Dragonfly is a dynamic web application designed to streamline the application process for job seekers, ensuring their submissions are organized and easily retrievable.
Our team committed to an eight-week timeline to develop our Minimum Viable Product (MVP), from initial discovery to final launch.
I guided the team in identifying key challenges and crafting effective solutions, while also conducting thorough user research and usability testing. This process involved iterating on both low-fidelity and high-fidelity prototypes to refine our design.
Role
Solo Product Designer
Team
Amy Du - Product Manager
Mark Rodriguez - Backend Engineer
Jairo Calderon - Frontend Engineer
Platform
Web App
Timeline
Q3 2022
Highlights
Fig.01
Grid view | Tablet
Fig.02
Grid view and card creator | Mobile
Fig.03
Board view | Desktop
Problem
Losing track of applications
Zippia states it takes 21 to 80 job applications for one offer. Job hunting is a numbers game, and tracking applications can be challenging.
My survey of over 60 job seekers revealed that 78% use organizational tools, but their tracking methods vary widely, from using screenshots to detailed excel sheets to remember what jobs they applied for.
Tracking applications would be easier if:
“Sites had an easier way to track all the jobs I’ve applied to and kept the job descriptions handy”
“My application Information was auto-filled...”
“I could keep track of what jobs need to be followed up on or when I last reached out to or spoke to someone at the company”
Solution
A flexible system for application tracking
Job seekers are having to send out lots of applications just to land an interview, let alone a job. It’s important that they are able to keep their attention on sending out as many applications as possible without feeling the burden of remembering a variety of details.
Research
Interviews and usability study
I conducted a survey with more than 60 individuals, including those who successfully secured a job and those actively seeking one. To deepen my understanding of the challenges faced in tracking job applications, I carried out multiple user interviews.
I specifically selected participants who either utilized a tracking system for their applications or had submitted a significant volume of job applications.
Fig.04
Web extension | Lo-fi prototype
fig.05
Dashboard | Lo-fi prototype
Application
automate the tracking process
When a user applies to a job on LinkedIn, they can save the job posting url and paste it into a new card on Dragonfly. Once they do, all relevant information about the job will populate the card and users can make any relevant edits for their own organization.
Dragonfly features a variety of ways to view your job applications, including a board view where users can organize their apps in a kan ban style fashion.
Challenges
Time constraint and technical feasibility
My team was given eight weeks to deliver dragonfly as functional MVP. This presented an obstacle of time for the design and research process as well as a challenge for the engineers to build out a working system for the functionality.
One of my initial solutions was for dragonfly to work as a web extension, auto-populating the site with any jobs that a user applied to. However, our developers had little-to-no experience building web extensions which meant that feature had to be backlogged for the time being.
Our pivot was to use a web scraper that could read Linkedin job postings and populate dragonfly’s card system from a url.
Fig.06
Before and after populating cards
Design
Here’s my business card
Dragonfly features a sleek dark color palette, complemented by design elements that evoke the feel of business cards and a kanban-style layout.
Just as dragonflies are nature's most efficient hunters, boasting a 97% success rate in capturing their prey, our aim was to empower users with modern tools such as labels, filters, and various views to significantly boost their job search success.
Fig.07
Dashboard editing modules
Impact
Product market fit
After testing and showcasing dragonfly to potential users and other audiences, my team saw a high influx of eager users wanting the product for their own job hunt. Had we continued development on dragonfly, we would have released more features including a web extension, file storage for cover letters, and notification features.
Working with an exceptional team on this project was a rewarding experience. Our collaboration was key to successfully launching Dragonfly as a minimum viable product within a tight deadline.
