Professional Networking app
"World's first app for seamless professional connections."
Project Description
NetPro is an iOS app designed to support immigrants in building professional networks and securing their first job in Canada. The app provides personalized networking opportunities, mentorship programs, and career guidance. NetPro's goal is to empower users by helping them navigate the job market and confidently start their careers in a new country.
Design Process
Why this Problem ?
Being a recent arrival in Canada, establishing a professional circle was a tough task for me. Problems like lack of knowledge about the local employment scene, few contacts, and differences in culture are common for immigrants. Networking becomes arduous and alienating because conventional platforms like LinkedIn aren’t equipped to cater to such unique requirements.
Problem Space
Canada has warmly received countless immigrants, significantly enriching our cultural diversity and boosting economic growth. Many of these newcomers, despite their skills and expertise, struggle with securing their first job in Canada, leading to financial instability and challenges in handling their living costs. Immigrants' entry into the Canadian job market often proves difficult, resulting in joblessness.
Primary Research
I interviewed 3 recent immigrants to Canada, aged 25 to 54, who are unemployed and seeking their first job. I aimed to explore their feelings about the job search and identify their needs and expectations from a professional networking platform.
Recent immigrants to Canada (within the past five years), who possess some degree of expertise or qualification, typically encounter the following challenges: Insufficient Canadian work experience (22.7%), Absence of professional networks in the job market (20.3%), and Lack of local Canadian references (18.5%).
Secondary Research
Interview Findings
User #1
Pain Points: Recent immigrants struggle with unemployment, lacking professional networks and references, relying on savings for daily expenses, and facing difficulties connecting with others online, while many job opportunities are missing from search tools.
Motivation: Recent immigrants are motivated to connect with others and apply for jobs using online tools, while seeking to build confidence at professional events, as they recognize that connections can help them secure job references, particularly in their field.
User #2
Pain Points: Recent immigrants face pain points such as the urgent need for any job to manage expenses, difficulty connecting with others, dissatisfaction with online job search and networking portals, a lack of job references, minimal responses from events, and distrust due to potential scams.
Motivation: Motivated to connect with professionals online, learn new skills, and attend job fairs for job search and networking opportunities.
User #3
Pain Points: Struggling to manage savings, recent immigrants face challenges using various job application portals without receiving responses, are unable to attend in-person events, and find it difficult to establish professional relationships.
Pain Points: Struggling to manage savings, recent immigrants face challenges using various job application portals without receiving responses, are unable to attend in-person events, and find it difficult to establish professional relationships.
Empathize
The "Empathize" phase in design cognition revolves around acquiring a profound comprehension of users' desires via investigation, scrutiny, and firsthand engagement to pinpoint their challenges, actions, and inspirations.
From these findings, I identified three key themes
that illustrate the current challenges faced by recent
immigrants in their job search journey.
Recent immigrants face significant challenges in building professional networks, leading to job search difficulties and increased financial stress. Understanding these emotional impacts can guide the development of targeted solutions to enhance networking opportunities, improve job prospects, and achieve economic stability.
Recent immigrants face financial instability due to unemployment, increasing anxiety and lowering
their quality of life. Struggling with daily expenses and loans, they often accept any job to get by. Targeted support is crucial for improving their financial security and well-being.
Recent immigrants struggle with ineffective job search
tools and methods, facing frustration, low responses,
and scams. There is a need for more reliable and tailored
job search solutions.
How might we help new immigrants to Canada build professional networks to secure their first job, enabling them to manage living expenses and achieve financial stability?
"From the theme of lack of professional connections, I created a 'How Might We' statement
to spark ideation."
Define
I utilized a user persona and experience map to summarize my target users' pain points, motivations, and behaviors, identifying opportunities for effective solutions.
User Persona
Experience Map
Ideate
To brainstorm the functionality and features of my solution, I created user stories and epics to outline the core features of the application, ensuring each one aligns with the needs and desires of the target users. After categorizing the user stories under various epics, I selected three key epics to focus on for this project.
Epics and User Stories
Task Flow
EPIC
Professional Networking
EPIC
Community Engagement
EPIC
Career Development and Job Search
As a new immigrant, I want to send a connection request so that I can build my network and access potential job referrals.
As a new immigrant, I want to search for professionals by name, job title, or company so that I can find relevant individuals
in my industry.
As a new immigrant, I want to filter search results by industry, location, and experience level so that I can find the most
relevant contacts for career opportunities.
As a new immigrant, I want to include a personalized message when sending a connection request so that I can explain my
interest and increase the likelihood of acceptance.
As a new immigrant, I want to check the status of my connection requests so that I can send a reminder or message to
the person.
Prototype
Sketches
After brainstorming various features to assist users in navigating the job search process, I created sketches to visualize the layout and design of my app.
V1- Wireframes
I translated the sketches into interactive wireframes to conduct user testing on my initial solution.
Click here to view a UI Inspiration Board
V-1 wireframe Prototype
Test
User testing
After developing the initial version of my prototype, I conducted usability testing with 5 recent immigrants to Canada, who matched my target user persona. The goal was to identify any issues in the user flow and assess the overall design and functionality. Key areas of focus included sending connection requests, applying filters, and messaging features. Based on user feedback, I identified several areas for improvement, including the need for clearer profile titles, enhanced navigation options, and better labeling for footer icons. After implementing these changes, I plan to continue refining the design for a smoother user experience.
Click here to view a Test Results
V-2 Wireframe
V-2 wireframe Prototype
Implement
Now comes the exciting part! I focused on branding my app to suit a professional networking platform, ensuring it feels modern and approac
hable for recent immigrants. I explored areas like color schemes, typography, and iconography to create a design that is both engaging and user-friendly.
Moodboard with photography, patterns and colours that capture the mood of being
I created a moodboard to capture the key emotions I wanted my app to convey. I opted for a monochromatic color scheme to maintain simplicity and consistency,
choosing bold blue tones that best aligned with my brand. I also ensured full WCAG AAA compliance to meet all accessibility standards for color contrast.
Typography: SF Pro Text is a modern, versatile typeface designed by Apple for optimal readability on screens.
It features balanced letterforms, open shapes, and excellent legibility, making it ideal for UI and body text.
#0167B2
#040404
#FFFFFF
Desktop Site
Mobile Site
Marketing Website
Key Learning
"What are the key learnings from this project?"
This project has been essential in my understanding of the
UX process. Initially filled with uncertainty,
I overcame challenges through trial
and error to create something I'm proud of.
Next Steps
"What does the future of NetPro look like?"
Perform more user studies to uncover
new prospects that tackle
issues regarding professional
network creation for novices.
Broaden our reach by integrating NetPro with
other prominent professional networking utilities
and employment search applications.
Increase user testing to uncover any remaining issues
and areas for improvement in the current solution,
ensuring a more seamless user experience.
© 2024 – Heenasawlani