Runor Idehen

STREAMLINING JOB SEARCH FOR THE MODERN CANDIDATE, AN AUTOMATED AND ORGANIZED SYSTEM

Discover a smarter way to job search with JobTally. Stay organized with automated tracking and smart reminders - "A clear, clutter-free experience".

JobTally

ROLE

User Persona, Scenario & Flow, Wireframes, User Testing

TEAM

Group project

UofT UX/UI Design Bootcamp

Group project

UofT UX/UI Design Bootcamp

Group project

UofT UX/UI Design Bootcamp

DURATION

4 weeks

Mar 6th - Mar 26th, 2025

4 weeks

Mar 6th - Mar 26th, 2025

4 weeks

Mar 6th - Mar 26th, 2025

Background

Many job seekers manage applications manually using spreadsheets and scattered email threads. This fragmented process makes it difficult to stay organized and respond quickly to opportunities. As a result, the search often feels overwhelming and inefficient.

Early Insights

JobTally will be designed to streamline the job search process by reducing manual effort, improving visibility, and helping users stay focused with smarter, more organized tools.

Constraints

The AI email syncing relies on users to apply for all job applications with a single email address which limits flexibility and may miss applications submitted with different emails or through employer-specific portals.

The app’s functionality is heavily dependent on accessing email data. This introduces challenges with email security, privacy, and variability in how job platforms format their messages.

No Cross-Platform Integration – No direct API access to job platforms limits real-time tracking because JobTally relies solely on email updates.

The app’s functionality is heavily dependent on accessing email data. This introduces challenges with email security, privacy, and variability in how job platforms format their messages.

No Cross-Platform Integration – No direct API access to job platforms limits real-time tracking because JobTally relies solely on email updates.

The app’s functionality is heavily dependent on accessing email data. This introduces challenges with email security, privacy, and variability in how job platforms format their messages.

No Cross-Platform Integration – No direct API access to job platforms limits real-time tracking because JobTally relies solely on email updates.

Design Process

This project followed the five-stage UX process. Through a combination of user research, competitive analysis, ideation methods, iterative design, and usability testing, we developed JobTally—an automated, centralized tool to simplify and streamline the job application process.

Empathize

Define

Ideate

PROTOTYPE

Testing

User research

Competitive analysis

Affinity map

Key user insights

Final user persona

Problem statement

User scenario

Value proposition

Final user persona

Problem statement

User scenario

Value proposition

HMW statements

Storyboarding

Sketching

HMW statements

Storyboarding

Sketching

Low-fidelity wireframes

Mid-fidelity prototypes

High-fidelity prototypes

Low-fidelity wireframes

Mid-fidelity prototypes

High-fidelity prototypes

Usability Testing

User Feedback

Design Reiteration

Usability Testing

User Feedback

Design Reiteration

Proto-persona

User research

Competitive analysis

Key user insights

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Empathize

We conducted 4 interviews and shared a survey (10 responses) to understand job seeker's , these are some of the findings below:

User Demographic:

The majority of participants were between the ages of 25–34 (70%), female (70%), and currently employed (50%).

User Motivation:

Financial growth was the leading motivator for job searching (100%), followed closely by the desire for career advancement (70%).

User Behaviors & Tools:

Participants commonly used email labels (60%), calendar reminders (50%), and spreadsheets (30%) to track their job applications. Notably, 60% had missed at least one job application deadline in the past.

User Preferences:

Users expressed a strong preference for a more streamlined application process. When asked what features would improve their experience, top requests included:

Real-time status updates (80%)
A Kanban-style dashboard to summarize applications (40%)
Personalized recommendations and search insights (40%)

User Demographic:

The majority of participants were between the ages of 25–34 (70%), female (70%), and currently employed (50%).

User Motivation:

Financial growth was the leading motivator for job searching (100%), followed closely by the desire for career advancement (70%).

User Behaviors & Tools:

User Preferences:

Users expressed a strong preference for a more streamlined application process. When asked what features would improve their experience, top requests included:

Real-time status updates (80%)
A Kanban-style dashboard to summarize applications (40%)
Personalized recommendations and search insights (40%)

User Demographic:

The majority of participants were between the ages of 25–34 (70%), female (70%), and currently employed (50%).

User Motivation:

Financial growth was the leading motivator for job searching (100%), followed closely by the desire for career advancement (70%).

User Behaviors & Tools:

User Preferences:

Users expressed a strong preference for a more streamlined application process. When asked what features would improve their experience, top requests included:

Real-time status updates (80%)
A Kanban-style dashboard to summarize applications (40%)
Personalized recommendations and search insights (40%)

Target Users

General job seekers, recent graduates, mid-career professionals, career-switchers, and laid-off workers (Primary).

Freelancers, and contract workers (Secondary).

General job seekers, recent graduates, mid-career professionals, career-switchers, and laid-off workers (Primary).

Freelancers, and contract workers (Secondary).

General job seekers, recent graduates, mid-career professionals, career-switchers, and laid-off workers (Primary).

Freelancers, and contract workers (Secondary).

User Persona

Name

Danielle Carter

Age

Toronto, Ontario

Single

Financial Analyst

Employed, actively job searching

Characteristics

Detail-Oriented & Organized
Analytical
Tech-savvy
Productivity-Driven
Career-Focused & Ambitious

Detail-Oriented & Organized
Analytical
Tech-savvy
Productivity-Driven
Career-Focused & Ambitious

Detail-Oriented & Organized
Analytical
Tech-savvy
Productivity-Driven
Career-Focused & Ambitious

Needs

One place to track all job applications after applying without switching between platforms.
Automated tracking and real-time status updates
Reminders for upcoming deadlines, recruiter messages, and interview scheduling.
A way to prioritize or rank applications for better focus.
Full insights on response rates, best application times, and hiring trends.

One place to track all job applications after applying without switching between platforms.
Automated tracking and real-time status updates
Reminders for upcoming deadlines, recruiter messages, and interview scheduling.
A way to prioritize or rank applications for better focus.
Full insights on response rates, best application times, and hiring trends.

One place to track all job applications after applying without switching between platforms.
Automated tracking and real-time status updates
Reminders for upcoming deadlines, recruiter messages, and interview scheduling.
A way to prioritize or rank applications for better focus.
Full insights on response rates, best application times, and hiring trends.

Motivations

A higher-paying senior role for financial stability and professional advancement.
Values insights to optimize the job search process.
Feels frustrated and overwhelmed by job tracking and wants a more efficient system.
Aims to stay organized and proactive to avoid missing out on key opportunities.

A higher-paying senior role for financial stability and professional advancement.
Values insights to optimize the job search process.
Feels frustrated and overwhelmed by job tracking and wants a more efficient system.
Aims to stay organized and proactive to avoid missing out on key opportunities.

A higher-paying senior role for financial stability and professional advancement.
Values insights to optimize the job search process.
Feels frustrated and overwhelmed by job tracking and wants a more efficient system.
Aims to stay organized and proactive to avoid missing out on key opportunities.

Goals

Keep all job applications organized in one place

Get updates and respond to applications in-app

Receive reminders for follow-ups & deadlines

Reduce stress levels from the job search process

Track insights to improve future applications

Pain points

Tracking jobs across multiple platforms is frustrating.
Existing tools feel unorganized and frustrating to use.
Often loses track of recruiter messages, interview schedules and key details.
Manually updating applications is mentally exhausting.
Limited insights and metrics make it difficult to track progress, adding to the stress of job searching.

Tracking jobs across multiple platforms is frustrating.
Existing tools feel unorganized and frustrating to use.
Often loses track of recruiter messages, interview schedules and key details.
Manually updating applications is mentally exhausting.
Limited insights and metrics make it difficult to track progress, adding to the stress of job searching.

Tracking jobs across multiple platforms is frustrating.
Existing tools feel unorganized and frustrating to use.
Often loses track of recruiter messages, interview schedules and key details.
Manually updating applications is mentally exhausting.
Limited insights and metrics make it difficult to track progress, adding to the stress of job searching.

Defined Problem

Job seekers struggle to stay organized and informed across multiple platforms, they often miss deadlines and feel uncertain about their progress. They need an automated and centralized platform that provides clear updates, transparency, and helps prioritize opportunities.

Ideating

After defining our key problem, we hosted a "How Might We" ideation session focused on the core challenge: “How might we reduce uncertainty about application statuses to make the job search process less frustrating?”

This exercise helped us generate, cluster, and prioritize a variety of ideas addressing visibility, automation, and user control in the job application process.

User Flow

A/B Testing

We conducted A/B testing on our mid-fidelity prototypes to evaluate user preferences for the email reply interface. Version A included a standalone reply arrow icon, while Version B combined a reply text bar with an integrated arrow icon on the right side.

Participants preferred Version B, citing improved clarity, better message scanning, and a more intuitive reply action placement. As a result, Version B was implemented in the final prototype to enhance overall user experience and usability.

Prototype

View JobTally's mobile prototype designed for the modern job seeker!

Kindly note that the prototype might take some time to fully load.

View JobTally's mobile prototype designed for the modern job seeker!

Kindly note that the prototype might take some time to fully load.

View JobTally's mobile prototype designed for the modern job seeker!

Mobile Prototype

Testing

We conducted user testing sessions with four participants via FaceTime and Zoom to evaluate the final prototype.Insights from these sessions informed several key refinements, including enhanced notification visibility, more prominent button styling, and the addition of tags or labels to help users sort jobs by industry or field.

Takeaways

JobTally proved to be a successful and impactful project, addressing a common pain point for today’s job seekers navigating the uncertainty of application statuses. Through user-centered design and iterative testing, we created a streamlined experience that reduces stress and improves clarity throughout the job search journey.

Looking ahead, we see opportunities to expand JobTally’s impact by:

Developing a desktop version for greater accessibility
Introducing job categorization and custom labels
Offering tiered pricing plans (e.g., Basic, Silver, Gold) with premium features such as advanced insights and personalized job recommendations
Exploring strategic partnerships for in-app job postings, where platforms like LinkedIn could share relevant openings within the user’s dashboard

These enhancements would further elevate JobTally as a powerful, centralized tool for modern job seekers.

View Figma Project

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Let’s Get in Touch

Let’s Get in Touch.