GradUP | SLADURADA

GradUP: One Step Ahead in Launching Careers

GradUP helps entry-level job seekers and interns connect effortlessly with opportunities. It simplifies the job search for students and recent graduates by matching them with employers through intuitive design, personalized recommendations, and efficient workflows.

6 minutes

Project Overview

GradUP streamlines the job search and hiring process by connecting young professionals with businesses seeking entry-level talent. Focusing exclusively on internships and entry-level roles, the platform ensures candidates are matched with positions aligned with their qualifications and aspirations. Featuring an intuitive interface and seamless application tracking tools, job seekers enjoy a tailored experience, while employers benefit from a curated talent pool, simplified job postings, and efficient communication. By reducing recruitment complexity, GradUP empowers job seekers and helps businesses save time and resources, addressing critical challenges for both audiences.

My Role

As the Lead UX/UI Designer, I:

Created user personas to identify the needs and frustrations of entry-level job seekers and hiring managers.
Designed user flows to ensure seamless navigation and task completion.
Designed intuitive user interfaces and high-fidelity prototypes to enhance job discovery, application tracking, and employer interactions.
Crafted branding asset that reflects GradUP’s mission.
Collaborated with stakeholders to align design solutions with business goals and technical feasibility.

Project Objectives and Challenges

The fragmented and overwhelming job search process often fails to meet the needs of entry-level candidates and employers. GradUP was created to bridge this gap with a focused, user-friendly platform. It simplifies job discovery, reduces employer hiring time, and ensures quality candidate matches. By easing user anxiety and offering tools to track applications and stay organized, GradUP delivers a seamless experience while driving efficiency for both sides of the market.

Stage 1.
Conducting Research

To create a solution that effectively supports entry-level job seekers and employers, I started with a research phase focused on understanding user goals, challenges, and behaviors. By developing user personas and mapping user flows, I gained valuable insights into the job search journey, pinpointing key pain points and opportunities to improve the process. This research laid the foundation for a streamlined and intuitive platform tailored to user needs.

User Persona

Nadezhda, a motivated marketing student, is actively seeking an internship to gain practical experience and build her professional skills. Her goal is to find opportunities quickly and efficiently while focusing on roles that offer mentorship and real growth potential.

User Flows

To ensure a seamless and intuitive experience, I mapped out the user flow for GradUP, covering key processes such as registration, profile completion, and job application. This flow highlights the decisions users make, their navigation paths, and actions they take, ensuring clarity at every step. By visualizing these interactions, I was able to identify opportunities for streamlining the user journey and improving overall usability.

Stage 2.
Sketching Potential Solutions

Building on research insights, I created low-fidelity sketches to explore user flows, layouts, and essential features. These sketches focused on simplifying job discovery, streamlining application tracking, and enhancing navigation for job seekers and employers. By refining these ideas, I developed a clear, usable design that connects candidates to opportunities while enabling employers to find top talent efficiently.

Stage 3.
Designing the Solution

With the research insights and user flow finalized, I moved into the design phase to bring the vision of GradUP to life. I began by creating a logo design that reflects the platform’s mission: empowering job seekers to take the next step in their careers. Next, I focused on crafting a clean and intuitive UI/UX design, ensuring an engaging and seamless experience across all screens. By prioritizing visual clarity, accessibility, and user-centered interactions, I aimed to design a solution that simplifies job discovery while building trust and confidence among users.

Logo Design

The GradUP logo was designed to reflect the platform’s mission: “One Step Ahead in Your Career”. The line element symbolizes progress and movement, representing how GradUP helps job seekers and employers move forward in their careers. To differentiate between the two platforms — GradUP for job seekers and GradUP Employers for businesses — I kept a cohesive visual identity while tailoring the design for each audience. The IBM Plex Sans font was chosen for its clean, geometric structure, which communicates clarity and professionalism. The result is a modern, dynamic logo that captures the essence of empowerment and forward motion.

Onboarding and Registration

The onboarding process introduces users to GradUP with a clean and engaging experience. Starting with the Splash Screen, users are guided to the Login Screen or can choose “Don’t have an account?” to begin registration. Before signing up, users are asked “Who are you?”, allowing them to select between Job Seeker or Employer, ensuring a tailored experience for each audience from the start.

Profile Completion Process

After registration, users are prompted to complete their profiles to strengthen their resumes and improve job opportunities. The process includes filling out personal information, adding work experience, education, certifications, and skills, ensuring a polished and professional profile that stands out to employers.

Continuing the Profile Completion Process

In the final steps of the profile setup, users are prompted to add a profile photo to create a strong first impression with employers. Once the process is complete, a confirmation screen reassures users that their profile is ready, encouraging them to explore job listings immediately. The Home Screen welcomes users with the latest job advertisements, featuring intuitive search fields and filtering options to help them find the perfect opportunity effortlessly.

Exploring Job Opportunities

The Home Page enables users to search and filter job listings quickly, ensuring relevant opportunities are always accessible. The Notifications Page keeps users informed about saved job deadlines, new openings, and updates, helping them stay organized and proactive. When viewing a Job Advertisement, users can read detailed descriptions, responsibilities, and application deadlines, with the option to Save or Apply seamlessly, streamlining the job application process.

Job Application Process

The job application process is streamlined into four intuitive steps, guiding candidates to confirm personal information, update experience and education, and upload additional documents like cover letters or certificates. This structured flow ensures a smooth and efficient experience, helping users submit polished and professional applications.

Final Review Before Submitting

In the final step, users can review their entire application to ensure all information is accurate and complete. This includes personal details, work experience, education, skills, and additional documents. A toggle button allows users to save the updated information to their main profile automatically. This final check ensures users submit polished applications while giving them the flexibility to make changes or save updates for future use.

Managing Jobs and User Settings

The My Jobs screen allows users to organize their job applications efficiently, providing easy access to saved and applied job listings. The Career Center offers expert consultations and personalized support, helping users with career advice and interview preparation. In the Settings screen, users can manage their profiles, change passwords or emails, review terms and privacy policies, and delete or log out of their accounts, ensuring full control over their experience.

Conclusion

GradUP successfully bridges the gap between job seekers and employers by delivering a seamless, user-friendly platform tailored to entry-level opportunities. The design process began with research-driven insights, leading to the creation of clear user flows, intuitive UI/UX designs, and a modern logo that reflects the platform's mission of being “one step ahead”. The logo’s clean lines and geometric design symbolize movement and progress, aligning perfectly with GradUP’s purpose.

From registration and profile completion to job applications and career consultations, every feature was crafted to simplify the user journey and enhance engagement. GradUP empowers aspiring professionals to take confident steps toward their careers while enabling employers to connect with qualified candidates efficiently. This thoughtful design positions GradUP as a powerful and professional tool in the job market landscape.

Design Process

The design process for GradUP adhered to the double diamond framework, progressing through the phases of discovery, definition, development, and delivery.

Discover: Research was conducted to create user personas, enabling a deeper understanding of the needs, pain points, and goals of entry-level job seekers and hiring managers. Insights gathered during this phase shaped the platform's direction.
Define: User flows were developed based on the insights from the discovery phase. These flows mapped out how users would navigate the platform, ensuring an intuitive and seamless experience by addressing key touchpoints in the job search journey.
Develop: Sketches and wireframes were created to conceptualize the platform's core functionality and layout. These wireframes visualized the structure of the platform and aligned with user needs and business goals before transitioning to high-fidelity prototypes.
Deliver: The wireframes were refined into high-fidelity prototypes, and collaboration with developers ensured the designs were implemented effectively. This phase prioritized the platform's visual appeal, usability, and technical feasibility.

Based in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
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