Intro

I led UX for the candidate management, messaging, scheduling, and interview teams, which were directly responsible for Indeed’s primary company objective. In addition, as a UX leader, I focused on growing, coaching, and managing my team, improving output quality and processes, and using vision and strategy setting to unify and guide our teams.

SECTIONS

1. Keeping up with candidates · 2. Connecting with candidates · 3. Evaluating candidates · 4. UX leadership

Previously, most SMB employers used tools like spreadsheets and email clients to manage their candidates after they applied. Indeed offered some basic candidate management capabilities, but these were often reported to be overly complex, confusing, and didn’t support their entire hiring process. These challenges competed against our goal to support end-to-end hiring on Indeed, so my team led an effort to create a new streamlined core experience that would need to be more intuitive than existing offerings and support the entire hiring journey. Our solution proved to reduce time on core tasks by 20% and dramatically increased the number of interviews that were being scheduled on Indeed.

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We simplified the process of connecting employers with candidates, making it faster and easier to start the first live conversation. Our data revealed that employers who responded within 24 hours of an application saw significantly higher candidate response rates. To enhance this experience, we redesigned the candidate profile to focus on communication, positioning Indeed as a more efficient alternative to tools like email or Calendly. To reduce the back-and-forth of scheduling, we introduced smart scheduling features, enabling employers to share available time slots directly from their calendars for candidates to select. Additionally, we ensured no candidate or message was overlooked by emphasizing candidate updates and providing timely reminders to prompt employer action.

We developed entirely new audio and video interview experiences within Indeed, enabling employers to assess candidates without leaving the platform. To ensure interviews ran smoothly, we implemented notifications and reminders for all participants. Leveraging robust job requirements data, we designed structured interview templates to promote more consistent and unbiased evaluations. Employers could take notes and record candidate responses directly within the interview interface, seamlessly integrating this information into the candidate management system for an all-in-one hiring solution. Additionally, we gathered interview ratings from interviewers and encouraged employers to make timely hiring decisions, keeping candidates informed throughout the process.

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*You can see many of these features and enhancements through Indeed’s announcements here (under “Connect with candidates).

Team Development and Management

In my role, I scaled the team from 2 designers to 20+ UX individuals, including managers, designers, content strategists, researchers, and UX developers in order to meet business needs. I coached individuals to reach their career goals, providing mentorship and growth opportunities. I facilitated team-building and strategic collaborative activities to foster a cohesive team environment. I helped the team remain adaptable and resilient in the face of strategic and organizational changes, providing guidance and support through transitions.

Process and Quality Improvement

I raised the bar for design quality, ensuring our work met high standards, and led inclusive design critiques to encourage diverse perspectives and elevate quality. I elevated the voice of the customer, ensuring a deep understanding of their needs and experiences. I introduced process changes to ensure timely completion of work and optimized workflows. Additionally, I built and nurtured cross-functional relationships with Product and Engineering counterparts to ensure the broader team was aligned and operating efficiently, and broke down cross-team barriers to facilitate end-to-end thinking and seamless collaboration.

Creating Focus

I drove holistic thinking and identified new business opportunities to stay ahead in the market. I led the definition of vision and strategy, ensuring it was broadly communicated and understood by both internal and external teams. Additionally, I regularly shared updates with senior leadership to keep them informed of progress and strategic direction.

Example

With support of my Product and Engineering counterparts following a reorg that brought many new teams together, I created this “How we work” document to outline how we would operate as a newly formed team. By creating clear focus, getting closer to customers, anchoring on their core problems, and then reducing the risk of change by validating earlier, we would ensure we were building the right thing, in the right way, at the right time.

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Updated Dec 2024