*This project is a personal case study created individually*
Background
Mock It! was a concept that was born when I was starting to look for opportunities in the job market mid 2021. In efforts to prepare for technical and behavioral interview questions, I spent countless hours going through job forums searching for ” X Company Interview Questions”.
If I managed to find those questions, I still found myself having a lack of confidence in my delivery . That was when I was told by my mentor to start recording my responses on camera. This was a great way to practice and add repetition, however I felt that I didn’t have a way to judge or critique the tone & pace of the delivery or even how good the content of my responses were.
The Goal
“Create a platform where users can gain confidence during the initial preparation phase for an interview.”
The goal of this end-to-end mobile application is to:
- Be a repository of interview questions with the ability to filter by Role & Company.
- Be a platform where users can practice their responses out loud.
- Give instant feedback to users.
For this project, I designed an end-to-end mobile application that helps users gain access to top industry interview questions, practice their responses, and get feedback on their responses.
Interview Question Repository
Once the user logs into the Mock It! App, they will land on a screen where they will be able to view some of the top industry interview questions. The user will then have the ability to filter by Job Title/Role and Company.
Mock It! Practice Your Responses
The user can select their desired practice questions that they have already saved or opt-in for random questions. The user can select the duration of time to prepare for a question and the duration of time to answer. They can record their responses video or audio and review after.
Get Professional Feedback
After a user completes a Mock It! interview, they will have the option to send in their responses for professional feedback. If they opt-in for mentoring then they will receive an overall score and feedback based on the user responses.
Onboarding, Learning Mock it!
I created a short onboarding animation to highlight the key features offered by the app for a new user.
Empathize
Understanding the Problem
I wanted to see what other insight could I get by conducting a competitive analysis on some of the most common online resources used to help people on their career journey.
User Interviews
I conducted interviews to learn more about how people really prepare for the interview process.
My assumption was that most people who have less experience still get nervous when preparing for an interview, and lack confidence during the preparation.
So I chose a participant group of potential users, with limited interviewing experience, varied across different professional backgrounds.
Participant Information
Number of Participants: 10
Age Range: 19 – 28 yrs.
Line of Work: Engineering, Business IT, Technology, Healthcare, Product Development, Student
The goal of the interview was to understand how potential users would behave if they had a job interview coming up. I developed questions that would help me gain more insight into their personality types, as well as understand their level of confidence before an interview and their ideal preparation process overall.
Interview Questions
- If you had a job interview in 30 mins for your dream job, how confident would you be?
- How long do you think you need to prep for an interview?
- If you were to start your search on Google, what phrase would you type to start interview preparation?
- What resources would you leverage to prepare for an interview?
- How would you go about preparing for an interview?
Key Insights
- Even though the participants were 50/50 on identifying themselves as “Extrovert” or “Introvert”, 80% said they get anxious about job interviews.
- People have very different ways of preparing for interviews, however most of them start by searching for interview questions on Google.
- The classified “Extroverts” were less likely to send their responses to receive professional help.
- The classified “Introverts” were more likely to use the video feature to review their responses and send them to a professional.
User Comments
What are some important things about preparing for an interview?
- “How to present confident, prepare answers, how to express your personality.”
- “Know yourself, you can’t know what the interviewer will ask you every time. You just have to present yourself like you can.”
- “Know information about the company, their background and recent news to bring up, and common interview questions. Showing that you did your research on the company (and interviewer if you can), can really make you stand out.”
- “Learning about the company you are interviewing for.”
Define
Identifying the Users
Here’s an example of the Persona Card and Empathy Map that I created. This exercise allows me to visually capture and document the persona story for myself and communicate this same narrative to others.
Persona
In order to stay problem-oriented, I created a persona named Ben Cooper, a young tech professional who has limited interviewing experience.
He is looking for resources to help him anticipate interview questions, and a platform to practice his responses in a mock interview format. Overall, he does not feel confident that he will have all of the resources to help him feel prepared in time for his upcoming interview at Google.
Emapthy Map
This map allowed me to understand both the persona’s needs, as well as wants, by laying out what he feels, thinks, says, and does based on my initial research. It allowed me to create the problem statements below.
Problem Statements
- How might we help users feel confident and prepared before an interview?
- How might we present information in a way that is catered to an individual’s desired role and interest?
- How might we create an approachable experience for users to rehearse their responses for interviews?
Value Proposition
The value proposition was derived from the problem statements above. I knew that I wanted to convey innovation, service, and convenience throughout the product design. That is how I came up with,
“A unique and convenient, service-oriented product that turns interview preparation into a fun and easy process.”
Ideate
Assumptions
Before I jumped into brainstorming possible solutions, I needed to identify some assumptions that I had regarding my target audience. Based on my research, in order to address the convenience factor, I chose a mobile app as the product medium. I am assuming that the users will be slightly more tech-savvy meaning that they would understand how to download the app and navigate through it. In other words, my design would try to mimic the constraints of how most UI components are typically designed in the industry.
User Flow
My first step was to create the user flow and then sketch out my visions for some features and functionalities. Sketching for me is definitely an efficient way of being able to test the initial design on paper and it allows me to visualize the concept.
Early Sketches
Design
Logo Design
The next step was to create the branding and a high-level design system. This is really where I like to spend time creating concepts that represent what the product stands for. I’ve been doing branding for friends and local businesses as a freelancer, for a few years and this is one of the areas that I am extremely passionate about. I am able to create logos and other digital assets that allow clients to communicate with their consumers.
So for this project, I really leaned into the voice of the product which was to convey a lighthearted approach to the interviewing process.
I chose this color palette because these colors are complementary, and represent fun and simplicity.
I also chose a straightforward font that is easy to read.
Mock It! Style Guide
Using the logo as inspiration, I continued to add branding to create a style guide.
Mock it! High-Fidelity Wireframe
Using the user flow, style guide and multiple rounds of iterations, I developed the product designs below.
The screens above are a closer look into some of the final screen designs.
The first page is an onboarding form where users will put in their information to create an account.
The second screen is the landing page of the question repository where the user can view the top questions of the day and search by job role or company
The last two screens are from the Mock it! Interview feature where users get time to view the questions and record their responses.
Testing
Prototype Testing
Before I jumped into brainstorming possible solutions, I needed to identify some assumptions that I had regarding my target audience. Based on my research, in order to address the convenience factor, I chose a mobile app as the product medium. I am assuming that the users will be slightly more tech-savvy meaning that they would understand how to download the app and navigate through it. In other words, my design would try to mimic the constraints of how most UI components are typically designed in the industry.
User Flow
My first step was to create the user flow and then sketch out my visions for some features and functionalities. Sketching for me is definitely an efficient way of being able to test the initial design on paper and it allows me to visualize the concept.
Product onboarding
Usability Testing
With the prototypes above, I conducted task-based usability tests. For the prototype, I simply instructed the users to do the following tasks.
- Navigate to where they thought the questions repository was and save a question.
- Start a Mock it! Interview.
- Submit interview responses for professional feedback.
User Feedback
From the user test conducted with the prototype, I was able to capture the impact potential of this product. The prototype received a lot of praise from the test participants.
Pros:
“This product gives an outside perspective which may help uncover a blind spot I have in my interviewing style.”
“An effective tool to prepare for interviews.”
Cons:
“User profile feels under developed.”
“Does there have to be a time limit in the “Mock it” portion of the app?”
Future Iterations:
Adding tabs to the user profile so that the user can view their questions, preset company filters, and review past results.
Adding a settings menu to account for various additional features and address accessibility.
Wrap up
Key takeaways
Insights
Overall, through testing and research, I was able to identify that a product like Mock it! can make a very strong impact to those who may feel unprepared. This app is geared towards educating the user and providing them a boost in confidence. During the interview phase, I realized that the already confident “Extroverts” didn’t see a need to record themselves or send responses for feedback. My assumption is that these users are using their extrovert personalities to their advantage. This app will simply help those who need a little pick me up to gain confidence for their next interview.
Reason Why I Chose Mock it!
This project is one that I personally felt motivated to see through to completion, because this scenario of preparing for job interviews is extremely relevant to me. I, myself, get really anxious about the interview process, and my first steps were always to go to Google and search “Interview Questions by X company for Y role”. Additionally, I felt like I really struggled with starting a story and being able to make an impact with my responses. I was given advice from a counselor to practice by recording my responses on my phone and reviewing my answers. I quickly realized that there wasn’t a fun “one-stop-shop” to help users prepare for the interview process. This is how the idea for Mock it! was born.
Next Steps
Add Verified Community
I would like to create a system where the volume of questions and content is submitted through a verified community. This will ensure that the app maintains a clear and simple experience, and also prevent false questions and repeats.
Increase Accessibility
I would also like pay close attention to developing accessible features along every step of the product to maximize usability. There are many personas out there that also have very unique journeys, and I would like to cater to as many as I can.
Expand to Other Domains
I envision this product to be a useful tool not just for technical professionals, but also for those preparing for professional or graduate level education, such as rising medical students.
If you have any questions regarding this project please feel free to reach out to me using the mediums below.