Research, Ideation, Design, Prototyping, Testing
October 14th – 28th, 2024
Solo Project
Figma
LinkedIn already tried a mentorship feature, but it failed.
Being a career-focused professional, I’ve realized the immense value of mentorship. It’s a catalyst for professional growth, offering valuable guidance and networking opportunities. LinkedIn, the ultimate platform for career development and networking, should be the go-to place for finding mentors. However, this isn’t the case. User feedback, analytics, and competitor insights validate this problem. It’s clear: LinkedIn can further enhance users’ careers and learning by bridging this mentorship gap
“One of the reasons mentorships fail is because the mentee isn’t always able to articulate what they need or asks too much of a mentor.”
Hari Srinivasan, LinkedIn’s VP of Product at LinkedIn
This discovery influenced the rest of the research by emphasizing the need to address communication challenges within mentorship connections. It could lead to a more comprehensive approach to guide mentees in expressing their needs and affect the development of resources to facilitate this communication.
I conducted a competitor analysis to evaluate how LinkedIn’s existing mentorship capabilities compared to those of competitors. This helped identify best practices and innovative ideas to ensure the Mentorship Matching Feature’s success.
Integrating mentorship features into LinkedIn capitalizes on its robust professional network, extensive skills endorsements, and wide industry presence.
I conducted two surveys to explore LinkedIn’s mentorship landscape, focusing on both those seeking mentorship (mentees) and those offering mentorship (mentors). These surveys aimed to unveil their distinct perspectives and highlight any divergences in their expectations and experiences.
Mentees Insights:
67% of mentee users expressed challenges in finding senior mentors, saying that it was unclear on LinkedIn who may be interested in being a mentor.
58% of mentee participants were unsure if senior mentors could mentor them effectively.
61% expressed uncertainty about their specific goals and expectations from mentorship.
Senior Users Insights:
62% of senior mentors faced challenges in managing the diverse expectations of their mentees.
49% are not entirely confident in their abilities to provide effective mentorship.
59% of seniors expressed concerns about their mentees’ lack of clarity in their goals and expectations.
After ideating and brainstorming various features, I employed the MoSCoW method to prioritize them based on their criticality. This approach ensured that essential functionalities were addressed first, followed by those of lesser importance.
With the mentee’s goals and frustrations in mind, I then started sketching out various design concepts for the mentorship feature. These sketches aimed to address the challenges identified during the research phase while aligning with LinkedIn’s existing design language.
I then started making a digital prototype and initially, my sketches placed the mentorship feature within LinkedIn’s “My Network” section, which seemed logical and in alignment with LinkedIn’s previous approach in 2017. However, I recognized the importance of exploring alternative placements to ensure the best user experience.
After gathering feedback and testing with a select group of individuals, I explored various placements, including the main navigation bar and the “For Business” section. However, user input revealed concerns about clutter in the main navbar and difficulty locating it within “For Business.” Consequently, I decided to position it within the “My Network” section, as it proved to be the most fitting and user-friendly option.
Staying true to LinkedIn’s design system, I developed high-fidelity designs that seamlessly integrated with the platform’s existing interface.
Onboarding
The onboarding process for the feature seamlessly guides users through setting up their profiles and outlining their mentorship goals, ensuring a smooth and personalized experience from the start.
Mentor Recommendation
The mentor recommendation feature intelligently matches mentees with suitable mentors based on their profile information and mentorship goals, facilitating meaningful connections and fostering productive mentorship relationships.
Mentor Profiles
Users can seamlessly view mentor profiles, gaining insights into their expertise and backgrounds, before easily booking mentoring sessions aligned with their goals and preferences.
Manage Bookings
Users can efficiently manage their mentorship bookings through a dedicated screen, where they can view upcoming, pending, and past sessions, ensuring a smooth and organized mentorship experience.
Mentee Profile
Users can access and manage their own mentorship profile, where they can update their information, review their mentorship goals, and track their mentorship activity, providing a centralized hub for their mentorship journey.
Sharing my Mentorship Matching Feature with peers and lecturers at university was encouraging, receiving positive feedback about its relevance and usability. Yet, the lack of thorough user testing is a notable gap. If I had more time, I’d prioritize proper testing to gather insights for refining the design further. Although I did a quick test while deciding on the feature’s position, deeper user insights would’ve been invaluable. Through this process, I’d have gained a better understanding of user behaviors and preferences, helping me enhance the design for a more user-friendly experience.
This project taught me a lot about getting into the minds of users and really understanding what they need. It also highlighted the significance of adhering to design systems. By aligning the new feature with LinkedIn’s existing design language, I ensured a seamless and cohesive user experience, which is crucial for user engagement and adoption.
