ExploreCareers
Team Lead (Sep 2023 - Apr 2024)
1. Introduction
Evolving Goals and Questions
At the Tech4Good Lab, our team sought to design long-term, personalized support for career identity formation. We envisioned a system that would bring together scattered resources and tailor them to individual students.
However... our early interviews with high school students revealed that even with plenty of online resources, uncertainty and limited knowledge of career options remained as major barriers to career decision-making. This suggested that the problem wasn’t access to information, but that it was insufficient in helping students build confidence and clarity on their career journeys.
These findings prompted us to reassess our goals. Before we could design for long-term career support, we first needed to step back and ask: Despite the abundance of career information available online, why do students still struggle with career uncertainty and decision-making?
To answer this, we needed to understand how students engage with different career information modalities, what value they find in each, and what additional forms of support might they need to make informed decisions.
The ExploreCareers Prototype
To help us evaluate these questions, I created ExploreCareers, a prototype that combined and hosted two information modalities: data-driven insights (from government datasets) and experiential narratives (in the form of day-in-the-life TikTok videos). After students engaged with the prototypes, we interviewed them on their thoughts about ExploreCareers and the information it presented. I made unique prototypes for each student, personalized to fit their individual needs and interests. With this, our team learned about how students commonly perceive and engage with different information modalities. At the same time, we were able to help participants explore and reflect on their career options and commitments.
Role
- Researcher: Analyzed literature, prepared survey & interview materials, took notes during interviews, and created figures for our research paper.
- Designer: Compiled data-driven insights and experiential narratives into personalized prototypes aligned with student needs.
- Leader: Collaborated with co-leads to plan out quarterly goals, ensure weekly deliverables were met, facilitate work sessions, and onboard new team members.
2. Identifying Information Modalities
We identified and focused on the following career information modalities based on the information they provide and their unique interaction styles.
When gathering sources for each modality, we specifically chose:
- Day-in-the-life TikTok videos for their conciseness and entertainment value.
- The ONET database because of its reliability and standardized usage.
3. Facilitating Reflection with Day-in-the-Life Videos
From reading existing research studies, we knew that developing a strong career identity involves not only exploring various careers, but also reflecting on one’s commitments. However, we suspected that on their own, TikTok day-in-the-life videos lack actionable guidance for follow-up reflection. So, I added reflection questions alongside the TikTok narratives, allowing us to investigate this.
We had originally considered facilitating this reflection process within the TikTok app, but after speaking with developers, we learned it would not be possible with TikTok's API. To adapt, I incorporated the questions directly into the ExploreCareers platform.
4. Making Data Less Overwhelming
We also wondered whether students feel overwhelmed when looking at occupational data, and if that impacts how they engage with career exploration. To investigate this, one of my goals with the ExploreCareers prototypes was to present occupational data in an approachable manner. When designing the interface, I aimed to minimize cognitive load despite the vast amount of career options.
- Visualizing the career sectors: I used a grid layout, along with different colors and icons for each career sector, to help students understand the hierarchy and relationship between each sector and the occupations within them.
- Curating the displayed occupations: Due to the large number of occupations, I only displayed a curated selection in the dashboard, tailored to each student’s individual interests.
- Simplified presentation of details: When an occupation card is clicked, it expands to present key details from O*NET in a format that is more intuitive and easier to navigate than the O*NET website.
- Playful and colorful design: Aimed at making the career exploration process more fun and less monotonous.
5. Exploring Long-Term Potential
Though the focus of our study was on evaluating distinct informational modalities, our long-term vision for ExploreCareers isn't to just provide career information, but to support students’ ongoing identity development over time. To explore this potential, I included two additional reflection features in the prototype. These features focused on helping students process, contextualize, and reflect on their journeys.
Helping Students Reflect on Their Career Identity Status
Throughout our research, we commonly referenced the Meeus-Crocetti Model, which outlines five career identity statuses, each characterized by distinct needs, motivations, and behaviors.
I adapted and implemented a questionnaire based on the Meeus-Crocetti Model to help identify each student's identity status. When students log into ExploreCareers for the first time, they complete the questionnaire and are encouraged to reflect on whether the assigned identity status resonates with them. Because career identity evolves over time, I also included an option for students to retake the questionnaire and update their status. We found that this process promotes introspection into their career journeys and can help the platform prioritize information/resources suited to each student's current needs.
"I like it. I've never really thought about this being like different stages in figuring out what job I want. So, I think this really helps me think through it."
"I feel like it's pretty accurate. I think it's really helpful because they're really detailed. It wasn't just 'oh, I know what I'm gonna go into' and 'I don't know yet.'"
Helping Students Reflect on Career Anxiety
Additionally, we hoped to design distinct sets of reflection activities that are tailored for each career identity status. However, due to time constraints and limited capacity, we decided to prioritize creating activities that are beneficial for students across multiple identity statuses.
I took the lead in creating our career anxiety activity, understanding that career anxiety can impact students at any stage of their career journey. I curated a set of resources that together address various manifestations of career anxiety, but found that they only offered generic advice. To make them more relevant and meaningful, I created reflection questions to prompt students to think about their own experiences and how the advice could apply to their specific situations. About half the students found the activity helpful, while others did not feel like it resonated with them, which we'll have to explore further in the next iteration!
"I think it definitely helped me get it all out. And like kind of reflect on it. And like think more deeply into it and understand my feelings more."
"The imposter syndrome [article] was interesting, but I've never really felt it or had any experiences with it, so it's more interesting to look at it with a third-person perspective on it, like outside on it."
6. What Key Lessons Did I Learn?
My time at Tech4Good has been incredibly enriching, and I'd like to share some of the most significant lessons I've taken away from the experience!
Perfection is Not Always the Answer
As a perfectionist, the thought of an “imperfect design” used to frustrate me. I had spent countless hours trying to make things pixel perfect before learning how to prioritize design tasks and and focus on what matters more. While I still occasionally struggle with perfectionist tendencies, I've become more aware of when they arise and know how to manage them effectively.
Design is a Continuous Process
While designers are often taught a simplified, linear design process, it is important to remember that in reality, it is not so simple. What works for one project might not work for others. In designing ExploreCareers and BridgeUs, we continuously circled back to research and ideation — it wasn’t a “one and done” deal.
Healthy Team Dynamics Boost Engagement
As a lead, I was responsible for facilitating discussions and keeping the team engaged. This was sometimes challenging, especially during remote work sessions. I found that incorporating bonding activities helped build stronger relationships within the team. Trust among teammates plays a significant role in fostering openness and encouraging members to share their thoughts and be vulnerable.
Remember to Update Design Systems
It can feel easy to ignore an outdated design system, but the design debt quickly racks up. This was especially apparent when we were personalizing the ExploreCareers prototypes to each student. As a result, I've learned that it is important to conduct regular audits of the design system to ensure it is up to date.