occupation groups
Before
After
Before
After
Improvements 3.
Enhancing accessibility with language options
Before
After
Improvements 4.
Streamlining the appointment scheduling process
Before
After
Next Step
Develop the "AI Guide" feature to optimize users' career paths and provide suggestions
AI has evolved into a powerful tool for data analysis and progressive suggestions. Enhancing the system's features could provide users with more personalized advice based on their backgrounds and help them explore additional career pathways.
Organizing and categorizing relevant information in the Article section
Improving new settlers' understanding of the U.S. job market by providing practical information and essential knowledge
Exploring the Community session's key features
Incorporating practical features into the community session, including connecting with professionals, a reliable review system, and an enhanced search function
Conducting usability testing for the bottom navigation
As the bottom navigation is not fully functional, I will develop and test it to ensure it meets user needs effectively.