Jack
Optimizing user engagement for an automatic job application platform.
Business Growth
User Retention
2025
MY ROLE
UI/UX Designer
DURATION
3 Months
SKILLSET
Product Iteration
Prototyping
Team Collaboration
COLLABORATORS
Erin Anderson
Maca Baigorria
Aleksandar Lokoski
AT A GLANCE
About the project
Jack Applies, Inc. (Jack) is an automated job application platform that applies to jobs on users’ behalf based on their preset preferences.
In this project, I focused on redesigning key product experiences to help users get started with Jack, maintain engagement throughout the subscription period, and ultimately support the platform’s long-term growth.
My role
I worked as a UI/UX Designer in a team of 3. I collaborated closely with a Senior Product Designer and a Product Manager. I also partnered with the development team to ensure my design solutions were accurately implemented.
Impact
The project spanned three months, during which we successfully achieved our short-term business goals through iterative design improvements.
Subscription Rate
20%
Relative growth
Subscriber Churn Rate
15%
Relative decline
THE PROBLEM
Users don't perceive the unique value and powerful features of Jack in job-applying compared to traditional job boards.
Many hesitated to begin using Jack or discontinued their subscriptions.
Subscription Rate
~5%
Subscriber Churn Rate
~40%
AN OPPORTUNITY
How can we help users understand Jack’s unique value and feel confident getting started, while believing it will continuously benefit their job search process?
USER RESEARCH
To discover the core cause of users not engaging with Jack Applies, we realized we need to conduct interviews with users to learn their needs, pain points, and mind journeys. We selected 2 groups of users that were targeted towards our current issues:
User Group 1
Non-subscribers
Who signed up but did not start applying. We want to understand their initial expectations and identify key barriers that prevent them from starting.
User Group 2
Ex-subscribers
Who subscribed but unsubscribed after a short period of time. We want to explore their pain points and uncover the reasons behind cancelling a subscription.
Writing interview questions
Personal Info
Age, education level, current role, salary range, job preferences, etc.
Product Impression
Overall perception and expectations of the platform.
Product Experience
Perception of core features, ease of use, and clarity of interactions.
Subscription Behavior
Willingness to pay, pricing expectations, payment motivations, and perceived value.
What did we learn from our users?
We recruited 10 participants for each identified user group and conducted 30-minute interviews with them. Then, we summarized the interview outcomes and identified key pain points users encounter while using Jack.
User Group 1
Non-subscribers
⚠️ Low Motivation
“I don’t really see how this is different from other job platforms. I’m not convinced it’s worth paying for.”
⚠️ High Learning Curve
“I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do first. The features sounded powerful, but I didn’t know how to actually use them.”
⚠️ Low Trust
“The interface feels a bit rough. Made me question whether this platform is reliable to apply to jobs.”
User Group 2
Ex-subscribers
⚠️ Low Sense of Security
“I turned on autopilot, but I couldn’t tell if anything was actually happening. I kept wondering if my applications were really being sent.”
⚠️ No Perception of Value
“I didn’t see much feedback or progress, so it felt like nothing new was happening.”
⚠️ Weak Connection
“When I didn’t hear back from any applications, I started to feel discouraged and questioned whether this platform even helps.”
DESIGN STRATEGY
The insights from our research revealed a consistent gap between Jack’s capabilities and users’ perception of its value, highlighting the need for a strategy that supports users both before and after they subscribe.
Before subscribing
Clarify Jack’s core value early, build trust, and motivate users to take their first actions.
After subscribing
Ensure users consistently feel the subscription is worthwhile by making benefits, progress, and outcomes visible.
The ultimate business goal
By elevating the end-to-end product experience, we aim to drive sustained subscription adoption and retention, ultimately supporting long-term, sustainable business growth.
THE DESIGN SOLUTION -01
Before subscribing
How could we motivate users to take their first actions while they begin to explore Jack?
01
Communicate Jack’s core features on the home page
Through clear action cues and feature highlights on the home page, it helps users quickly understand Jack’s core capabilities and how it differs from other job platforms, encouraging them to get started.
BEFORE
⚠️ Lack of feature visibility
Jack’s features were not visible on the homepage. Users discover these features by themselves, which increases friction during their initial exploration.
AFTER
Action banner for Autopilot
Clearly guide user to set up Autopilot, help them quickly understand how Jack supports job applications in bulk and encourage early activation.
“Your Best Matches” section
Highlight job posts with high matching scores, clearly communicating the Advanced Job Match feature and prompting quicker action.
Day-1 Activation Rate:
50%
% of users who applied or enabled Autopilot within 24 hours of registration.
Optimizing job cards for the apply-in-one-click feature
On the homepage, a quick-apply button with supporting text is added to the job cards. It makes the apply-in-one-click feature easy to discover and encourages smoother application flow.
BEFORE
AFTER
🤔 Design Thinking
How can we help users quickly decide to apply without reading the JD?
Based on insights from past user research, I prioritized the job attributes users care about most. Keywords from the JDs were identified by AI and displayed on job cards, helping users quickly assess the job and make faster decisions.
1
Location type
2
Industry
3
Core responsibilities/skills
02
Reduce the learning curve with step-by-step walkthrough
Automated job applications are still unfamiliar to many users, which could lead to uncertainty and confusion about how to get started. Providing clear guidance and making the platform’s value visible early on helps build trust and understanding, motivating users to begin using Jack.
Step-by-step walkthrough
Users can get started quickly, reducing the frustration of “not knowing where to begin”.
Positive language
Using a positive, encouraging tone throughout onboarding helps build confidence and motivation, fostering early intent to use Jack.
03
Emphasizing subscription value through key touchpoints
Value reminder
CTAs across key touchpoints remind users of the value of subscribed features, shortening the upgrade path and making subscription easy at any time.
Re-designing the subscription page to promote key value
Encouraging users to subscribe, we aim to communicate the core values and benefits of each paid plan compared to the free plan.
The challenge is the trade-off between user experience and conversion effectiveness. We created two approaches to compare their impact on decision-making and subscription intent.
User-centered approach
Cleaner layout with fewer distractions makes the page more approachable, minimizing cognitive overload during decision-making.
Final choice
Business-centered approach
Enhanced contrast to stimulate attention, encouraging users to make decisions quicker and more efficient.
THE DESIGN SOLUTION - 02
After subscribing
How could we maintain user engagement after the user subscribes to Jack?
01
Build trust through feedback and visibility
When users activate the Autopilot feature, they often wonder whether applications are actually being sent. Making the Autopilot's activity and progress clearly visible helps build trust, reduce uncertainty, and reinforce users’ confidence every time they use Jack.
“I’m not sure if I’m doing this right. I don’t really know how to get started.”
“I thought Autopilot would just start applying automatically, but it doesn’t seem like anything’s happening.”
“I turned Autopilot on, but I’m still not sure if it’s actually applying to jobs.”
The design iteration
On our first iteration, we added a simple On/Off icon to reveal the Autopilot status ...
Then we took a step further to highlight application data and jobs applied, allowing the user to fully see the effectiveness of Autopilot at a glance.
02
Reinforce value through the Subscriber section
Design a dedicated subscriber section that continuously highlights the differentiated value. By making exclusive benefits clearly visible, users are reminded that their investment is worthwhile, strengthening their sense of belonging and increasing ongoing engagement.
"Your Benefits" section
Showcases a list of exclusive features, reinforcing perceived value and encourages long-term subscription commitment.
Visualizing Impact Through Data
Clear application metrics helps users see tangible results, reinforcing the platform’s effectiveness and motivating continued use.
03
Refining microcopy to foster connection
Job searching can often feel stressful and discouraging. By adopting a more personal tone and incorporating encouraging language throughout the experience, it helps users feel understood and supported, strengthening trust and increasing their willingness to continue using Jack.
Home page greeting
Help users feel supported and accompanied every time they enter the home page, strengthening their sense of belonging and motivating continued engagement.
Other examples of microcopy refinement
BEFORE
AFTER
27 Jobs Available
🔥 Your 27 Best Matches
Jack automatically applies when there's a match
Jack's on it! Applications are being sent automatically.
Autopilot is applying for you.
🎉 Nice! Autopilot is working hard applying for you.
THE OUTCOME
1 month after my internship at Jack, our design have achieved:
# of Users Reached
50,000+
Subscription Rate
20%
Relative growth
Subscriber Churn Rate
15%
Relative growth
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Summary
This project significantly improved the overall user experience of Jack while increasing subscription conversion and user retention. As the user base continued to grow, these improvements also contributed to more sustainable business development.
What did I learn?
Balancing user needs with business priorities. Decisions such as how prominently to highlight subscription benefits required careful trade-offs. I learned to align user-centered design with measurable business growth.
Thinking from real user insights and business metrics. By analyzing key metrics and user behavior, I realized that design goes beyond UI improvements—it requires identifying the factors that truly drive user experience and business impact.
Next Steps
As Jack’s user base continues to grow, future improvements can be further driven by key metrics and user feedback. By continuously tracking and analyzing user behavior, we can refine the experience more precisely while supporting long-term business strategy and sustained growth.
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Designed and developed by Andy Xu • © 2025