Sonara
Overview
Sonara is a new application that empowers job seekers to know their worth and gives them an advantage in the hiring market by automating the most time consuming aspects of the search - finding jobs and filling out applications. As a design advisor, my role involves collaborating with the team to define and prioritize design enhancements that improve the overall product experience. Since its establishment in 2019, Sonara has achieved significant success, generating an impressive revenue of 1 million and growing. I am excited to contribute to this innovative startup and shape the future of job seeking.
My Impact
- Achieved a significant increase in subscription purchases, growing from 50 sign-ups to over 2000.
- Collaborated closely with the CEO to develop a comprehensive product roadmap and prioritize UX enhancements.
- Provided valuable guidance on industry best practices to optimize the overall user experience.
- Assisted in establishing connections with talented designers and agencies to augment the design capabilities of the team.
What was asked of me
During the initial kickoff meeting, I had the opportunity to review the beta experience of the product with the CEO. This allowed me to carefully assess and identify the main areas that needed improvement in order to provide users with a better experience and drive increased subscriptions. Drawing upon my expertise, I offered valuable direction and consulting on global design strategies and best practices. By collaborating closely with the team, we were able to implement these recommendations and enhance the overall user experience of the product.
How It Works
When job seekers sign in to the application, they are immediately prompted to answer preliminary questions regarding their experience and desired role. This step helps customize their job search experience. Upon completing the questions, users are directed to the job view section, where they can access a curated list of jobs that have been preselected to match their preferences. Additionally, they have the option to manually select additional jobs from a comprehensive list. To ensure up-to-date opportunities, jobs are sent out to users on a daily basis. This streamlined process enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of the job search, providing job seekers with tailored recommendations and a seamless experience.
My contribution
UX Direction Planning Hiring Assistance
The team
CEO CPO 2x Design contractors 1x Design Agency
Year
2022-2023
Process
Identifying crucial touch points
Given the small size of the design team at this startup, my priority was to ensure that the improvement work was manageable and scalable. Rather than dismantling what was already in place, I aimed to make changes that would set the team up for success and propel their progress. One of the main areas I focused on was optimizing the order of steps in the user's application experience, while also helping them understand the purpose behind each step and how to navigate to the next.
The process unfolded in several steps:
- Initially, I met with the CEO to review research findings on the user experience and discuss their initial ideas.
- Based on this information, I identified key touch points where we could begin enhancing the user experience.
- Following the meeting with the CEO, I provided design direction to the design team, giving them an opportunity to explore solutions aligned with the desired improvements. We then synced up to assess the holistic outcome of their designs.
- Subsequently, development work commenced to implement the identified improvements in a prototype for testing purposes.
By following this iterative process, we ensured that the design enhancements were carefully planned, tested, and refined to deliver a more streamlined and user-friendly application experience.
Creating a Profile
The process of creating a desired job match within the application is designed to resemble a "getting started" profile creator. Users are prompted to answer a series of questions during this setup phase, and they have the flexibility to edit these responses once they reach their main jobs dashboard. A major focus of my work with the team has been on refining the search results and improving the process of adding user information.
When I joined the team, the process was more complex, but through collaboration and iteration, we have made significant improvements. Our primary goal has been to ensure a frictionless experience for users. By streamlining the search functionality and enhancing the way users input their information, we have achieved a more intuitive and seamless user experience.
The team's ongoing objective is to continue reducing any unnecessary friction and optimizing the application to make it as user-friendly as possible. By continually refining and fine-tuning these processes, we strive to provide a highly intuitive and efficient job matching experience for our users.
View Jobs
Within Sonara, users have access to a specific view that displays the upcoming job applications to be sent, giving them the ability to supplement the list with additional choices. The selection process for this list is driven by Sonara's pre-selection algorithm, which takes into account the user's profile. Currently, I am actively guiding the team to enhance this experience by focusing on providing clear guidance to customers regarding the process and next steps.
To achieve this, we are implementing a tree navigation system that allows users to seamlessly switch between the jobs to be sent and the jobs that have already been sent. We are also refining the language used within the interface, replacing terms like "job queue" with more user-friendly language such as "browse jobs." Additionally, we are incorporating filtering options to help users easily navigate and refine their job selections. Furthermore, users will have the ability to add more jobs to their list, empowering them to tailor their job applications to their preferences.
Through these enhancements, our aim is to create a more intuitive and user-centric experience, ensuring that customers understand the process and are guided effectively throughout their journey on Sonara. By prioritizing clear communication and providing users with greater control and customization options, we are working to make the job application process as seamless and user-friendly as possible.
Purchase A Plan
In addition to my involvement in other areas, I have collaborated closely with the team on pricing tiers, although there is still ongoing work to be done in this regard. The initial phase of the pricing view has been released, and it becomes visible to users when they attempt to complete their user information in order to have their applications sent to selected companies. To activate the application submission process, users are required to have a subscription.
As part of our ongoing efforts, we are actively exploring ways to introduce upgrade paths throughout the application. This involves developing strategies to provide users with seamless options for upgrading their subscription tier, enabling them to access additional features and benefits. By incorporating these upgrade paths, we aim to offer users a flexible and scalable pricing structure that aligns with their evolving needs.
Our objective is to create a pricing model that provides value to our users while also supporting the growth and sustainability of the application. Through continuous refinement and user feedback, we are dedicated to delivering a pricing experience that is both fair and appealing, ensuring a positive user journey within the application.
Onboarding
The onboarding process for this application holds significant importance; however, we recognized the need to make it less intrusive to allow users to learn and navigate the app actively. Presently, I am collaborating with the team to reduce the reliance on the onboarding experience.
Our aim is to create an intuitive and user-friendly interface that minimizes the need for extensive onboarding. By focusing on optimizing the user flow and incorporating intuitive design patterns, we strive to make the application self-explanatory and easy to navigate. This approach enables users to learn and discover the app's features and functionalities as they actively use it, minimizing the need for explicit onboarding instructions.
Through iterative design and user testing, we are continuously refining the interface to ensure that it provides a seamless and intuitive experience for users. By reducing the reliance on onboarding, we empower users to explore the application organically, resulting in a more engaging and user-centric onboarding process.
Outcome
We have an upcoming release for an updated job view, which we are excited to launch soon. Additionally, we have made updates to our pricing structure that have yielded positive results. Since implementing these changes, we have experienced significant traction, gaining over 2,000 new users.
The updated pricing additions have resonated well with our target audience, attracting more users to our platform. This growth demonstrates the value and appeal of the improved pricing model we have introduced.
As we continue to enhance the user experience and expand our offerings, we anticipate further growth and engagement from job seekers who recognize the benefits of our application. Our team remains dedicated to refining and evolving the platform to meet the evolving needs of our users, ensuring that Sonara remains a valuable tool in their job search journey.