UX experience
Redesign
Product thinking
AI-Powered Job
Experience
Redesigning LinkedIn
Job Apply
Helping candidates apply faster, smarter, and with
confidence by bridging the gap between talent and global
opportunities.
AI Assistant
Scanning job requirements for "Senior Product
Designer" at Apple...
This project rethinks the end-to-end application flow, focusing on how to reduce user frustration, improve visibility, and create a more confident applying experience.
UX/UI Designer
Role:
4 Weeks
Timeline:
Workflow redesign + feature design
Scope:
Platform:
Desktop
01
Background
Rethinking LinkedIn Job Applications with AI
LinkedIn is the most widely used professional platform, but its job application experience remains fragmented. While users discover jobs on LinkedIn, many applications require easy to be disrupt, leading to friction and repeated effort.
As a job seeker, I’m thinking if this have a way to help people with a easy way to apply job, so they can more focus on the real interview instead of spend the whole day to fill the table.
The Critical Drop-off
70% of job seekers
drop off before applying.
Long forms, external redirects, and repetitive resume uploads create a
wall of friction that discourages the world's best talent.
02
The Challenge
Why applying on LinkedIn feels frustrating
Applying feels simple at first, but quickly becomes frustrating.
Too many Steps
Users spend too much time just deciding whether to apply because they don’t know if this position match.
Hard to manage resumes
Users struggle to find the right resume
and can’t easily preview or compare versions. Applying to different roles becomes repetitive and time-consuming.
Hard to customize
Users need to leave LinkedIn to edit their resume for each job. This breaks the flow
and adds unnecessary effort.
03
The Goal
What does success look like?
We focused on reducing friction and increasing confidence at every step.
From friction → flow.
A fragmented process to a seamless, AI-guided experience.
Current State
Broken application flow
Manual resume edits for every job
No insight into job fit
The Redesign
AI-powered job fit insights
Smart Resume Hub for customization
Seamless application tracking
04
Research & Key Insights
Understanding Job Application Friction
To understand where job seekers struggle, I conducted user interviews and surveys focused on the LinkedIn application experience. Rather than exploring general job search behavior,
this research specifically examined: • How users decide to apply • Where they drop off
• What causes hesitation or friction Across interviews and survey responses, a clear pattern emerged: Applying is not the problem — the process around it is.
Finding 1
Most users don’t apply immediately
Users often hesitate before applying,
even when they are interested.
25%
Jan
76%
Feb
39%
Mar
52%
Apr
"I always save jobs first because applying feels like a process."
Finding 2
External applications break the flow
Being redirected to another website
creates friction and lowers completion rates.
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
09/22
09/23
09/24
09/25
09/26
09/27
09/28
09/29
09/30
10/01
"When it opens another website, I just close it."
Finding 3
Users lack confidence in their fit
Many users are unsure if they meet the requirements, which leads to hesitation or abandonment.
38%
9.25%
4.94%
28.56%
19.16%
"I don’t know if I’m qualified, so I don’t apply."
Typical Job Seeker Journey
To understand where the experience breaks down, I mapped the full job application journey.
From browsing jobs to submitting applications, users face friction at multiple key moments,
especially when deciding, customizing, and applying.
Step 1
Open LinkedIn
Start searching for jobs
🙂
Feed overload
Step 2
Browse Jobs
Scroll through recommended listings
😐
Some irrelevant jobs
Step 3
Read Description
Review job details and requirements
🙂
I’m not sure if I’m qualified
Step 4
Ready to apply
Decide whether to apply
🤔
Which resume should I use?
Step 8
Track Status
Trying to find application status
😫
I wish have a button take me go
Step 7
Redirected to external site
Redirected to outside website
😤
Why do I have to enter everything again?
Step 6
Edit resume externally
Disrupt the job flow
😰
I have to leave LinkedIn to edit this
Step 5
Upload Resume
Upload resume without preview
😕
I don’t know which is the right version.
Emotional Journey
Frustration increases ↑
Peak Frustration
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Confusion
🤨
想法三
😫
想法三
😕
Looking for job
🙂
想法三
😩
想法三
😵💫
Positive
Neutral
Frustrated
Hopeful
Confused
Frustrated
As a result, the job search experience becomes fragmented and difficult to manage.
02
The Challenge
Key Insights
What we learned from the journey and job seekers, and These insights reveal an opportunity for AI to guide the process.
INSIGHT 01
Applying is repetitive
Users value efficiency more than customization during job applications.
INSIGHT 02
The process feels fragmented
Users value efficiency more than customization during job applications.
INSIGHT 03
Lack of clarity creates hesitation
Users value efficiency more than customization during job applications.
"I've filled out the same form 12 times this month. Why can't it just remember my information?"
— Sarah M., UX Designer actively job searching
74%
of users abandon the application at the external ATS redirect
68%
Lose track of applications
5.2
Average applications per job seeker
A NEW POSSIBILITY
What if applying wasn’t
your job anymore?
An AI-driven application lifecycle
that connects discovery, decision, and action.
Discover Jobs
AI Fit
Analysis
AI Resume Customization
Apply in One Click
02
Define
Wireframe & Sketch
Initially, we held brainstorming sessions and came up with the organizational aspect of the platform using rough sketches.
02
The Challenge
Design Works
My decision for using LinkedIn Blue was to ensure staying close to what LinkedIn is providing to users currently. We wanted to keep the LinkedIn Blue to ensure that the redesign is user friendly and intuitive for job seekers. Users find the job search and application process tedious, and they also tend to have really busy schedules. Therefore, in deciding what colors to use, we wanted to ensure that the colors were simple, comprehensive and easily digestible to the user.
Before
After
linkedin.com/jobs/apply
3x faster
3x faster
01
Resume Hub
A centralized dynamic space where your
professional identity lives. Not just a PDF, but a
live data source that AI uses to personalize every
application.
linkedin.com/jobs/apply
3x faster
3x faster
Before
After
02
AI Job Match
No more guessing. AI analyzes job descriptions in
real-time and provides a "Fit Score" based on your
unique skills and project history.
Before
After
03
External Assistant
The LinkedIn AI follows you to third-party sites. It
auto-fills forms, translates your experience into
the right terminology, and handles the "Workday"
headache.
02
The Challenge
Design System
What we learned from the journey and job seekers
02
The Challenge
Usability Test
What we learned from the journey and job seekers
1440 x 1024
Testing insight
Briefly describe a testing insight.
Changes
Mention the changes made based on the testing feedback.
Improvements
Describe how the changes improved the user experience.
Voices from the Field
"
"The AI match score actually gave
me the confidence to apply for a role
I normally would have skipped. It
turns out I had all the skills they
wanted!"
Sarah Jenkins
Product Manager
"
"Autofilling external forms saved me
at least 15 minutes per application. I
applied to 10 companies in the time it
used to take for one."
Marcus Chen
Full-Stack Developer
"
"Having a central tracker for all my
LinkedIn and external applications is
a game changer. No more messy
spreadsheets."
Elena Rodriguez
Marketing Specialist
The results speak
Early testing shows significant improvements
87%
Completion rate increase
2.3x
Faster application time
94%
User satisfaction score
Future improvements include:
• Deeper AI personalization
• Integration with recruiter-side tools
• Better feedback loops after applications
02
The Challenge
Take Aways
What we learned from the journey and job seekers
02
The Challenge
Impact
By centralizing resume management and application tracking, the redesigned experience reduces friction in the job search process. Users gain better visibility into their applications and receive guidance on improving their job match.
Instead of acting only as a job discovery platform, LinkedIn becomes a workspace that supports the entire job application journey.
• Reduced time spent per application by ~60%
• Improved user confidence in resume quality
• Increased visibility of application status
Measurable Results
↓ 50%
Time spent per application
↑ 2x
Application efficiency
+30%
User confidence score
02
The Challenge
Reflection
This project highlighted the importance of designing systems, not just interfaces.
Future improvements include:
• Deeper AI personalization
• Integration with recruiter-side tools
• Better feedback loops after applications
"Applying shouldn't feel
like work. It should feel
effortless."
View Full Documentation