applying design thinking to a job search

EVERYONE HATES LINKEDINApplying Design Thinking to a Job Search

Daniel C. Robbins: Design Strategist

SO MANY QUESTIONS

What should I be doing right now?

What have I already done?

What should I celebrate?

What should I improve?

What do I need to prepare for?

What's coming up?

Whom do I need to reach out to?

Whom do I need to nag?What prospect isn't working out?

What should I move on from?

What should I push harder on?

?

Plan Immerse Synthesize

Brainstorm

Tell Implement

Evangelize

Evaluate

DeadlineScopeResourcesBackup

Primary ResearchSecondary ResearchRecordingQuestioningUser Journey

ClustersThemesOpportunity AreasWhite Space

ScenariosIdeateWorkshopAnnotateRate

StoriesDesiresContextConstraintsTechnology

DrawCodePrototypeCompareRefine

SellReflectAdaptLearn

LearnImproveSave

THE DESIGN PROCESS

Plan Immerse Synthesize

Brainstorm

Tell Implement

Evangelize

Evaluate

Primary ResearchSecondary ResearchRecordingQuestioningUser Journey

THE DESIGN PROCESS

Plan Prospect Reach Out

Meet Prepare Interview Negotiate Start Job

DeadlineDurationResourcesBackup

Secondary ResearchPrimary ResearchRanking

ConnectCommunicateSellRecordRepeat

ListenLearnConnectFollow-up

CollateCollectTuneCreate

ListenTellReflectAdjust

IntrospectTellListenRank

BreathListenSmileProve

THE JOB SEARCH USER JOURNEY

THE LONG ROAD TO AN INTERVIEW

1. FIND COMPANIES THAT ARE LOOKING FOR MY SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

2. FIND PEOPLE I ALREADY KNOW WHO KNOW PEOPLE AT THE COMPANY

3. ASK PEOPLE I KNOW TO CONNECT ME TO PEOPLE AT THE COMPANY

4. ASK TO HAVE CONVERSATION WITH NEW CONNECTION

5. ASK NEW CONNECTION FOR CONNECTION TO HIRING MANAGER

6. ASK FOR INFORMAL CONVERSATION WITH HIRING MANAGER

7. FORMAL INTERVIEW

~37 EMAILS

4 PEOPLE

3 MEETINGS

4 DOCUMENTS

MULTIPLY BY 30 - 60 PROSPECTS AND 3 FINAL STAGE DISCUSSIONS

IDENTIFYING DESIGN “WHITESPACE”

IDENTIFYING CAREER “WHITESPACE”

WE ARE TALKING ABOUT BIG DATA

DISCOVERYDECISION SUPPORTPROJECT MANAGEMENT

PRIORITIZEWORK ORDERTIMINGRESOURCE MANAGEMENTARTIFACT GENERATION

LOOKING FOR JOBS

Are there any mutual contacts?

Does it match my skills?

INVESTIGATING A COMPANY

What kind of 2nd degree connections?

SHARED CONNECTIONS AT A COMPANY

Are these meaningful shared contacts?

What company does he actually work for?

FINDING CONNECTIONS

17 connections

15 connections

222 possible connections

JOB SEARCH = BIG DATA

MANAGING COMMUNICATIONS

1506 ROWS: PEOPLE27 COLUMNS: METADATA~900 COMPANIES4 TOOLS: EMAIL, LINKEDIN, EXCEL, MESSENGER2 MONTHS: SO FAR

PROFESSIONAL CONNECTIONSCOMMUNICATION TRACKINGREMINDER SYSTEMLINKS TO COLLATERALAFFINITY CUESTIMELINES TO TRACK PROGRESS SUMMARY GENERATORS

LAST DATE OF CONTACTWORKED TOGETHER HOW LONG WE'VE KNOWN EACH OTHERFREQUENCY OF COMMUNICATIONTONE OF COMMUNICATIONEXPLICIT PRIORITY

VIZ TOOLS FOR NETWORKSAttempts to use existing tools

SOCILAB 1

SOCILAB 2

NODEXL

LINKEDIN INMAPS (CANCELLED)

VIZ TOOLS FOR TASKSAttempts to use existing tools

KESHIF

TABLEAU: SIZE=PRIORITY, COLOR=STATUS

TABLEAU: SIZE=PRIORITY, COLOR=STATUS

TABLEAU: SIZE=PRIORITY, COLOR=STATUS

OPDOTS: CRM VIZ AND TRACKING

VISUALIZATION IDEAS

DESIGNING A GOOD VISUALIZATION IS LIKE DESIGNING AN APP

From Information Is Beautiful, David McCandless

ANSWER A QUESTIONTELL A STORYINVITE EXPLORATION

HAVE WE ACTUALLY WORKED TOGETHER?HOW LONG HAVE I KNOWN THEM?WHAT’S THE TONE OF COMMUNICATIONS?HOW RECENTLY HAVE WE TALKED?HOW FREQUENTLY DO WE TALK?DID I GIVE THEM AN EXPLICIT PRIORITY?

Connection density

HIERARCHY

Person-to-person handoffsShifting focus to other companies

ICONIC

Clustering for tasksColor for priority

TREE-MAPS

DurationCluster by company

TIMELINES

Icons for metadataTabs for categoriesPeople centric

TIMELINES

Nested status

TIMELINES

GlanceableOptimize for comparison

MINI-TIMELINES

Sector for statusGlanceableNested frequency

DISKS

Radar metaphorCenter = prioritySectors for tasks

DISCS

Nested activitiesProgressionCompare across task

RINGS AND FUNNELS

Cluster by taskNested timelines

TABULAR

Task progress comparisonGlanceableFrequency of interaction

TABULAR

Task vs. companyGlanceableCompare progressFrequency of interaction

TABULAR

Density of facetsOrder matters

PARALLEL

CONCLUSIONSWhat I’ve learned

Phrase nuggetsConnections remindersLink embeddingResponse trackingTODO generation

EMAIL TAKES TIME

AVAILABLE DATESPEOPLE WE KNOW IN COMMONLINK TO MY WORKREASON FOR LEAVING LAST JOBWHY I WANT THIS COMPANYWHY I'M TALKING WITH YOU

EmailCalendarExcelLinkedInMessenger / FacebookPhone/TextingCRMEtc…

NEED INTEGRATED TOOLS

NOT ALL THAT IS INTERESTING IS IMPORTANTDISCRETE VALUE ICONS WHEN VERY FEW VALUESVISUAL INDICATORS FOR MAGNITUDE CUEING UP USER ACTIONS

REPETITION VS THREADSCOMPARE (AND RANK) DATAUNCERTAINTYTIME IS UNEVENEXPLICIT VS. ALGORITHMIC PRIORITIZATIONRELATIVE VS. ABSOLUTE PRIORITYHANDOFFS: PERSON TO PERSON