Grit

A casual professional platform for connecting and growing career opportunities and self-confidence.
Role:
Product Design, Strategy, Research, Visual Design
Tools:
Figma, Principle, Adobe Creative Suite
Duration:
3-4 Months, 2020
Conducted:
Strategy, Research, User Interviews, User testing, Survey, Persona, Branding, User Flow, Journey Mapping, Wireframes and Prototyping.
OVERVIEW
Grit is an idea for a product to break the social and professional barriers of people starting their career.
A casual professional platform that helps people connect easily, grow opportunities and their self confidence in an approachable and friendly way. This product was done end to end by utilizing the full flow of strategy, user research, wire framing, trial and error, survey user research, testing and design prototyping. This project was done within a product design class and I'm inviting you to go through some elements of the process.
Product Idea
A product that is designed around getting coffee physically or remotely and help people meet casually but yet professionally.

The goal is to create a casual yet professional product that meets both user archetypes. By answering the user need to grow self esteem and self-confidence when starting a new career.

Networking and meeting people in the field is a beneficial booster in the field of interest.
THE CHALLENGE

Getting a job
isn't an easy
job

Why?
Starting a new career, whether your are fresh from school or shifting careers can be challenging. Especially when the pandemic hit, many lost their jobs and had to shift careers.
Facing challenges with experience requirements, self confidence to reach out and network, motivation to take the necessary steps, knowledge about the job and gaining the necessary skills.
Problem Statement
People starting a new career lack the necessary self-confidence and knowledge to maneuver and secure a job
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM

Who?
What?
Why?

Chosen Methods
- Tree map for target audience to identify potential users and Persona.
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- User interviews to get qualitative insight and understand how users face the challenge of starting a new career. What are the difficulties and how are they solving it, or not.
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- Card Sorting and ranking to re-validate key pain points (in one word so it focuses the users).
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- Various user journeys to collect additional pain points on each sub problem
Mindset
Keeping in mind this may be a broad challenge to solve, keeping an open mind especially at the beginning was important.

The goal was poking around in different pain points. Seeing the problem from different angles helped empathize and get deeper user pain points.

From a social funnel, a practical funnel and even an emotional one. This helped address pain points that could be solved beyond the current existing career platforms and resources.
Who? Target Audience to Design for
Initially the main target audience was unemployed career shifters, however learned that many employed people or even students were in the same 'beginner' level of starting out in a new field. Through user interviewing various user archetypes from that category I've noticed they all share the same pain points when starting a new career. Therefore, I broadened the audience to 'newcomers'.
What? Validating the Problem
Goal: Validate the problem and rank top 3 pain points.
Users: Career shifters and students starting a career.

Interviewed users and validated the sub problems and pain points around starting a new career. What are solutions they currently take and what are true issues along the way.

Asking users to rank 3 cards from the pain point cards focused the users and my understanding of the challenge

Key Learning:
Self-confidence and experience are the top high ranked cards as user pain points.

Focusing on a sub problem or two from the general challenge of 'starting a new career' was a crucial step to tailor a relevant solution that will answer user needs and create a usable product.
"After talking to someone randomly from the field
it gave me motivation and self-confidence to move forward"
IDEATING FOR A SOLUTION

Broad to Narrow

How Might We?
Feature brainstorming according to user key pain points.

Designing Key Screens of Potential Ideas
By solving widely from the various pain points around starting a new career, I came up with 9 different ideas for potential products. Each key screen showed a mid-high fidelity screen so users could get the general idea. The goal was solving for the different pain points and getting feedback;

For instance a product monitoring progress on skill cultivation would be solving for the lack of skills pain point. A product that generates projects with collaborators would solve for lack of experience. A product to meet physically/virtually and network over a coffee would solve for self esteem as well as for knowledge about a certain job.
Feature Ranking with Users
I've interviewed 5 users to rank key concepts for solutions by showing  key screens. The ranking was done around 4 questions to understand what is mostly valuable, interesting, usable and exciting.

Key Learning:
Users mostly chose solution concepts/screens that were related to networking on a virtual coffee or working on projects with collaborators to gain experience.
DEFINING AND SCOPE

Why
Coffee?

Decision
The self confidence and knowledge pain points are deep human social and emotional pain point.

The decision was to pivot towards a social product that will allow new comers meet other professionals and feel confident in asking questions, network easily and getting positive affirmations live.

What can ease their meeting and welcome them to not feel ashamed or hesitant to ask questions and build their self confidence starting in a new career?
Strategy
Building a product around coffee;

Coffee is universal,
considered the 'work drink',
people drink it socially and at work in professional settings.

Creating a product that doesn't just automatically connect people professionally but having the coffee front and center can expand the discussion to a more casual setting. This casual aspect can break the barrier new people have when starting a new career. Stirring the conversation and spotlight beyond career, creates a more friendly, approachable space which can gradually lead to more empowering and professional conversations.
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Key Brand Guiding Values
Define Scope
- A product that is friendly, serious and approachable to browse and invite professionals for a chat
- A product that is desirable both for newcomers and more seasoned professionals
DESIGN PROCESS

Design Process and
Iterations

Card Iterations
Personal and Approachable Profile
The profile page was created with personalization and customization in mind, along with professional info hand in hand.
Mostly creating friendly and easy 'conversation starters' and a sense of 'vibe' so users can invite mentors and professionals according to shared interests, approach and also professional status. Adding emojis, customized background banner, mantra quote, coffee preferences and previous meeting details adds a competitive advantage over other existing career networking platforms. It also helps users invite and network with more self-confidence!
MINI PROTOTYPE FLOW

How it
Works?

Pick a Spot to Meet
By having the option to meet remote as well as outdoors in a cafe, is a competitive advantage among other social apps or career sites. This allows the fluidity to gain a connection and also find people that are open to actually meeting or connecting.
High Level Product User Core Flow
Let's Grab a Coffee
Easily browse and find professionals and peers according to role, companies you like, shared hobbies and favorite coffee.
Approachable Profiles
Personalized and customizable profiles to easily invite according to both professional and personal interests and approaches to life!
Pick a Spot to Meet
Meeting remotely and outdoors in a cafe, is a competitive advantage among other social apps or career sites. Allowing flexibility to connect fast and also find people that are open to actually meeting or connecting.
Invite!
With a personal note for the meeting
CONVERSION

2 Sided Market

Designing for 2 User archetypes: Newcomers and Senior Level
Will senior level professionals use grit? What will make them still use the app and benefit from it?
Is helping and networking enough for a conversion cycle?
I sent a survey with 13 questions to mid-senior level professionals to understand more.
62.5%
Mid-senior level professionals (2-8+ years) in a span of different positions in the career field agreed they would go back to the app to meet people if getting a reward.

If they were to get a reward - it would be a thank you note or donation to charity. Only 12% would like to get a small amount of money.
75%
When asked if they would want a reward for meeting people, professionals agreed they don't want any reward in return.
The suggested solution on Grit is a pop up, after every meeting that the inviter can opt how to reward the invitee. A kind thank you note, a donation to charity of choice or a small fee. The invitee can set up through settings how to get a reward.

The core of the product is kindness, and honing in on social needs and social rewards both intrinsically and extrinsically. The app can also extend the key purpose of helping career newbies to network more friendly into general networking for collaborators, new opportunities and perhaps even friends!
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