End-to-end redesign of a talent-matching platform connecting recruiters and candidates at scale.
The Problem
Workruit's talent platform had grown organically over four years. The result was a fragmented experience with three different navigation paradigms, two separate design systems, and a recruiter flow that required 14 steps to post a single job.
Candidates weren't faring better. The mobile app had a 62% drop-off rate at the profile completion step — the exact moment when the platform needed them most.
Research
I ran 24 contextual interviews across two user groups:
- Recruiters at SMBs and enterprise HR teams - Candidates ranging from fresh graduates to senior engineers
The core insight was surprising: both groups described the same pain in opposite terms. Recruiters felt the platform "showed them too many unqualified people." Candidates felt "invisible to the right companies." The matching algorithm was working — the interface was hiding it.
Design Process
Starting with the recruiter side, I mapped every workflow step against its frequency and cognitive load. Fourteen steps collapsed to five once I removed confirmation dialogs that served the system's anxiety, not the user's.
For candidates, I replaced the linear profile wizard with a progressive disclosure model. Instead of completing everything upfront, candidates could become "discoverable" after three fields and enrich their profile over time.
Outcome
After a phased rollout over eight months, recruiter efficiency improved by 60%, candidate engagement tripled, and time-to-hire dropped by 40%.