How will you improve LinkedIn for job seekers?

To start with this question, first off, I will explain the value propositions of LinkedIn for a job seeker.

As a job seeker, one can apply to various jobs posted on the platform, create job alerts, highlight one's profile as 'open to work', and opt for LinkedIn Premium to seamlessly connect with hiring managers.

Now I would ask the interviewer to provide some clarity on what kind of improvement should be focused upon? Improvement in engagement or revenue from the point of view of the job seekers. Let's assume engagement is what needs to be focused upon.

I can think of two types of job seeker user groups:

1. Active job seekers - Job seekers who apply for 8-10 relevant jobs every 2 days, might have marked their profile as 'Open to work', add 10 new connections to their network every week, and share their interview experiences on posts. 

2. Passive job seekers - These groups of job seekers do not want to tell the world that they are looking for a job and hence they are not very public with their actions. They do not highlight their profile, do not post about their interview experiences, apply for 5-6 relevant jobs every 2 days. 

Since active job seekers are our power users, we will go ahead and try to figure out their pain points.

Pain points of active job seekers:

1. Tracking the job application is very difficult as there is no update most of the time. It is more like apply and forget.

2. Do not know what to add to the profile to make it look good in front of the recruiter.

3. Despite highlighting the profile, recruiters are not reaching out. Not able to get relevant job opportunities.

Prioritizing the first two pain points will solve the basic struggle of the job seekers from LinkedIn Jobs and will also target the passive job seekers. 

Improvement ideas:

1. For application tracking - For all the jobs applied through 'Easy Applied', there should be an expiry date which should mean that since no action has been taken in the given time frame, the candidate's application has expired for that particular job. Apart from this, whatever action is taken by the recruiter should be notified to the candidate.

2. For user profile - 

     a. Depending on the user's domain, LinkedIn can suggest the keywords to include in the profile. This can be effectively done through understanding recruiters' search patterns on LinkedIn Recruiter platform. Based on those learnings, candidates can be suggested skills and keywords.

     b. Candidates actively seeking a job should be given preference in search results in LinkedIn Recruiter platform

     c. When the candidate starts applying for jobs, s/he should have a skill test. Based on the test, candidates should be divided into levels and recruiters can approach them accordingly. From time to time, through various courses suggestions, candidates will be given a chance to level up their game.

Now there are 3 factors basis which I will evaluate these solutions:

1. Impact on user

2. Implementation cost

3. Development time

Scale - Low, Medium, High

Solution 1:

1. Impact on user - High

2. Implementation cost - Medium

3. Development time - Medium

Solution 2:

1. Impact on user - Medium

2. Implementation cost - Low

3. Development time - Medium

Solution 3:

1. Impact on user - Medium

2. Implementation cost - Medium

3. Development time - Low

Solution 4:

1. Impact on user - High

2. Implementation cost - High

3. Development time - High

Based on the evaluation of all the solutions, I would suggest going ahead with Solution 1 and Solution 4. These two solutions will not only improve in the overall engagement of the platform but will also encourage retention and jobseeker's churn.

Success metrics:

1. Solution 1:

a. Month on month increase in jobs applied

b. Conversion rate (Jobs applied to job backed)

2. Solution 2:

a. No. of skill tests taken every month

b. MAU for skill tests

c. % increase in jobs conversion post clearing skill test levels