In an effort to amplify the Stream brand and streamline the application process for potential internship and analyst applicants, I created a microsite allowing them to learn more about the company, easily see available opportunities, and apply.
My Role
UX/UI Designer, Visuals, Prototyping, Research, Wireframing
Timeline
3 weeks
Background
To recruit recent and upcoming college graduates, Stream hosts Meet the Firm networking events at local universities in order to promote summer internships and analyst positions available. At these events, attendees receive Stream printed collateral highlighting the opportunities and directions on how to apply to them.
Problem
Our Meet the Firm printed collateral is intended to inform recent and upcoming college graduates about Stream, potential opportunities within the company, and where to apply for these opportunities.
Currently the collateral prompts the user to apply via a third party software, increasing the risk of the users dropping out of the application process.
How might we streamline the application process for candidates in order to increase the number of applications?
Solution
A Stream-branded micro-site allows applicants to both learn about and apply to available opportunities in one place. This streamlines the application process and increases the number of applicants.
Proto-Personas
The following proto-personas were created based on stakeholder’s intuition about our target user.
Brett represents one of our key users which are recent college graduates who seeking a career in an industry with a fun culture and high-income potential.
Kayla represents our other key users who soon-to-be college graduates are outgoing and looking for an internship to better understand the commercial real estate industry.
Kayla
Soon to be college graduate
Goals
To learn about internship opportunities at Stream and where to apply.
Behaviors
Works as a waitress at Pluckers
Treasurer of her sorority
Not sure what she wants to do when she graduates, but she enjoys her business classes
Very social and ambitious
Wants an internship first to see if she would like to pursue a full time career in the industry
Needs
A career in an industry that pairs well with her ambition and social tendencies
To be financially independent when she graduates
Brett
Recent College Graduate
Goals
To learn more about Stream and the analyst program. To apply for a role as an analyst in their Chicago office.
Behaviors
Works on campus at the library making minimum wage
Confident and charismatic
Searching for entry-level positions in the professional world
Attends career fairs offered at his college but is interested in the Commercial Real Estate industry
Needs
A full-time job with benefits
A job with a high income potential
Current-State Journey Map
The following current-state journey map was created to visualize our user’s current experience in the application process and identify pain points.
Future-State Journey Map
The following future-state journey map was created to visualize the ideal-state journey for utilizing the Stream micro-site.
Low-Fidelity Wireframes
After identifying the users motivations, behaviors, and crafting proto-personas, I moved into designing low-fidelity wireframes.
High-Fidelity Wireframes
Once low-fidelity wireframes were completed, I refined them into high-fidelity designs.
Usability Testing
To understand if the solution was successful and worked for the user, I conducted moderated usability tests with 5 different users on the following tasks:
Initial feedback on the overall website
Identify specific details you will learn in the internship program
Apply to an internship in Irvine, California
Contact the team regarding a question not on the FAQ
Insights
The majority of users felt the site was easy to navigate and skim.
3 out of 5 users did not scroll past the fold when looking for specific information about the internship program.
While everyone successfully applied to the internship, 40% of the users would have preferred the ability to filter the positions based off the state they are located in.
The Upcoming Events felt the least important to users, and they would have preferred FAQs before this section.
All 5 users struggled to locate the Contact Us button with 1 failing the task in general. They immediately looked for this link in the footer.
Program Details
Previously detailed program information was only on the homepage of the site causing users who selected the program button above the fold to miss it.
Adding a side drawer on the program page gave users access to these specific details should they miss this content on the homepage.
Location Filter
Adding the ability to filter available positions by state allowed users to quickly identify opportunities in their desired location.
Contact Us
The Contact Us button was originally located in the middle of the homepage. Many overlooked the button and went directly to the footer to contact Stream. Based on that feedback, a Contact Us link was added to the footer as well as to the FAQ section.
Reflections
This was a really exciting project for me to work on as it was my first piece that was being used by external users. I was challenged by tight timelines and scope changes, and I learned how to adapt to these changes and still deliver the best design in time with a quick turnaround.
Next Steps
Continue to Test
With tasks and questions such as click the program details, do you like this drawer, how would you close it, did it react as you expected, etc., I would continue to test the latest rounds of iterations to see if the solutions worked for the users.
