Mockup for CareerButterfly splash screen, an app for career changers. — *Career Butterfly*

So, Why Career Changers?

I spent two years dreaming of quitting my call center job before pulling the trigger and searching for an exciting career. So much uncertainty came along with that.

Where do I begin? Who can I speak to? What do I even want to do for a living?

I eventually found the answers to those questions. It took a lot of trial and error and multiple websites, apps, and courses. Later, I realized my concerns weren’t uncommon. But should it be? Certainly, there could be a better way.

My Role | UX Designer

Changing careers takes a lot of tools, time and sometimes education. Users need guidance along each step of the way without wasting too much time or money, which can happen with the trial-and-error approach.
To give career changers reliable tips, remote career coaches and a sense of community.
Adobe XD
Balsamiq
Figma
Optimal Workshop
Marvel

Early Research

Affinity Mapping.

I created affinity maps after interviewing in order to gauge what pain points other career changers had to better understand their needs.

For example, I originally planned on including personality tests as a resource, but interviewees said they don't enjoy using them. They either think they were accurate or they have already taken so many during their career.

Participants expressed feeling a bit isolated during their journey, no matter what phase of transition. So it became clear that some form of community building was necessary.

Below, you’ll find their understanding of the usefullness of a career coach and what resources they’ve used during their career changes.

Purpose of a Coach
Past Resources

User Personas.

These were a must for this project. I made three total, which helped easily separate my own experiences from the user's needs.

Anna, the primary persona, represents the users that will need a lot from the app. On their journeys, they could be anywhere from simply considering a change, to someone who feels stuck in deciding their new field. They have a lot to balance and there still may be some hesitation.

Jordan is the user that has fully committed to his career change but is suffers from decision fatigue. He is using so many different resources that it's hard to weigh all the information in his mind. One reliable resource would benefit him so much.

Kimberly loves working in her current field but wants advancement. She needs resources to explore her options. She’ll be using the app on the go.

User Journeys.

Creating user journeys helped give new approaches to the solutions I had in mind. Empathizing with individual user needs is easier to come by this way.

Designing the App

User Flows.

View the foundation for the app's organization.

Wireframes.

There is a lot of information to cover, but I didn’t want to overload users. With this in mind, I designed screens with an abundance of white space and minimal scrolling.