Onward.
Development & UX/UI - Case Study
September 2024 - December 2024
Role:
Lead Marketer, UI Designer, Graphic Designer, Researcher, Motion Graphics, Videography
Brief:
With over 25% of newcomers experience severe anxiety before and during job interviews, something needs to change. Onward is an AI powered interview coaching web-app, specifically designed to help immigrant nurses integrate into the Canadian healthcare scene. By analyzing job postings and resumes, our app simulates real-world interview scenarios, providing personalized feedback, curated practice questions, and performance analytics. With each new interview, Onward empowers individuals to gain confidence, refine their skills, and achieve career success.
The Problem
Job interviews can be daunting, leaving many candidates feeling unprepared and unsure of how to present themselves effectively. Traditional resources often lack personalization and structured feedback, making it difficult for job seekers to build confidence and adapt to different interview styles. Research shows that nursing is the most common profession among immigrants to Canada. According to Statistics Canada, over 25% of newcomers experience severe anxiety before and during job interviews, while 44% of immigrant nurses with a bachelor’s degree or higher are working in positions they are overqualified for. Barriers such as unrecognized international credentials, communication challenges, and cultural differences make it difficult for skilled professionals to secure roles that match their expertise.
The Solution
Onward helps this large and growing group of professionals transition into roles that align with their skills. Recognizing the difficulties they face in navigating the Canadian healthcare system, Onward creates a supportive environment to practice and refine their interview skills. The goal is to ensure they not only meet but exceed employer expectations. By bridging the gap between experience and opportunity, Onward helps them secure the jobs they are trained for and deserve, ultimately strengthening Canada’s healthcare system with skilled and qualified professionals.
Competitive Analysis
After analyzing several existing interview platforms, consistent issues across all competitors were identified. These included poor response analysis, limited session times, and most notably, a lack of industry-specific questions. In fields like nursing, interview questions are often tailored to an applicant's experience, clinical knowledge, and understanding of the specific duties they will perform. However, many of the platforms reviewed did not account for this critical need, offering generic questions that didn't reflect the nuances of the healthcare industry. As a result, nurses were left with few relevant options to effectively practice and prepare for the unique challenges they would face in their interviews. This gap highlighted the need for a more specialized solution that could offer personalized, job-specific interview preparation for healthcare professionals.
User Research
User research on immigrant nurses was conducted to gain deeper insights into their interview experiences, challenges, and what they would value in an AI-powered preparation tool. A survey was distributed to target users, which included immigrant nurses currently working in Canada, as well as other nurses that are familar with the interview process. Most applicants dedicated less than an hour to interview preparation, suggesting a need for more structured and accessible resources. Additionally, none of the respondents had used AI for interview practice. Instead, they relied heavily on traditional methods like textbooks and written materials, which may not effectively simulate real-world interview dynamics. Many nurses expressed a desire for more engaging, scenario-based practice to build confidence and improve responses.
User Personas
To ensure Onward effectively supports its users, we developed two key personas based on survey data from aspiring and experienced nurses. Our survey explored their backgrounds, challenges, and goals, with a focus on the job application process for immigrant nurses. By identifying common struggles—such as interview anxiety, adapting to Canadian healthcare expectations, and the need for mentorship—we uncovered key patterns that shaped our personas. We then compiled and refined this information into detailed user profiles, allowing us to design Onward to better meet their needs. From this process, we created Marco Dizon, a newly immigrated nurse who, despite a strong clinical background, struggles with interview confidence, and Heather Lamont, an experienced nurse passionate about mentoring immigrant nurses. These personas help guide Onward’s design to support both job seekers and mentors effectively.
Architecture
The design of Onward prioritizes accessibility, inclusivity, and ease of use, ensuring that all users, regardless of their background or technical experience, can navigate the app seamlessly. Onward’s design evolved through an iterative process that balanced user needs, technical feasibility, and time constraints. Starting with a broad list of potential features that was based off of current competitors as well as industry research, it was later refined using insights from our survey, where nurses highlighted what they valued most in an interview prep app. Prioritizing clarity, ease of use, and accessibility, we collaborated with developers to assess feature complexity and gauge the scope the project realistically. Early wireframes reflected these priorities but revealed areas of confusion during testing. Based on feedback, we simplified navigation, improved color contrast, and refined button placement. To support a diverse audience, we also introduced multilingual options. These iterations ensured Onward remained intuitive and accessible for all users, regardless of technical experience.
Upload your resume and job posting to get tailored questions
Filter your types of questions to practice what you want
Final design of the Onward homepage
Key Features
1
Practice Mode
Allows nurses to customize interviews based on length and types of questions, giving full control over interview and allowing them to practice specific questions they may feel the struggle with. Additionaly, nurses have more assistance in this mode.
2
Detailed Analysis
Personalized Feedback Onward analyzes every aspect of your interview, such as relevance, clarity, language use, and more! Onward also gives you suggestions on how to improve your skills, and tracks your progress historically so you can check if you are improving over time.
3
Mock Interview
A realistic interview simulation, with no ability to change the guidelines of the interview, giving nurses a real test of their skills. This feature is designed to help nurses get used to the pressure of a real interview, and to help them practice their skills in a realistic environment.
Branding
Lo-fi Wireframes
Lo-fi wireframe for Onward's homepage
Lo-fi wireframe for Onward's file upload
Lo-fi wireframe for Onward's practice interview
Marketing
To effectively reach Onwards target audience, a multi-channel marketing strategy was used for Onward, focusing on visibility, engagement, and education. Developing mockup advertisements was done to showcase how Onward helps immigrant nurses prepare for interviews, and to raise awareness. These ads were designed for digital and print formats, such as a printed brochure, ensuring a professional and approachable look that resonates with nurses. A promotional commercial was also created, viewable on my portfolio. Onwards social media presence was managed across platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram, where informational posts, introductions to the team, and interactive content to engage and build a community was shared. Additionally, Onward maintained a daily-updated blog featuring daily updates on the development progress of the app, interview tips, and other posts to further Onward's reach and to provide updates to the community.
1
Working closely with a team of developers gave me valuable experience in bridging the gap between design and development. It reinforced the importance of clear communication, alignment between teams, and strong collaboration to bring a shared vision to life.
2
Gathering feedback from real nurses was instrumental, helping identify pain points and usability challenges, as well as giving ideas for app features, allowing us to adapt the design for a more intuitive and effective experience. This process reinforced the value of continuous testing and iteration to ensure the app truly meets user needs.
3
Striking a balance between a clean, user-friendly interface and the need to accommodate multiple, intricate inputs required careful problem-solving. It highlighted the importance of intuitive UX design, prioritization, and iterative testing to ensure usability without sacrificing functionality.
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