easy hire
Empowering International Students in Norway by overcoming job market barriers through communities, feedback, and language skills
About
challenge
International students in Norway need help securing part-time, flexible work opportunities that align with their schedules, resulting in frustration and financial strain.
impact
I promoted user-centric design principles and contributed to creating an intuitive and polished interface that streamlined the hiring experience for international students. My proud feature was designing a solution for community interaction by enabling people to invite others for coffee, fostering a sense of community, and supporting teammates by providing mentoring and feedback.
Role
UX/UI Designer
Team
+ 2 UX/UI Designers
duration
5 weeks
The Struggle of International Students Seeking Work in Norway Let Them Leave Their Dreams on Hold
We conducted research and user surveys to identify key pain points for international students seeking work in Norway. Our findings highlighted issues affecting students’ financial stability, sense of belonging, and ability to gain work experience.
Some employers have biases regarding international students.
During user interviews with interview scripts, we asked users about international students’ main challenges when applying for jobs in Norway. Which digital platforms would you say you use daily to search for jobs? We then found the competitors and how we could analyze them from this data.
Highlighting the direct competitors by analyzing the most commonly used features was important to identify our competitors based on user data. After analyzing the user interviews and evaluating the data, we selected three relevant features. This approach helped us address the themes that are important to our users.
Activities and outputs
7 user interviews
12 surveys answered
Competitors analysed
Users believe are missing out on opportunities due to language barriers, lack of feedback, networking difficulties, and platform limitations
To find this underlying, the data from the user interviews was analyzed by employing affinity mapping to identify critical challenges international job seekers face in Norway. This process revealed three primary issues: language barriers, networking difficulties, and uncertainty about improving job applications. By categorizing these pain points, we gained a clear direction for developing targeted solutions. This insight guided our next steps: creating user personas and scenarios to ensure our approach effectively addresses the core problems.
I have been applying for jobs daily, and I only sometimes get an answer. And sometimes, I got automatic answers.
Goals: Overcome language barriers, Build a professional network, and Improve job application skills.
Frustrations: She needs help understanding and using professional language, Finds it challenging to connect with industry professionals, and Lacks clear guidance on enhancing her job applications.
Activities and outputs
Affinity Mapping
Empathy Mapping
Persona
Storytelling
Collaborative Sketching help us move fast
To work together effectively, we started with a workshop to generate and visualize solutions quickly, keeping user needs at the forefront. This process showed that users prioritize clear communication channels and timely feedback on job applications. These insights guided us to sketch ideas for accessible employer communication and efficient feedback mechanisms, directly addressing features to cover the pain points.
The assumption and idea are to create a visual design solution for the user to access curated communities and member lists, where the user can easily reach people interested in networking.
The idea is to provide the user with job listings, where the user can apply for a job position and get prompts from courses related to the available job to improve their language skills.
Activities and outputs
Sketches
Assumptions designed
Low-Fidelity
Detour! Testing our Wireframes
We validated our assumptions through a series of user tests. Initially, we conducted mid-fidelity testing to evaluate a more detailed user interface.
Following this, we carried out high-fidelity testing, implementing improvements based on usability data. This iterative approach allowed us to thoroughly assess the Easy Hire platform’s effectiveness in key areas, including job searching, application processes, skill enhancement, and community engagement. By refining the design based on user feedback, we ensured the platform effectively addressed user challenges.
Community And Networking Page
Usability Test Comparison: In Test 1, participants needed help navigating the Community and Networking Page to invite a connection for coffee. Test 2 improved with more precise information architecture and search functionality, allowing users to find connections by name, job position, or educational institution. Despite the enhancements, one participant noted that expressing interest in a coffee invite could be smoother, highlighting an area for further usability refinement.
The layout of the community was very nice. I like the "grab a coffee option. Hopefully, the communities will focus on common professional interests to share experiences rather than becoming another "social media.
Home Page, Jobs, and Job Applications Status
Usability Test Insights: When applying for jobs and checking application statuses, participants found the job listings straightforward and easily understandable. However, one participant noted some clarity issues. To address this, the information architecture was modified to prioritize job statuses with a horizontal layout, and visual enhancements such as colors and icons were added to emphasize application status and submission location, aiming to improve the overall user experience.
It was hard to understand what the status update meant. The layout was confusing, and I couldn't easily see if my application was reviewed or where I submitted it.
Job Position and Related Courses
Participants noted a lack of detailed job descriptions and suggested improvements in location information. The platform now emphasizes job relevance based on the user’s matching level, encouraging course enrollment. A brief course description and benefits have been added. Feedback highlights ‘Easy Hire’ as a positive tool for skill development, confidence-building, and promoting equal employment opportunities.
Activities and outputs
User Flow
Usability Test 1
Usability Test 2
Design Alterations
Where we landed
We delivered a comprehensive website solution with over 15 interactive pages designed specifically for international students and the comprehended design system. This platform facilitates seamless community integration and provides an extensive overview of job applications and language enhancement courses.
Looking ahead, our commitment to a user-centric approach means that website development and enhancement are ongoing processes. We maintain a continuous improvement mindset, prioritize staying connected with our users, and adapt the website based on their evolving needs and expectations.
Unveiling Tomorrow
potencial
🚀 Everything students need for job hunting is in one place
Easy Hire will change international students’ lives in Norway and make finding jobs and fitting into society much more accessible.
changes
🚀 Sense of belonging and collaboration
The platform fosters a supportive community environment where students can connect with peers, mentors, and businesses.
🚀 Connecting, learning, and tracking
This will make the whole process simpler and more accessible. Instead of searching in different places, students can find everything they need on Easy Hire.
🚀 Saves time and effort
Easy Hire will give international students better chances of finding the right job. It will make life easier for international students in Norway, helping them succeed in their studies and careers
key learnings
Users
1️⃣ Aspiring to improve language skills and connect with a supportive community.
2️⃣ Seeing their language skill enhancement could ease their employment challenges.
3️⃣ Facing challenges in using familiar platforms or apps for job searches due to lack of response and not feeling equal opportunities.
Improve
1️⃣ Affinity mapping, delving into more specific subtopics, would offer deeper insights into user needs, especially considering language barriers.
2️⃣ Competitor analysis: I encountered challenges in swiftly extracting relevant information. Streamlining this process could provide quicker insights for our development.
3️⃣ Creating questions, especially since the user test was unmoderated. Collecting qualitative answers proved difficult as participants often described the task as easy. Despite this, I compared the quantitative data and observed that users took considerable time to complete the task.
4️⃣ Usability testing, implementing a moderated mode could foster real-time interaction with participants, addressing their needs.
KPIs
1️⃣ Job application completion rates.
2️⃣ Feedback satisfaction scores.
3️⃣ Numbers of successful job placements facilitated through Easy Hire
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