To solve the problem of 'low applicant volume' - one of the top churn reasons of Hireology customers - there needed to be a better understanding of the applicant persona and why they do not complete an application. I sought to answer questions like: What is an applicant dealing with when applying to a job? What does their environment look like? What are their motivations and stress level? What are their expectations and feelings about the application process?

Research revealed that applicants are looking for an easy and reliable application process. They are increasingly applying from a mobile device. And they want to feel informed and in control during the process. We also learned that our customers care about their applicant's experience and generally expect this from their hiring tool. They would benefit from more guidance when setting up applications to ensure maximum applicant flow.

Solving the applicant's problems first would ultimately be good for customers too. Equipped with a better understanding of applicants' expectations, we were able to pinpoint many issues in the current application including a difficult multi-step application form, poor usability on mobile, accessibility issues, and generally long applications and bad job descriptions from customers.

I designed and validated an improved, mobile-first user experience that eliminated the multi-step approach in lieu of a streamlined, one-page application. The form itself included mobile-optimized, accessible, and better organized form fields. And for our customers, I designed a simplified application setup process that added focus and guidance on the number of questions being added to the application.

Sometimes it's the less obvious changes that make the most impact. By telling the story to the business of why the applicants' problems are also our customers' problems, I was able to help address some long-forgotten (or swept under the rug) issues within our job application process. 6 months after release, the application form conversion increased by 19%. That's approximately 60,000 applicants per month. We have also seen a consistent decrease in application-related support calls and bugs. Making a good impression from the beginning is important when hiring, and I'm proud to have improved the applicant experience on behalf of our customers.