Native Mobile Application

Career Launcher

A mobile app designed as part of a UX design course, built to ease the transition into a new career field through mentorship, document management, and community connection.

My Role

UX Designer & Researcher

Duration

3 months

Tools

Figma, Google Suite

Link

View Project

Overview

The Problem

Career transitions are fragmented, stressful, and unsupported

Transitioning into a new career is daunting for most people, and not just personally. Research confirmed that users struggled with a lack of mentor support, frustration navigating job postings, and near-total silence from employers after submitting applications. Existing tools addressed pieces of the problem, but nothing brought it together in one place.

Career transitions are fragmented, stressful, and unsupported

Transitioning into a new career is daunting for most people, and not just personally. Research confirmed that users struggled with a lack of mentor support, frustration navigating job postings, and near-total silence from employers after submitting applications. Existing tools addressed pieces of the problem, but nothing brought it together in one place.

Solution

One app that brings mentorship, documents, jobs, and community together

A mobile application with simplified navigation, skill-matched job search, AI-assisted resume tools, mentor booking, and peer communities built to reduce cognitive load at an already stressful time.

One app that brings mentorship, documents, jobs, and community together

A mobile application with simplified navigation, skill-matched job search, AI-assisted resume tools, mentor booking, and peer communities built to reduce cognitive load at an already stressful time.

Research

Three pain points surfaced consistently across survey respondents

I surveyed 6 job seekers: career changers, people adding skills for jobs they already had, and new graduates. Access to a mentor was the resource they most wanted (4 of 6), followed by job postings in their field (4 of 6), an alumni group to ask questions (3 of 6), and resume help (3 of 6). Every respondent job hunts on a computer, and 2 of 6 use accessibility settings.
From the survey findings, ideation moved into information architecture to map the full user flow, followed by fast sketches and screen-by-screen scoping to identify which features to prioritize in the first build.

Three pain points surfaced consistently across survey respondents

I surveyed 6 job seekers: career changers, people adding skills for jobs they already had, and new graduates. Access to a mentor was the resource they most wanted (4 of 6), followed by job postings in their field (4 of 6), an alumni group to ask questions (3 of 6), and resume help (3 of 6). Every respondent job hunts on a computer, and 2 of 6 use accessibility settings.
From the survey findings, ideation moved into information architecture to map the full user flow, followed by fast sketches and screen-by-screen scoping to identify which features to prioritize in the first build.

Mentor gap

Users felt unsupported by faculty and lacked access to professional mentors who could guide them through the search process.

Fragmented tools

Filling out multiple profiles across different platforms was time-consuming and repetitive. Users wanted one place to manage their materials.

Employer silence

A lack of post-application communication from companies left users uncertain and disengaged from the process.

Design

Every choice focused on the user

Features exist because they're needed. Style stays quiet so it doesn't get in the way.


Features built

Each feature traces back to a pain point from research. Mentor booking answers the mentor gap directly. Company reviews from employees and applicants let users vet a company's response rate up front, addressing employer silence before it happens. Job search, AI-assisted resumes, and peer communities bring everything into one place, answering fragmented tools.

Style direction

Deliberately simpler than prior projects. Grouping and spacing were the primary tools to guide users through each screen, rather than relying on visual complexity. Prototyping included overlays and smoother interactions built in Figma.

Results

Six testers. Three findings.

Method

• Medium-fidelity Figma prototype
• 6 participants: 3 from the survey, 3 new
• 3 tasks: upload a resume, book an introductory mentor session, review communities
• 5 follow-up questions, including a 1 to 10 rating of how likely they'd be to use the app
Testers found the layout clear, but one couldn't find where to book a mentor session.

What's Next

A second round of testing focused on accessibility

Further testing is needed before this app would be ready to launch. The next round would focus on accessibility improvements including readability, touch target sizing, and screen reader compatibility.
Testing also pointed to design changes if the project moved forward: make mentor booking easier to find, since it was the most-requested feature and one tester couldn't locate it, and build out search. A recruiter also suggested portfolio links in candidate profiles, more filters, and clear criteria for how companies are vetted.

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