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Pitch
Partnership with Pitch Founders as the Design Lead for market and usability testing, brand development, information architecture, user experience and visual design of the Pitch App.
Opportunity
Making professional connections and finding the right job is getting harder as the workforce becomes more digital and remote.
The next generation places extreme value on workplace culture. Currently, people are working too hard to become the “perfect candidate”, instead of finding a place where they can bring their full self to work.
LACK OF TRANSPARENCY
Employer-employee relationships lack sufficient transparency and most hiring processes are not driven by a people first approach.
EMPLOYEE RETENTION
Traditional interviews do not reveal management styles and/or company culture resulting in mis-hires.
CULTURAL FIT
Current professional platforms cannot assess if a candidate is a good cultural fit.
Solution
Pitch is a networking tool to help make authentic professional connections rooted in the belief that people are more than just words on a page. Pitch believes that personal and professional stories are equally important to cultivate authentic connections.
SHARE
Share authentically. Biggest career achievement, most embarrassing moment, favorite weekend activity, top skills, the ideal boss – our users can be transparent about who they really are.
CONNECT
Connect with diverse users who fit in the same professional community. Real connections based on values, beliefs, and previous (or future) career experience.
DISCOVER
Discover the next step. No matter if it is a new hire, making a career jump or looking to learn a new skill set, Pitch can foster results.
Initial Research & Product Definition
Research Goals
When I first came into the project, the team had already sent out a questionnaire with initial thought starters to gauge interest of the product offering. When synthesizing the results, I started categorizing the responses into the below goals and buckets:
VALUE PROPOSITION
Validate PITCH’s value by understanding current pain points when networking and applying for a job.
MAKING CONNECTIONS
Identify mental models when trying to make a professional connection: how do candidates build trust and drive conversations.
Identify and understand common behaviors candidates have before meeting someone in person: what is important to know before a meeting and how does this information impact their connection.
AT THE WORKPLACE (PAIN POINTS & SUCCESSES)
Identify what information is important for candidates to decide if a job/workplace is a good fit for them to prevent miss-hires.
Identify factors that increase employee retention, and how these factors play a role in choosing your next role.
Process Overview
We recruited over 30 participants all with different professional backgrounds and from different geographic statistics to get a holistic view of our broad customer demographic. This questionnaire was sent out and we followed up with one-on-one calls with certain participants to further pick their brains and get a deeper understanding of their thought process and responses.
Key Findings
MENTAL MODELS WHEN MAKING CONNECTIONS
We identified two different ways in which participants go about on making professional connections:
“Miss Americas”
One mental model does extensive research on someone to find things in common they can use in their conversation to quickly build trust and rapport. Their connections are usually shallow and are focused on hard skills and status.
“[My] ultimate goal is to find common ground to create a relationship and trust.” -AM
“I would start by doing my research on that person or company to get an advantage on what they are looking for”. -DH
“Nancy Drews”
The other mental model does extensive research on someone to determine if they want them to be part of their close network and personal life. Their connections are usually deep and are focused on the soft skills and value system of a person.
“[I would like to know] if they are racist, covert or overt.” - SL
“I’d like to know their past, their interests, and their goals. How can I use this conversation to help both of us.” -JL
We consistently saw that participants with one mental model had a hard time understanding the other mental model’s point of view. A key similarity is that they both recognized making professional connections was a crucial step in finding their next job, but each mental model was seeking connections for different reasons.
Product
Coming out of the research phase, we were able to identify key competitive advantages Pitch would offer that other tools out in the market don't currently offer. These became our driving principles when we started the initial screen design for the app.
Competitive Advantages
SHOWCASE YOUR TRUE SELF
Pitch allows users to showcase their professional and personal interest to give employers a better snapshot of who they really are.
STAND OUT IN A CROWD OF RESUMES
Pitch allows candidates to highlight skills like communication style, collaboration and leadership, to be more than words on a page when making connections.
IDENTIFY CULTURAL FIT
Pitch allows users to discover companies based on interests, values and beliefs.
TRANSPARENCY & INSIGHTS
Both, organizations and individuals, are rated based on their skills and experience by other users and colleagues to promote high working standards and honesty.
SENSE OF BELONGING
Pitch recommends professional connections based on non-traditional traits, like goals and hobbies, that foster more long-lasting relationships.
UNIQUE DESIGN & BRAND
Memorable design with intuitive features that bring the user’s information to the forefront.
How it works?
ON-BOARDING
Pitch’s unique on-boarding process elevates and tailors your experience in the app, allowing you to discover people with similarities and connects you to companies that match what you look for in a work environment.
SHARE
Share authentically. Biggest career achievement, most embarrassing moment, favorite weekend activity, top skills, the ideal boss – our users can be transparent about who they really are.
CONNECT
Connect with diverse users who fit in the same professional community. Real connections based on values, beliefs, and previous (or future) career experience.
DISCOVER
Discover the next step. No matter if it is finding a new hire, making a career jump or looking to learn a new skill set, Pitch can foster results.