The way people work is constantly evolving. Both full-time employees and freelancers seek meaningful, flexible projects that align with their skills and lifestyle. Meanwhile, employers often struggle to find candidates who can truly deliver.
A few challenges discovered during our initial user research include...
Many freelancers on platforms like LinkedIn or freelance-specific sites face pricing pressures, as clients often expect to pay less or offer low-ball bids. This can devalue their skills and make it harder to negotiate fair compensation, particularly when competing against others who may be willing to accept lower rates.
Job platforms often have generic descriptions that don’t reflect the true scope of a role. Full-time employees seeking specific, challenging, or leadership-focused projects may end up applying for jobs that don’t align with their goals or skills, and may encounter "bait-and-switch" tactics where the actual responsibilities differ from the listing.
Employers often receive a large number of applications through platforms like LinkedIn, many of which are from candidates who don’t meet the job requirements. This results in time-consuming filtering and reviewing processes, which can be inefficient.
While job platforms can provide a detailed view of a candidate's qualifications and experience, they often don’t offer enough insight into a candidate’s soft skills, personality, or cultural fit. This makes it challenging for employers to find candidates who align with their company values.
Needs access to long-term, well-paid, high-quality projects that align with their skills and interests. Facing challenges lik intense competition on platforms, inconsistent income, and difficulty finding clients who value his work.
Often struggle with vague job descriptions that don't clearly outline growth potential or leadership opportunities. They're looking for clear, meaningful career paths where they can make an impact, develop professionally, and advance to roles that challenge them and align with their long-term goals.
They struggle to efficiently identify and attract top candidates with the right skills who can not only make an immediate impact but also deliver long-term value and grow alongside the organization.
We noticed that LinkedIn’s cluttered interface and focus on networking can distract from job searching. Glassdoor’s search filters hinder usability. Indeed lacks personalized job recommendations.
All three platforms provide valuable job listings, company insights, and salary transparency. LinkedIn excels in networking and personalized job recommendations, Glassdoor stands out for detailed company reviews, and Indeed offers a simple, easy-to-use interface with features like One-Click Apply.
Improving AI job matching, offering more personalized recommendations, and streamlining application processes (like LinkedIn’s “One-Click Apply”) would enhance UX. Strengthening employer branding tools on platforms like LinkedIn and Glassdoor could also attract better talent and boost transparency.
Rising competition from more specialized platforms with simpler and intuitive UX could lure users away. The increasing volume of job listings, and updates causes users to abandon platforms due to information overload.
After conducting an initial basic level research to understand competitor features and user pain points, we identified key challenges and framed them as opportunities for innovation. We kicked off the process by asking the (what we felt like was the) right How Might We questions to inspire creative solutions that enhance the user experience.
For example...
How might we use AI to offer more accurate, personalized job recommendations that align with users' unique skills and career goals?
How might we create a more engaging and interactive way for users to showcase their skills and experience, beyond static resumes?
How might we give users real-time feedback on their job applications or career progress to help them stay motivated and on track?
How might we offer more transparency and insights into company culture and team dynamics to help users make informed decisions?
After formulating the How Might We questions, the rest of our brainstorming to come up with innovative concepts for an intuitive experience was mainly done remotely, since we were all working from home. We spent our days on video calls, bouncing ideas around and trying to come up with cool solutions.
The design process was a dynamic and collaborative journey. During our brainstorming sessions, we threw around all sorts of ideas—both brilliant and outlandish—because, as we all know, there are no bad ideas when it comes to brainstorming. Tasks were split and assigned to a team of four designers, and I was responsible for the onboarding process for job seekers and the profile details view for employers.Alongside our daily sync-up calls, we held weekly design critique sessions, where we bounced ideas back and forth, refining concepts and providing feedback. Every two weeks, we also connected with the Troogue team to present our progress and ensure we were aligned with the project scope.
This iterative process helped the flows for the Troogue onboarding and profile sections come to life, evolving from initial sketches to a seamless design that met both user needs and project goals.
An AI-powered interview at the onboarding stage to assess skills, provide performance insights, and offer subsequent mock interviews for practice and confidence building.
Jump between the roles—whether you’re looking for work or hiring talent. The platform offers a clear separation between worker and employer experiences, ensuring you get exactly what you need without the clutter. Simply choose your path and dive right in!
Based on your AI interview performance, a personalized Fire Rating Card will be created to reflect your skills and potential. This rating helps establish your base compensation and is proudly displayed on your profile, giving you the credibility to stand out to employers.
Get started faster by syncing your LinkedIn account during sign-up. With just a click, your profile info is imported, saving you time and making your onboarding seamless!
Evaluation of each candidate’s skills individually, giving you a detailed breakdown of their strengths. This makes it easier for employers to quickly assess if they’re the perfect fit for the role.
From profile creation to resume building and even viewing candidate profiles, offering AI smart insights at every stage, helping you to highlight strengths, identify skill gaps, and make more informed decisions—effortlessly! For workers, each project also features employer ratings, giving recruiters a clear picture of the worker’s performance and suitability for the role.
This project wasn’t just about solving problems—it was about thinking beyond the obvious. From using AI to personalize job matching in unexpected ways to creating a whole new take on onboarding, we pushed the boundaries. Along the way, we discovered creative solutions that made the process smoother, faster, and a lot more fun for both workers and employers.
I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as i enjoyed putting it togeter!
The next step for this project is to bring the experience to mobile with a fully responsive design that adapts seamlessly across all devices. We also plan to fine-tune the responsive screens to ensure smooth user interactions on smaller screens. While we’re excited about these additions, we didn’t implement them in this phase due to the tight deadline to go live. We’ve proposed to tackle these enhancements in the next phase, ensuring we deliver an even more polished and accessible experience for users on the go.
