Overview

UpLevel.ai is an AI-powered platform designed to transform the job application process by enhancing resumes and creating personalized cover letters. Through generative AI, the platform tailors job application documents to match specific job descriptions, saving users time and increasing their chances of success. This exploratory design project for a startup highlights innovative product thinking, AI technology, and a user-centric approach to solving a common challenge faced by job seekers.

My Role

My Role: Product Designer, UX Researcher
Team: Product Manager, 2 Engineers and Data Scientist
Tools: Figma
Research Methods: Market Research, User Interviews
Timeline: 2 months
Year: 2024

The Problem

Job hunting is often frustrating and time-consuming. Customizing resumes, writing cover letters, and trying to stand out from the crowd can take hours. The process is further complicated by the need to navigate multiple websites for each application. Add to this the lack of employer responses, and job seekers face a daunting, stressful experience. There's a clear need for a more efficient, streamlined approach that saves time and improves chances of success.

The Solution

Our all-in-one app aims to enhance the job application experience. In the initial release, we focused on key aspects of the job search process:

1. AI-powered creation of tailored resumes and cover letters.

2. Personalized interview questions and answers based on work experience.

3. Smart resume improvement suggestions, highlighting strengths and addressing gaps.

4. Resume-to-job match scoring for application insights.

5. Concise company overviews for informed decision-making.

6. Displaying similar jobs with a match score based on the provided resume and job description.

By centralizing and simplifying these tasks, we address the key pain points of job hunting, making the process smoother and more effective. This saves time, reduces stress, and significantly boosts applicants' chances of landing their desired job. The project will showcase these initial release concepts, laying the foundation for future enhancements such as a simple 2-click apply process from customizing resumes and cover letters to submitting applications.

Market Research: Competitive Analysis

Based on my competitive analysis, there are very comprehensive products in the market but here is what sets UpLevel apart:

• Integrates proprietary AI for resume matching, skill analysis, and personalized career preparation.

• Delivers a better and more intuitive user experience with a responsive design. 

• Prioritizes free-form editing style and tailored skill recommendations, unique to our product.

• Offers a free B2C service with plans to expand into paid B2B recruitment.

• Prioritizes in-app resume enhancement, with job applications as a secondary feature and future in-app job board applications integration planned.

UpLevel.ai is set to disrupt the market with its advanced AI capabilities, user-centric approach, and refined UI/UX, addressing major usability and accessibility issues faced by competitors. Key differentiators include advanced AI integration for accurate matching and personalization, a comprehensive career development approach, and a free model for initial user acquisition. Future plans involve mobile app development and B2B expansion, with ongoing refinement of AI algorithms based on user feedback crucial for success in this competitive landscape.

Persona

I conducted user interviews with a mixed set of users ranging from students looking for internships to working professionals. Based on the findings, I identified our target audience to be two main user groups: students looking for internships/new graduates and working professionals in corporate roles. For the purpose of this project, I will focus only on the student persona.

User flow

To better understand and visualize the flow, I created a user flow from when the user lands on the marketing page to signup, create an application, and download it. By outlining this process, I aimed to identify potential pain points, streamline interactions, and ensure that the AI-driven features are integrated seamlessly throughout the user's journey.

Ideations

My workflow began with low-fidelity gray box wireframes before progressing to low-medium fidelity mocks. I explored modular design for better content organization and consumption, aiming to reduce cognitive load while maintaining UI flexibility. For the resume review module, I incorporated different viewing modes, side-by-side comparisons, and focused single-item views, along with editing capabilities using TinyMCE. I prioritized responsive design for mobile compatibility and ensured WCAG compliance for accessibility. To enhance the user experience, I incorporated pastel color splashes to enliven the otherwise mundane topic.

Left to Right (web + mobile): lo-fi wireframe for upload resume, lo-fi wireframe for upload results, resume module, skill match module, interview prep module, company summary module.

Final Designs

The final designs focus on key features: AI-updated resumes and cover letters, skill matching, personalized interview prep, company summaries, and similar job recommendations. To address the 30-90 second LLM response time, we added fun animations and jokes to make the wait more entertaining.

By prioritizing these essentials and creating an intuitive interface, we've developed a comprehensive tool that streamlines job applications and empowers users in their career journey. To stand out, we've created an easy-to-use, delightful, and inclusive user experience. All designs are responsive, keyboard-accessible, and screen reader-compliant, featuring a welcoming design through thoughtful use of color, typography, visual hierarchy, and engaging imagery.

User Flow Demo (Tablet/Web + Mobile)

Upload: The job URL and Emily’s resume are uploaded, then she clicks "Level Up".

Application Results: Emily reviews and explores the results: updated resume, skill match, interview prep, company summary, and similar jobs.

Dashboard: Emily navigates to the dashboard which shows her existing application, favorited interview questions and jobs.

To improve our product, we plan to implement analytics to learn from user behavior, including click data and time on task. We're committed to providing consistent AI responses without hallucination, achieved through rigorous training and continuous improvement. Stable LLM responses are a key feature of our offering. We'll conduct usability studies, gather feedback, and iterate to refine existing features. Additionally, we'll start working on our roadmap to build a B2B recruiter platform, allowing companies to browse candidates on UpLevel.ai and see how they rank against job requirements.

Sources

• Loading screens animation sourced from Lottie Files.