Smartphone on a round, beige textured table displaying a career goals app with options to get a new job, get a promotion, or develop professionally.

TheApply.AI

My Role:

Freelance UI/UX Designer

Tools:

Figma

Timeline:

June 2024 - (Still in progress)

Problem

Apply.AI, a platform designed to assist users in finding new jobs or advancing their current careers, faced a significant challenge. The onboarding process, crucial for gathering user information to power the AI's personalized recommendations, was proving to be a major roadblock. Users were abandoning the sign-up process due to its length and complexity, hindering the app's effectiveness and user adoption.

Solution

  1. Streamline the onboarding process to reduce friction and increase completion rates

  2. Modernize the UI to enhance visual appeal and user engagement

  3. Implement a progressive disclosure approach to information gathering

Progress

01. RESEARCH

  1. Competitive Analysis: I conducted an in-depth study of leading job search and career advancement platforms, focusing on their onboarding flows and UI patterns. This informed the design direction, particularly in terms of information architecture and visual hierarchy.

  2. User Journey Mapping: I created detailed user journey maps to identify pain points in the existing flow and opportunities for improvement. This led to the decision to break down the onboarding into smaller, more manageable steps.

  3. Information Architecture: I reorganized the required information into logical groupings, prioritizing essential data for immediate collection while deferring less critical information for later stages.


02. DESIGN

  1. Progressive Disclosure: I implemented a multi-step onboarding process, breaking down complex information into bite-sized, thematic sections. This decision was driven by cognitive load theory, aiming to reduce user overwhelm and increase completion rates.

  2. Visual Design Overhaul: I adopted a clean, modern aesthetic with a focus on white space, clear typography, and subtle animations to guide users through the flow.

  3. Interaction Design: I introduced micro-interactions and visual feedback to make the process more engaging and rewarding. For instance, a progress bar was added to provide users with a sense of advancement and motivation.

  4. UI Patterns: I replaced long-form inputs with more user-friendly UI patterns where possible. For example, we introduced a tag-based selection system for skills and interests, allowing users to quickly choose from pre-defined options or add custom tags.

  5. Responsive Design: I ensured the new design was fully responsive, optimizing the experience across various devices and screen sizes to cater to users' preferences and circumstances.

Conclusion

This redesign showcases a user-centered approach, with each design decision rooted in research insights and UX best practices. By simplifying the onboarding process, modernizing the UI, and implementing progressive disclosure, we aimed to significantly improve user engagement and completion rates. The new design not only addresses the immediate pain points but also sets a foundation for a more intuitive and effective AI-enhanced user experience throughout the Apply.AI platform.

Mobile Design

Desktop Design

Screenshots of a mobile app interface for career guidance. The first screen welcomes users and invites them to start a brief process. The second screen asks users to tell about themselves, including their preferred name and pronouns. The third screen asks about career objectives with options to select, such as getting a new job, a promotion, or developing professionally.
Screenshots of a mobile app interface for a resume and job application process, showing three steps: selecting application status, uploading a resume, and viewing background information from the resume, with green buttons and progress indicators at the top.
Screenshots of a mobile app interface showing onboarding steps, including a pain points survey, coaching recommendation loading screen, and suggested career and outreach actions.
Screenshots of a web application titled 'The Apply AI.' The first screenshot shows a welcome message with a green 'Next' button. The second screenshot shows a form titled 'Tell me about yourself!' with fields for preferred name and pronouns, and a green 'Next' button.
Screenshots of an app called 'The Apply AI' showing questions and options for job seekers. The first screen asks about the primary career objective with options to get a new job, a promotion, or develop professionally. The second screen asks where the user is in their job search with options including not looking for a job, thinking about it, updating resume, applying to a few roles, or applying to many roles.
Screenshots of a web-based interface for The Apply AI with steps for uploading a resume and reviewing background information, showing progress indicators and text input areas.
Screenshots of a mobile app called 'The Apply AI'. The first screenshot shows a questionnaire with the question, 'What are you finding challenging in your job hunt?', with options related to job search challenges and a green 'Next' button at the bottom. The second screenshot shows a loading screen that indicates an AI coach is preparing recommended next steps based on shared information, with the message 'Our ApplyAI coach is coming up with recommended first steps based on what you've shared so far' and a green 'Loading' button.
Screenshot of a web page titled 'The Apply AI' with a list of suggested tasks for getting started, highlighting a card labeled 'Share a Story' with a 10-minute estimate, description, and a green 'Select' button.
Screenshots of the Apply AI platform showing two stages of a user onboarding survey, with fields for preferred name, pronouns, career goals, target industries, and reasons for re-entering the workforce, with a bright green 'Next' button at the bottom of each stage.

Pre-Redesign