Digging Deep: Support Networks' Role in Easing Job Seeker Frustrations
IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS ABOUT FRUSTRATIONS, SUPPORT SYSTEMS AND EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE
I conducted six semi-structured interviews to understand when and how job seekers reach out to support networks and their emotional responses following these interactions. The insights helped refine the user profile and identify two key features for the proof-of-concept.
Context
Findings from previous studies indicated that job seekers relied on professional and personal support systems to maintain their mental well-being. This led the product team to re-evaluate their feature list, shifting from time-management and mood tracking tools to developing a communication platform. To better understand how and why people engaged in communities to help with their job search, the research team conducted in-depth interviews.
My team selected a qualitative approach to capture the emotional complexity of interactions with support networks and come up with solutions on how a digital platform could help make these interactions more efficient.
MY ROLE
As the lead UX researcher, I planned and conducted stakeholder interviews, designed protocols, moderated interviews, thematic code the data, and presented findings. I mentored interns to create and deploy recruitment screeners, moderate interviews, analyze data, and write the report.
Research
Study Goals:
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To better understand how job seekers address frustrations (when using job boards like LinkedIn)
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To understand why they seek professional support system and what they hope to get from it
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To understand why they seek personal support system and what they hope to get from it
Methods:
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Semi-structured 60-minute Interviews
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Participants were recruited on various community platforms like Slack, Discord, WhatsApp
User Demographics:
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A total of 6 participants
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Age: 25-34 years
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Ethnicity: Asian, White, Black or Hispanic
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Gender: 4 female, 2 male
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Aspiring field: UX Design, UX Research
Outcomes:
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Updated Proto user persona
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Similarities and differences between personal and professional support systems
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Features for Proof of Concept Prototype
Limitations:
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User group did not include any aspiring product managers.
Outcome
The team was able to develop a proto user persona which could be used as a starting point for persona development.
Findings
Support Systems:
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Users view peer groups as valuable for learning from peers' job search experiences.
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Users found it easier to open up to mentors they were already connected with from prior experience (e.g., bootcamp, career services)
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Users starting to look for mentors for the first time, find the process intimidating, and tiring in finding out the right fit.
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Engaging with friends and family is therapeutic for job seekers, but problems arise when their support network fails to understand challenges with job searching.
Self Regulation:
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Depending on personal preferences, some individuals may be hesitant to seek help and instead depend on self-regulation.
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They rely on affirmations and setting realistic expectations to help self motivate themselves to stay in positive mindset.
RECOMMENDATIONS
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Design features should focus on both community support interactions (peer and mentor) and self-support features.
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Community support features should include meeting scheduling, user introduction, information tracking and timing a conversation.
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Self support could be in the form of articles, affirmations, videos etc.
NEXT STEPS
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Understand if and how community support features would work as an LinkedIn extension.
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Further explore active, passive and self support interactions.
Reflection
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In-depth interviews helped strongly pivot product strategy to focus on one community support and one self-support function.
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Video excerpts from the interviews allowed all stakeholders to feel connected with the user.
