Async

Humanizing asynchronous video interviews for UX professionals.
Role
UX Researcher
Duration
Jan – Feb 2023
Team
2 full-time UXRs
5 part-time UXRs
Project Brief
UX Cabin is a remote UI/UX design agency that runs the UX process for companies. Our team was engaged to design a concept for a new asynchronous video interview tool focused on amplifying transparency in the UX interview process.

My role as a full-time UX researcher was to create a research roadmap, derive insights from user interviews, and collaborate closely with designers to integrate research findings into the MVP design.
Problem
Asynchronous video interviews dehumanize recruiting.
While hiring managers view asynchronous video interviews (AVIs) as an efficient way to evaluate a candidate's personality and job fit, job seekers often find them impersonal and awkward. Since the technology is here to stay, how might we improve the experience?
Objectives
Secondary Research
How do job seekers and hiring managers feel about AVIs?
We studied AVIs and market competitors for a week, analyzing reviews to understand users' emotional experiences.
A photo showing the four stages of secondary research for Async. First, "what are AVIs?". Second, "secondary research with Reddit and online websites". Third, "11 direct competitors with logos". Fourth, "we analyzed reviews from reddit and online review sites"A photo showing the four stages of secondary research for Async. First, "what are AVIs?". Second, "secondary research with Reddit and online websites". Third, "11 direct competitors with logos". Fourth, "we analyzed reviews from reddit and online review sites"
Job seekers find AVIs awkward because it feels like a one-sided conversation with no chance of real connection.
Hiring managers like how AVIs help them save time and learn more about job seekers beyond their resume and portfolios.
Primary Research
Refining our problem with semi-structured user interviews.
The mismatched attitudes between job seekers and hiring managers made us curious about what’s not working in the asynchronous hiring process. We spoke to 13 job seekers and 6 hiring managers (n=19) to dig deeper into their needs and goals.
1) Both job seekers and hiring managers want to determine a culture and professional fit
2) Existing AVI services can be frustrating because questions don't align with the UX interviewing process
3) Job seekers want feedback, but hiring managers often don’t have the time to give it
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Sharing research insights with designers and PMs.
With both secondary and primary research findings on the AVI process, we worked with the design team to create personas for each user group that highlighted the main needs and frustrations.
Persona for Joe the job seeker. Joe is a junior product designer who is looking for a UX job, and he wants substantive feedback to improve his performance. He also wants to feel confident when interviewing, and hopes to get a sense of the team's culture. He's frustrated because he's often ghosted after first or second round interviews, is unsure whether his applications are actually being read, and can't ask follow-up questions with AVIs.
Ideation
Rescope: focusing on job seekers.
After discussing with our client, we realized that many of the hiring managers’ pain points were out of our control. We chose to focus on improving Joe’s experience in our MVP, starting with a journey map to highlight points of friction.  
Turning problems into design opportunities.
Our next task was to develop “how might we” questions to ideate solutions for job seekers' main pain points. We settled on three questions:
  1. How might we help both Joe and Samantha determine a fit for a role?
  2. How might we create a UX-tailored interviewing process with AVIs?
  3. How might we make it simple to provide feedback on candidate videos?
Evaluating MVP features.
With these questions in mind, we sketched ideas for each HMW and concept tested them with 9 job seekers. Our goal was to identify the elements in the 3 proposed concepts that were most valuable to job seekers.
Job seekers want to hear from UX team members. Include videos from UXers and hiring managers, and avoid recruiter videos.
Job seekers are nervous about how AVI and UX interview processes align. Focus here to attract more users to Async.
Job seekers want to receive feedback, but hiring managers are often overwhelmed. Simplify feedback channels.
Final Design
Novel introductory videos.
An introductory video from the hiring team helps job seekers picture who they’re speaking to and allows employers to showcase their company culture. Personalized messages create a tailored experience.
UX-focused question bank.
UX job seekers can choose relevant practice questions and better prepare for interviews. Top-rated videos from Async community members are featured as examples for people who are new to AVIs.
Simplified feedback channels.
After uploading an AVI, job seekers can receive feedback with a commenting feature modeled after social media comments. They can also choose who they want to share their videos with, so they can receive feedback from people both in and out of the Async platform.
Recommended Next Steps
Pilot Testing
An interactive website test with UX Cabin's job postings would verify if actions match stated preferences.
Measuring KPIs
Setting goals like lower bounce rates and increasing conversion rates can help us measure product success.
Reflections
This was my first time working with a cross-functional team, and I learned that creating actionable insights and collaborating on design decisions are essential to ensure the user’s voice is incorporated into designs. I immersed myself in the PM and design teams to understand how research findings are implemented in different teams, which helped me become a stronger collaborator.

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