This is an empathy map that elaborates on the first two steps i.e. Empathize and Define, in the design thinking process. This is a very powerful tool to come up with innovative solutions to everyday issues.

1. Empathy Map
Kavya Krishnan
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2. The Stakeholder
Mia is a smart, reliable, degree-holding
master’s student in Management who
has just been in the US since the last 9
months. She has come to grad school
straight from undergrad, has recently
completed an internship, and is now
looking for an avenue to utilize her
skills to the maximum after college.
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3. Say
1. “The interviews are really tough to crack”
2. “There is too much competition for few positions”
3. “The starting salary is too low”
4. “The job descriptions are vague”
5. “The projects are open ended”
6. “There is no deadline”
7. “Too many unnecessary aptitude tests”
8. “Too many hours”
9. “Bias against foreign students”
10. “No direction for applicants”
11. “Multiple rounds are time consuming and tiring”
12. “The interviews themselves do not mirror the actual job”
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4. Do
1. Prepares from an interview guide
2. Looks at listings on the school’s career website
3. Looks at salaries posted on public portals like Glassdoor
4. Has a single resume and cover letter for all positions
5. Believes that jobs should be like assignments
6. During her internship, she turned her work in only when it was asked for.
7. Speaks to a few students in her batch to learn about the various positions
8. Does not work on her vocabulary or language skills
9. Does not approach each round with a different strategy and learning methodology.
10. Works hard to get the fit section right
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5. Think
1. Does not see the importance of face-to-face practice interviews
2. Has restricted herself to the jobs posted on school’s website.
3. Believes that positions are non-negotiable.
4. Does not see the importance of taking initiative and is not intrinsically
motivated.
5. Still relies on external factors like deadlines.
6. Does not make an effort to use her foreign status to her advantage.
7. Does not see the importance of meeting a career counselor.
8. Focusses more on the knowledge already gained instead of having an
appetite to learn on the job and hit the ground running.
9. Focusses more on one-dimensional success as opposed to overall
personality.
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6. Feel
1. The school does not equip her
with skills needed to succeed
at the workplace.
2. Her effort and hard work is not
giving her the results she wants.
3. The interviews should be one-dimensional and focus only on academics and prior
work experience.
4. There should be a single one-stop solution that lists jobs across
industries, and tells her which companies come to campus and which
do not.
5. Foreign students should have more
resources at their disposal.
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7. Problem Statement & Insight
Mia needs to find a way to leverage all the
skills and knowledge she has gained in school
to contribute meaningfully to the society.
The only way she believes she can do this is
by limiting her options to the positions listed
on a single career website and fitting her
skills and personality to the job requisites.
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