1. Going Mobile
Chris.Eklund@Snagajob.com
@chriseklund
Flickr photo by damonlynch

2. Why Job Seeker Mobile?
…and why now?

3. Mobile visits have grown 150+%
Yet, only drives 2% of overall applications
14,000,000
12,000,000
10,000,000
8,000,000
Desktop Site
6,000,000
Mobile Site
Total Visits
4,000,000
2,000,000
18%
7%
-

4. Our Mobile Solution Today
 Different technologies means
different solutions
 Mixed message for sales
 24% of traffic from email
 Doesn’t include Apply
 Sommersault platform provided
an opportunity to combine focus
 Page for page parity
 SEO optimization
 Additional monetization
opportunities

5. Competitors are focusing on it

6. Meanwhile…

7. Mobile is the new norm
 Nearly half of all 18-29 year olds (45%) who use the internet on their
cell phones do most of their online browsing on their mobile device.
pewinternet.org – Cell Internet Use 2012
 It took us 16 years to pass 1 billion but it's estimated to take only three
years for the next billion smartphone users to come on board.
techcrunch.com Mobile Milestone 10/16/2012
 “Job seekers want to be able to search for a job
anytime, anyplace, anywhere and not just via a desktop anymore”
- Mike Taylor, Web Based Recruiting
 “Internet users don’t really want a different experience on mobile
devices than on their desktop computers.”
 – Larry Page, CEO/Co-founder Google

8. So, where to start?

9. …with a process
Think
Check Make

10.  … about what
 … about why
Think  … about who
Check Make

11. User will use the product
 Being user centered means you have to know your users
 Know your users by going where they are (GOOTO)

12. Start with a plan…

13. Moblie Research Guide [VCU Student Commons] 9.11.2012
In-person Interviews
Objective · Understand how student job seekers utilize mobile devices in their job
search.
· Understand how student job seekers interact with competitor’s mobile
optimized sites.
Intro Script  Hello. We’re conducting research to learn about ways people use their
mobile phones to search for jobs.
 Do you have a mobile phone? [Yes, continue. No, end.]
 Do you access the internet on your mobile phone? [Yes, continue. No, end.]
 Great! If you can spend about 15 minutes with us, we can pay you $15 cash
for your time. Are you interested in participating? [Yes, continue. No, end]
 Please take a moment to review and sign this consent form. This confirms
you agree to participate in our research today and that anything you share
with us is strictly confidential and only used internally for research
purposes.
 Collect the following data points:
o Name
o Age
o Year in school
o Full-time/part-time student
o Type of phone
o Data plan
o Own/use a computer
Primary tasks • Determine if they are currently searching or have recently searched for
work.
◦ If so, determine the types of jobs they have searched for.
◦ If not actively searching, determine when and what type of jobs
they would be interested in searching for.
Tasks:
• Please show us your mobile device?
• Tell us about what you do on your mobile device?
• Favorite apps or web sites?
• How might you start a job search using your mobile device? [Ask them
to demonstrate]
• Request them to use the following sites to search for a [desired type] of
job and rate each one from 1-5 on ease of use with 1 being difficult and
5 being easy:
◦ Career Builder
◦ Indeed
◦ Craigslist
◦ Snagajob
1

14. Who? Meet Paul…

15. Paul Martinez is ready to make a change. “I'm just trying to find something else.”
KEY CHARACTERISTICS
 18 – 22
 Atlanta, GA
 Single
 Part-time college student.
 Employed hourly job seeker
GOALS
 Find a job that fits with schedule and builds on experience.
 Be disciplined about making time to look for next job.
 Maintain a good reputation with employers and co-workers.
 Access jobs and employment resources when convenient and when feeling
motivated.
 Avoid complacency.
Paul works at Overstock Books at the Peachtree Shopping Center in Atlanta. He started there in August 2008, about the
same time he started taking business classes at Central Georgia College. Paul admitted to his roommate the other day
that he’s really tired of the same thing week after week. Punch in on the time clock. Put on the black apron. Operate the
cash register. Put away stray books and magazines left out in the café. It felt good to speak his mind: “I need to move
on and find something new.”
Paul’s hours at the store are fairly consistent and fit around his class schedule: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday from 5:00 p.m. until closing
time. Paul likes the feeling he gets helping customers, but there’s little else that’s worthwhile about the job. Besides, he wants to upgrade his phone,
too, so a pay increase needs to happen soon.
Paul has friendships with some co-workers at the store. Miranda usually works in the café. He and another cashier, Chris, will sometimes wait up for
her after closing so they can all go have a beer. Sometimes they’ll text invitations to their roommates, who will then meet them at the bar. They sit
together at a table and talk and laugh – letting off steam about work, school and life. Sometimes these conversations continue on Facebook.
Paul wonders what people think when they read his wall (especially family members), but he can’t control what his friends say.
Paul spends a lot of his time on campus, where he takes classes in business management. He’s a serious student and works hard to keep his GPA
above 3.0. Paul shares an apartment off-campus with two other guys. Jim, also a business student at CGC, delivers pizza part time. Steven works full
time at Hanover Garden Supply. On weekends they hang out with neighbors at the apartment complex, watch sports and play video games.
Paul knows he’s going to have to put some time and effort into the job search if he wants things to change. He has not updated his resume since
2008, so he’s going to need some time to work on that. He also needs to figure out which types of jobs will fit into his class schedule. Roommate
Steven tells him to stop by the garden center on his day off to talk with the manager there about a position in the lumber warehouse. Jim says he is
making decent tips delivering pizzas. He offers to put him in touch with his manager, too.
Paul keeps these options in mind as he browses job boards online during a break between classes. Ideally, he wants to work near campus and
might even consider 40 hours per week if the job is interesting enough. Paul finds lots of restaurant and retail jobs – but few of them mention specific
hours or pay rates. Several of his friends work at restaurants. Maybe he should think about restaurant work.
Paul finds an associate position at a Century Cinema movie theater. He looks up the theater’s phone number on Google and makes a note on a post-it
to call the manager to ask about schedules and pay. He puts the note in his wallet.
He continues browsing, scrolling through pages of jobs. He notices that he’s not reading carefully – with so many different jobs there’s a lot of
information to absorb and many options to explore. Paul checks the time – somehow he’s spent a full hour looking at jobs! He still has some reading to
finish before class and then he’s off to work. He makes a mental note to check Craigslist after work. Maybe he’ll pick up this week’s Creative Loafing
paper on campus and check the classifieds.
As he steps away from the computer Paul feels like he did something constructive today toward achieving his goal, but he knows it’s only a first step.
He is somewhat concerned about how much of his time the job search is going to take. He’s just going to have to be disciplined. Meantime, Paul is
really not looking forward to putting on that black apron in four hours…
JOB SEEKING SOCIAL QUESTIONS
_______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________
 Expects to transition to next career  What am I qualified to do next?
 Active on Facebook (e.g., status updates,
smoothly.  How much longer can I stay at my current
uploading personal photos).
 Job search is infrequent, impulsive and job?
 Willing to give a referral to help a friend
sporadic.  What will I need to do to transition between
find a retail job.
 Has explored job boards tentatively. jobs?
 Receiving job advice from friends and
 Has not requested email job alerts. family.  How would my employer react if my job
 HR terminology is new search activities were discovered?
 Work life and personal life sometimes
 Resume is out of date. overlap.
 Expects to apply for 2 or 3 jobs this week.  Work status is public knowledge.
 Plans to apply by walk-in, but also expects
to apply online.
©2010 SnagAJob.com, Inc. All rights reserved.

19. Think
 sketches
Check Make  prototypes

20. “The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas.”
- Linus Pauling, American chemist

21. It starts rough…

22. Then they get refined…a little

23. …and refine again

24. Think
 critique
 user research Check Make

28. …and quickly built

29. Job Seekers discussing Mobile
 "[My mobile phone] is my remote control for my life.”
 “It’s my social life.”
 “I’d die without my phone.”
 “Just tell me what you want me to do. Yep, I can do that.”
 What do you do on it? “EVERYTHING!”

30. Insights
 Apply only on desktop… but wait? That was easy.
 Does this phone make my fingers look fat?
 Scroll, scroll, and scroll some more.
 Mobile must dance with desktop

31. It was fast, cheap…& good
 Got 6 Snaggers in the field (2 PMs, 3 UX, 1 Graphic Designer)
 48 interviews
 $61/day for a table
 Seeing them in their environment
 Total cost <$1000

32. Version 1…

33. Questions?

34. Thank you
@snagajobux
@chriseklund
chris.eklund@snagajob.com
Flickr photo by riaz kanani