Reimagining skill-building to support confidence and clarity during job search
This project introduces a new LinkedIn feature designed to help users reflect on their experiences and translate them into concise, marketable skills, bridging the gap between what they’ve done and how they’re seen in the job market.
View prototype
Role
UX/UI Designer
Timeframe
4 weeks
Methods
User Research / Concept Development / Competitive Analysis / Wireframing/ Prototyping / Testing
Identifying an Opportunity for a More Supportive Job Search Experience
The Challenge
Many job seekers feel unsure about how their skills align with roles, due to vague job titles and limited guidance, which undermines their confidence in applying and weakens trust in LinkedIn as a reliable career platform.
My Hypothesis
I hypothesized that users need support in exploring diverse career pathways and that LinkedIn could step up in empowering users with career navigation support to create more economic opportunities for the users, aligned with LinkedIn’s vision.
Research Revealed Different User Needs in Showcasing Skills
Competitive Analysis
I conducted a competitive market analysis of not just pure job platforms like Glassdoor and Indeed, but also The Muse and Coursera, platforms that provide information about career planning and transition. The analysis focused on understanding the strengths and weaknesses of these platforms and identifying opportunities to create a superior user experience within LinkedIn.
User Interviews and Affinity Mapping
I conducted five interviews with current LinkedIn users, including early-career and mid-career professionals, to understand what they find helpful, what prevents them from applying for jobs or making connections, and how they perceive LinkedIn's role in career planning.
Key Insights from Affinity Mapping
Pain points
A lack of clarity and transparency before, during, and after the job application process
Uncertainty about what skills are important lowers confidence in applying for jobs and networking
Networking interactions feel superficial rather than meaningful
Career pathway information feels general and irrelevant
Needs
Clarity in job titles and descriptions
Transparency in compensation upfront
Actionable next steps for career progression
Not to feel commoditized when already struggling with finding a job
Motivations and goals
To effectively showcase skills and experiences
To make authentic and meaningful connections with others and grow their professional network
To find a job that matches their skill sets and desired pay
To receive personalized advice that supports career growth and builds confidence
Main Insights
Through user interviews and competitive analysis, I discovered a mismatch between my initial hypothesis and user pain points: users explicitly stated that the general career pathway guidance feels irrelevant.
Rather, many expressed difficulty effectively showcasing their skills to find jobs that match their skill sets.
Different Careers, One Question:
“How Do I Show My Skills?”
Personas
My personas, an early job seeker and a mid-career professional, despite being in different stages of their careers, share a core need for support in understanding and articulating their skills confidently and marketably to recruiters.
Defining the ‘Skill Reflection & Validation’ Feature to Build Confidence
Feature Prioritization
I explored several concepts, including a “Company Hiring Timeline Indicator,” but shifted focus due to its estimated low impact on user engagement and confidence. While the idea increased transparency in the job search process, it offered only passive information and did not have a meaningful impact on making users feel more prepared or marketable.
After extensive brainstorming, I defined the “Skill Reflection and Validation” feature, which uses guided prompts and AI-assisted summaries to help users turn real experiences into marketable skills. I chose this direction because it achieves a balance of feasibility, business value, and user impact by addressing user needs to understand, communicate, and validate their skills. Instead of a passive information feature, this solution offers users a structured way to translate experiences into resume- and interview-ready language, boosting confidence and credibility.
The user flow consists of:
Start from the profile screen and click to add a new skill in the Skill section
On the “Add Skill” page, select “Turn experience into skills”
Complete the reflection prompts
Review AI-generated summary: review/edit the skill, add media, or invite a collaborator for validation
Publish the skills
Testing and Iterating to Improve Clarity and Usability
5 high-fidelity tests showed strong user validation. Job seekers express appreciation for valued support in uncovering and phrasing skills when they feel like they cannot communicate confidently.
Users' feedback informed key iterations, such as enhancing feature visibility, clarifying guidance on skill selection, and using more transparent language about AI to increase trust and credibility of the feature.
Key Areas for Improvement
Improve discoverability of AI-assisted features
💡 Insight
3 of 5 users tapped “Add Skill” instead of the new feature, suggesting insufficient visual hierarchy and unclear AI signaling
✏️ Action
I increased discoverability by adding a divider, icon, and “New AI-assisted feature” label using existing LinkedIn UI patterns
Before
After
Improve skill clarity and user control
💡 Insight
The interface felt packed, causing confusion about why certain skills were added
✏️ Action
Added contextual microcopy to explain why skills were suggested
Used LinkedIn’s green pill pattern to let users select and remove skills
Strengthen credibility through validation
💡 Insight
Users need credible signals that validate their experience
✏️ Action
• Enabled media uploads
• Added collaborator endorsements for AI-identified skills
Before
After
Final Wireframes and Prototype
View prototype
Validation Matters as Much as Reflection
I learned that users’ needs extended beyond self-reflection in ways I hadn’t anticipated at the start of the project. While I initially assumed that helping users identify and reflect on their skills would be sufficient, user interviews revealed that being seen and validated by others was just as critical, especially in a professional context where credibility matters.
This shifted how I think about designing reflective tools: insight is only valuable if users can translate it into externally recognized signals. In future projects, I would explore the validation process earlier in the research phase and test how different forms of social proof impact trust and confidence.