Journey Map
for Job Seekers
U X R E S E A R C H /
P R O D U C T S T R A T E G Y
Customer Journey Map (CJM) to analyze the experience of job seekers in Colombia, conducted for elempleo.com (El Tiempo Casa Editorial). The goal was to uncover pain points, identify opportunities, and guide product strategy.
OBJECTIVES:
Identify user archetypes and map their interactions across all touchpoints with elempleo.com, to uncover friction and generate improvement opportunities across the full journey (not only digital).
¿Why Customer Journey Map?
Based on these objectives, we identified the need to build a Customer Journey Map, because creating maps of how users interact with a product at different stages of their journey helps reveal opportunities to improve their experience. From these insights, adjustments, new tools, functionalities, or services can be proposed.
PROCESS AND MY ROLE:
I led the process end-to-end: defining phases (from defining the framework to deliverables), guiding team members who had never built a CJM before, and ensuring the quality of deliverables.
Key responsibilities:
-
Defined research phases and structured the framework for deliverables.
-
Recruited participants and coordinated incentives.
-
Conducted user interviews, both on-site at workplaces and in-office.
-
Facilitated synthesis sessions and coached teammates unfamiliar with CJM.
-
Consolidated findings into a final journey map that became the foundation for cross-team proposals.
Work team:
Katherine Moreno
(Designer UX & Research)
Veronica Tobón
(Head of Innovation Management)
Paola Marroquin
(Innovation Management Analyst)
Catherine Ramos
(Product Analyst El Empleo)
This project was developed over a period of 2 months at Casa Editorial EL TIEMPO in collaboration with innovation and business areas, ensuring user insights guided every stage of execution.
WHAT WAS DONE?
Phase I – Information review
Understanding and definition the different profiles of users looking for work in Colombia:
-
Initial information review
-
Understanding
Phase II – Research
Identify the behavioral patterns of the different user segments when looking for a job, and their interactions with elempleo.com:
-
Definition of initial segments
-
Recruitment
-
Structuring the interview (according to the profile)
-
Development of each interview
-
Analysis of the interviews
Phase III – CJM Development
With the information obtained and classified:
-
Definition of each of the archetypes
-
Construction of the experience map
WHAT WE DID GET?
-
Top of mind of the “job search platforms”
-
6 User Archetypes
-
Experience Map
-
Benchmarking, collection of information on good practices in the sector, high-impact recommendations for the client, innovative ideas and comparisons between competitors in search of offering the best experience
-
Buyer persona documents focused on defining the affinities, priorities, frustrations, characteristics and motivations between a user and a specific brand or product
Journey Map arquetipo "Operativo Aspiracional"
Complete maps in:
https://projects.invisionapp.com/share/EBGFGTH4QKX#/screens/286169051_Elempleo-JourneyMap-A-Pie
It was a very rewarding and long project (so I won't present all the information here)
KEY LEARNINGS:
-
Interdisciplinary collaboration expanded the impact: From UX we focused on developing the Customer Journey Map and proposing improvements to the platform, but working alongside the Innovation area multiplied the value of the insights. Many of the resulting ideas and projects would not have been possible from UX alone.
-
User segmentation was more complex than expected: Initially, we projected three archetypes, but while cross-referencing data we realized each one divided into two — ending up with six distinct profiles. Even if they seemed similar at first glance, they had different drivers and pain points. This changed how the product team understood their user base.
-
Friction points varied drastically across profiles: Something as simple as a password was not “equally easy” for all. Users with lower levels of education resisted passwords and often abandoned flows, which competitors were capitalizing on. Thanks to this research, a “fast” registration flow was proposed, avoiding unnecessary friction for these profiles.
-
Time management shaped how we conducted research: Senior or managerial profiles required us to go to their workplaces (“they were doing us a favor”), while operational profiles preferred coming to our offices due to the economic incentive. These logistical differences also revealed distinct behaviors in their job search processes.
FINAL REFLECTION:
This project taught me the power of guiding a team through a methodology for the first time. Beyond the final map, the real value was enabling colleagues to see how user experience connects across touchpoints.
The CJM became a shared lens that revealed improvement opportunities not just in the digital product, but across the entire job seeker journey.