Tree Test
Redesigning the post-application experience to support candidates when the hiring process goes silent
StepStone · Mobile product design · 2023
Human interface
Buisness
Apply Confirmation Screen Optimisation
Job board
Stepstone
Apply Tracking Concept
Redesign
Duration
Around 6 months
Team
PO
2 iOS Dev teams
Me - Product designer
The application took seconds. The uncertainty lasted for weeks
Press Send Application to move through the timeline.
Each click advances time and updates the applicant’s state
A dramatized simulation based on a real product problem
Each click advances time and updates the applicant’s state
Experience the post-apply black box
Press Send Application to move through the timeline.
Each click advances time and updates the applicant’s state
A dramatized simulation based on a real product problem
Each click advances time and updates the applicant’s state
03:00 PM
The simulation shows the full cost of the post-apply black box
But StepStone did not control what happened inside employers’ hiring systems. We could not force a response, verify every application status or promise candidates an update we might never receive.
But StepStone did not control what happened inside employers’ hiring systems. We could not force a response, verify every application status or promise candidates an update we might never receive.
That changed the design question
Instead of pretending we could eliminate uncertainty, we explored what the product could truthfully explain, remember and help candidates do next.
Instead of pretending we could eliminate uncertainty, we explored what the product could truthfully explain, remember and help candidates do next.
What the simulation reveals
Press Send Application to move through the timeline.
Each click advances time and updates the applicant’s state
A dramatized simulation based on a real product problem
Each click advances time and updates the applicant’s state
The black box created more than one problem
Press Send Application to move through the timeline.
Each click advances time and updates the applicant’s state
A dramatized simulation based on a real product problem
Each click advances time and updates the applicant’s state
Reframing the work as a support system
Press Send Application to move through the timeline.
Each click advances time and updates the applicant’s state
A dramatized simulation based on a real product problem
Each click advances time and updates the applicant’s state
Defining what the product could truthfully support
Press Send Application to move through the timeline.
Each click advances time and updates the applicant’s state
A dramatized simulation based on a real product problem
Each click advances time and updates the applicant’s state
Why the obvious solution was not trustworthy
Press Send Application to move through the timeline.
Each click advances time and updates the applicant’s state
A dramatized simulation based on a real product problem
Each click advances time and updates the applicant’s state
Designing a layered response to uncertainty
Press Send Application to move through the timeline.
Each click advances time and updates the applicant’s state
A dramatized simulation based on a real product problem
Each click advances time and updates the applicant’s state
What we could ship responsibly
Press Send Application to move through the timeline.
Each click advances time and updates the applicant’s state
A dramatized simulation based on a real product problem
Each click advances time and updates the applicant’s state
What changed — and what the metrics could not tell us
Press Send Application to move through the timeline.
Each click advances time and updates the applicant’s state
A dramatized simulation based on a real product problem
Each click advances time and updates the applicant’s state
What remained unresolved
Press Send Application to move through the timeline.
Each click advances time and updates the applicant’s state
A dramatized simulation based on a real product problem
Each click advances time and updates the applicant’s state
Designing for uncertainty without pretending to remove it
Press Send Application to move through the timeline.
Each click advances time and updates the applicant’s state
A dramatized simulation based on a real product problem
Each click advances time and updates the applicant’s state