Learning Design | UX Design

Future Step

A job-prep app focused on social-emotional learning, featuring AI-powered job search and preparation tools to help fresh graduates transition smoothly into the workplace.

Role

Target Audience

Timeline

UX Methods

Tools

Project Manager, UX Designer & Researcher

Upcoming & Fresh graduates from college

12 Weeks

Interview

Survey

Persona
Affinity Map
Empathy Map

Usability Testing

Trello

Figma

Canva

Adobe XD

Project Overview

Designed an end-to-end solution to help college students and recent graduates transition into the workplace. The project focuses on equipping young adults with the social-emotional skills needed to navigate the job search, adapt to workplace dynamics, and overcome professional challenges.

This 0-to-1 initiative was a collaborative effort with two other designers to address the evolving demands of the modern job market effectively.

My Contributions

I initiated the integration of AI tools into the job prep app and led its development. Additionally, I took full responsibility for designing the social-emotional learning (SEL) content.

As the project manager, I facilitated the workflow, ensured transparent communication, coordinated team efforts, and kept the project aligned with our goals and deadlines.

We Start by Defining the Problem

Young adults transitioning from college to the workplace face significant challenges beyond just technical skills. According to reports from the World Economic Forum (WEF) and LinkedIn's Future of Work Report, employers increasingly prioritize social-emotional skills such as communication, adaptability, and self-management. However, studies show that many fresh graduates feel unprepared to navigate professional environments, leading to difficulties in balancing personal and professional responsibilities.

Our initial secondary research reveals following key challenges:

Workplace Readiness Gap

Source: NACE

Research highlights that while 92% of employers value soft skills, only 48% believe recent graduates are proficient in them (NACE 2023 Job Outlook Survey).
The shift from student to employee requires self-regulation, adaptability, and workplace communication, yet many young professionals lack structured preparation for these transitions.

Lack of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) in Education

Source: CASEL

Studies indicate that social-emotional learning is rarely integrated into higher education curricula, leaving graduates unprepared for workplace challenges.
CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) emphasizes that SEL is critical for long-term career success, but remains underrepresented in traditional education.

Limited Access to Structured Learning Resources

Source: McKinsey & Company, World Economic Forum

A McKinsey 2022 report highlights that many existing job preparation platforms focus on technical skills but fail to address soft skills development.
Without structured learning, young professionals struggle with stress management, accountability, and workplace expectations.

The Growing Demand for Social-Emotional Skills

Source: LinkedIn Global
Talent Trends Report, 2023

LinkedIn’s Global Talent Trends Report reveals that soft skills like communication, leadership, and adaptability are among the top five most in-demand skills worldwide.
Employers recognize that employees with strong social-emotional skills tend to perform better in leadership roles and collaborative environments.

Problem Statement

Young adults are in a transitory stage between coming out of college and getting their first job. Meanwhile, other than being able to do the technical part of their job, the job market also demands them to apply social-emotional skills as a worker.

So, how might we ensure young adults have the necessary social-emotional skills for them to adapt well as a worker?

We Dig Deeper: What the Research Tells Us

To create a solution that truly meets the needs of young professionals, we needed to understand the gaps firsthand. Our research combined both primary and secondary methods to gather comprehensive insights into the role of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) in workplace readiness. By leveraging qualitative and quantitative data, we explored how SEL influences career success and what challenges young adults face in developing these essential skills.

Unpacking the Landscape: Secondary Research

Before diving into direct user research, we sought to understand the existing landscape. We framed our secondary research around key questions that guided our exploration:

How is SEL currently taught in educational settings?
What social-emotional skills are most crucial for fresh graduates entering the workforce?
Why is SEL necessary for our target audience, and what impact does it have on career readiness?
What are the limitations of current SEL programs, and where do gaps exist?

What we discovered through In-Depth Research:

The Role of SEL in Education and Career Readiness

Effective SEL environments should be supportive, inclusive, and aligned with learning goals.
SEL is most impactful when integrated with academic and social activities, using interactive instructional methods to promote growth.
Instruction should be sequenced, active, focused, and explicit, incorporating regular check-ins, clear expectations, and engaging social activities.

The Most Critical SEL Skills for Workforce Success

Five key SEL skills that fresh graduates need to succeed in the workplace:

Self-awareness
Self-management
Social awareness
Interpersonal skills
Decision-making

In addition, workplace success also relies on communication, time management, teamwork, and adaptability—skills that require hands-on experiences, such as mock interviews and real-world projects, to fully develop.

Limitations of Current SEL Programs

Teacher burnout and debates over standardization vs. personalization limit the ability to deliver SEL programs effectively.

Lack of frameworks for integrating SEL into career preparation leaves students unprepared for the emotional and interpersonal demands of professional life.

Strategies for More Effective SEL Learning

Align SEL with real-world applications to ensure its relevance in professional settings.
Integrate SEL with employability skills to provide a holistic approach to career preparation.
Foster teamwork, adaptability, and emotional regulation to equip learners with the tools needed to meet workplace demands.

What We Learned:

These findings emphasize the need for structured SEL learning to help young professionals develop essential workplace skills before transitioning into their careers. Additionally, the limitations in current SEL programs underscore the need for innovative solutions that make SEL more accessible, engaging, and directly applicable to job preparation.

Hearing from the Real Voice: Primary Research

While our secondary research provided a strong foundation, we needed to validate our findings with real voices—the students preparing to enter the workforce and the employers hiring them. To bridge the gap between educational theory and real-world needs, we conducted in-depth interviews with key stakeholders.

To better understand who plays a role in workplace readiness, we mapped out the stakeholders involved in the job preparation ecosystem. This helped us identify the most direct and influential voices—students and employers—as the primary focus of our research.

Stakeholder Map

We conducted five 30 mins 1 on 1 interview sessions with:

Two HR professionals—a business leader from a technology startup and an HR representative from a consulting firm.
Three graduating students—one undergraduate and two graduate students preparing to enter the workforce.

Building on the foundational insights from our secondary research phase, we structured our interview objectives around two key areas: employers' expectations and students' challenges. These interviews provided valuable, direct insights that shaped our research focus on the following two questions:

What are the characteristics and needs of a fresh graduate when looking for a job?
What does an HR professional or company expect when hiring a fresh graduate?

What We Learnt from Students- What are the Challenges & Wants/Needs

Students expressed frustration over the lack of practical preparation for workplace interactions and the unspoken rules of professional environments. Many felt that while they were trained in technical skills, social-emotional learning (SEL) was missing from their education.

Students

"I wish someone had taught us how to actually work with people in a professional setting. It's so different from group projects in school."

(Student D, Interview)

"No one tells you how to communicate professionally—when to speak up, when to step back, or how to handle conflict."

(Student Z, Interview)

"I know my technical skills, but I feel lost when it comes to workplace expectations and social interactions."

(Student L, Interview)

Struggles with workplace adaptation: Understanding social cues, managing interpersonal dynamics, and navigating office culture.
Challenges in teamwork & problem-solving: Learning to collaborate, manage feedback, and resolve conflicts in professional settings.
Building professional relationships:
Networking, forming workplace connections, and career development.

What We Learnt from HRs- What do HR Professionals Expect

Employers consistently emphasized that strong technical skills alone are not enough—they look for candidates who can communicate effectively, adapt quickly, and work well in a team. Many fresh graduates struggle in these areas, making it harder for them to succeed in professional roles.

HRs

"We can teach the job, but we can’t teach someone how to collaborate, take feedback, or manage their emotions under pressure."

(HR G, Interview)

"Graduates with strong interpersonal skills stand out immediately—those who can communicate well, adapt, and handle workplace dynamics are more likely to succeed."

(HR G, Interview)

"Many new hires struggle with self-regulation. They know how to do the work but don’t know how to manage deadlines, stress, or professional relationships."

(HR M, Interview)

SEL is crucial for workplace success:
skills like adaptability, emotional regulation, and teamwork directly impact job performance.
Companies value candidates with real-world experience:
internships, extracurricular activities, and leadership roles signal strong social-emotional skills.
Effective communication & self-management are deal breaker:
HR professionals note that poor communication and lack of self-awareness often lead to difficulties in the workplace.

We Make Sense of the Data: Synthesis & Analyzing

After conducting our primary and secondary research, we entered the analysis phase to synthesize findings, identify key themes, and define learning objectives. This process allowed us to transform research insights into actionable design decisions that directly address the challenges learners face when transitioning into the workplace.

Identifying Patterns: Affinity Mapping

To synthesize our interview findings, we conducted an affinity mapping exercise to categorize user challenges, influencing factors, existing barriers, and potential solutions. This process helped us prioritize key challenges and identify opportunities for integrating SEL into job preparation.

Affinity Map of Interview Results

Key Takeaways:

Students feel unprepared for workplace adaptation, networking, and professional communication.
Employers value SEL skills such as adaptability, teamwork, and problem-solving, yet there are no structured frameworks to develop them.
Barriers like lack of real-world practice and career guidance make job transitions difficult.

These insights formed the foundation for our deeper user analysis.

Stepping Into the User’s Perspective: Empathy Mapping

To better understand and empathize our target users, we created an empathy map to visualize their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors related to job preparation. This exercise helped us ensure our design approach remains user-centered and emotionally aware.

Empathy map

This mapping exercise led to the development of a persona representing our target audience.

Creating User Persona: Meet Amy

Based on our research findings, we developed Amy, a persona that represents our target learners—fresh graduates who lack structured support in developing SEL for the workplace.

Persona

Amy’s profile helped us ground our solution in real user needs and define what an effective SEL learning experience should provide.

Holistic Research Analysis

After synthesizing our data through above methods, we stepped back to analyze our findings holistically- key takeaways from primary and secondary research- turned into structured insights.

Problem & Need Analysis

Students experience difficulties adjusting to workplace dynamics due to the lack of SEL training.
Therefore, they need a structured SEL program to help them develop essential workplace skills.
Students struggle to find the right resources for improving their professional communication and teamwork. Therefore, they need comprehensive SEL learning resources to guide them in these areas.
Students often apply for jobs without understanding how to align their skills with the right career path. Therefore, they need career-matching guidance and structured mentorship.
The workplace has many unspoken social norms that make students feel out of place.
Therefore, they need guidance into workplace culture, professional communication, and emotional intelligence.
Students don’t get enough opportunities to practice SEL skills in professional environments before graduating. Therefore, they need real-world learning experiences that provide hands-on skill application.
Many students lack strong communication, empathy, and problem-solving skills, which makes collaboration difficult in professional settings.
Therefore, they need targeted SEL development to enhance these skills.

Learner Analysis

Learners often face obstacles in networking which leads to disconnection with peers.
Learners struggle to adjust self to adapt to new environment because feeling unprepared.
Learners experience failure in different aspects including failure of emotional control.
Learners often receive insufficient feedback from more experienced others, hindering progress.

Task Analysis

Five key concepts of SEL:
Self-awareness
Self-management
Social-awareness
Responsible decision-making
Relationship skills
Existing SEL programs (e.g., CASEL, Character Lab) lack a workplace integration framework.
Difficulty in implementing SEL in school settings include:
Lack of funding for developing SEL program
Overload on educators who advocates for SEL
Lack of support from stakeholders
Debates on standardization and personalization

Context Analysis

Environment that provides connected and coordinated activities can foster skills development
Environment that employs a active forms of learning to help students strengthen new skills. (active)
Environment that promotes opportunities for learners to contribute dedicate time and attention in developing personal and social skills (focused)
Environment that targets specific social and emotional skills (explicit)
Environment that incorporates SEL training with job skills can better facilitate connection between school and workplace.
Environment that creates meaningful interaction spaces and engagement with wider community.
Environment that fosters familiarity and rapport.

Defining Our Learning Goals

To ensure our design solution is impactful and actionable, we established learning goal & objectives that align with both user needs and employer expectations.

Learning Goal

Learners will apply SEL and soft skills throughout the job search process and workplace interactions, developing strategies to navigate new challenges using their SEL skillset.

Learning Objectives

Apply SEL skills to job search and workplace interactions.
Develop relationship-building skills and social awareness for networking.
Enhance technical job search skills (resume building, interviews).
Analyze workplace behaviors and create personalized action plans.

We Bring Ideas to Life: Design Ideation

Finally, we arrived at the most exciting phase—Design! Here, we transformed our research findings into a structured, interactive learning experience aimed at equipping students with SEL and job readiness skills.

Our goal was to create a seamless, integrated learning system that supports students at different stages of career preparation—from building foundational SEL skills to applying them in real-world job searches and professional settings.

To achieve this, we structured our design into three core learning components, each tailored to meet students’ evolving needs:

Stage 1- For Ongoing College Students Planning to Get a Job

Multimedia Online Learning that delivers SEL education in a self-paced, engaging format.

Stage 2- For Students Looking for a Position

AI-Powered Job Preparation that personalized job matching, interview prep, and resume-building.

Stage 3- For Students Getting into the Job Industry

In-Person Events & Networking that provides mentorship, hands-on experiences where students practice SEL skills in real-world settings.

This three-stage approach ensures that students not only learn key skills but also gain practical experience—bridging the gap between theory and real-world application as they transition into the workforce.

A Clear Path : Logic Model

After defining our structured three-stage approach, we developed a logic model that clearly maps the relationship between inputs, activities, outputs, and expected impact, allowing us to systematically track how our solution drives real-world success for students.

With this structured map in place, we moved forward to refine and design our solution, ensuring that each of our design component directly contributes to measurable learning outcomes.

Logic Model

Here comes our initial design— a structured learning experience that supports students in developing SEL and job readiness skills.

Stage 1: Building a Strong Foundation with Multimedia Learning

What It Is?

Designed an multimedia online learning experience to equip students with fundamental SEL skills that provides flexible, self-paced learning through diverse content formats, allowing students to absorb concepts at their own pace before applying them in real-world scenarios.

Key Features & Components:

Multimedia Learning Experience

Learning content delivered through videos, text, images, and audio, catering to diverse learning preferences and enhancing comprehension.

Post-Lesson Practices

Reinforcing learning through interactive exercises.

Discussion Foums

Fostering peer-learning and knowledge-sharing.

Gamification Elements

Achievement badges to increase engagement and motivation.

Why it works : Design is grounded in learning theories & principles

Multimedia learning - Dual Coding theory, Segmenting principles, Spatial Contiguity Principle for better knowledge recall and retention.
Social Constructive learning - Knowledge construction; Peer-learning & Scaffolding; Positive interdependence
Gamification for Engagement – Keeping learners motivated through rewards, challenges, and progress tracking.

Stage 2: Learning Personalized Career Preparation with AI

What It Is?

To bridge the gap between learning and job search execution, we integrated AI-driven career preparation tools that personalize the job-seeking experience. This feature reduces job search friction while helping students develop critical career skills.

Key Functions:

Job Matching

AI analyzes students’ skills, preferences, and coursework to recommend relevant jobs.

Resume Customization & Mock Interview

AI-powered suggestions to optimize resumes for different roles.

Simulated interview practice with real-time AI feedback on responses and body language.

Why it works : AI-driven approach streamlines job preparation

Automating repetitive processes - Saving students time on job searches.
Providing real-time, personalized feedback - Enhancing interview and resume preparation.
Encouraging professional networking– Creating a supportive career community.

Stage 3: Real-World Practice through In-Person Events

What It Is?

While digital tools provide structured learning and preparation, real-world experience is crucial for confidence-building. This stage introduces in-person networking and job-readiness events, helping students apply SEL skills in professional settings.

Key Components:

Before the Event

Social media promotion to increase accessibility and participation.

During the Event

Guest Speaker Sessions: Insights from industry professionals.

Role-Playing Activities: Peer-to-peer and expert-guided scenarios to practice SEL skills.

Networking & Career Seminars: Hands-on job search guidance and networking strategy workshops.

Career Platform Demonstrations: Teaching students how to navigate job-hunting platforms effectively.

After the Event

Follow-Up Discussion Forums

Why it works : A practical approach through hands-on opportunities

Hands-On Application: Translating learning into real-world interactions.
Expanded Networking Opportunities: Connecting students with mentors and potential employers.
Increased Confidence & Readiness: Helping students navigate professional environments with ease.

Evaluation Phase: Refining the Experience through User Testings

Once we designed our key features in our initial design, we conducted an evaluation to ensure that our solution effectively met students’ needs. Our goal was to assess the usability, accessibility, and learning impact of the Future Step app.

How We Evaluate

User Observation & Think-Aloud Protocol
Video Observation & Post-Task Reflections
Pre-Test & Post-Test Surveys

To systematically analyze usability testing results, we utilized a rainbow sheet method to track user interactions, challenges, and areas of confusion.

Usability Test Rainbow Sheet

What We Found

From our evaluation, we uncovered both successes and areas for improvement:

✅ What Worked Well

✔️ Users found the app structure intuitive and easy to navigate.
✔️ The AI job preparation function was well-received and seen as a valuable tool.
✔️ The connection between online learning, AI integration, and offline events was clear.

⚠️ Challenges & Pain Points

❌ Navigation issues: The "next" button limited flexible movement between pages.

❌ Overloaded interface: Text-heavy content with small font sizes reduced engagement.

❌ Discussion feature confusion: Users struggled to connect images with the learning materials.

❌ Brainstorming section misalignment: Lack of clarity disrupted user flow.

Final Deliverable

For the final deliverable, we created a video demonstration, which captures the user journey through our platform, illustrating how students engage with SEL learning, job preparation tools, and interactive exercises.

However, we acknowledge that there are still some usability challenges that remain. Given time constraints, we were not able to address every issue identified during testing. These areas remain opportunities for future iterations, allowing for continuous refinement and enhancement.

Reflections: Lessons, Challenges & Growth

A Huge Thank You!

First of all, I truly appreciate your patience in following this journey. I know it’s been a long design process—trust me, I feel it too! But every challenge, iteration, and insight along the way has made this experience truly meaningful.

The Reality of an End-to-End Project

This project was much heavier than I initially expected. From research to usability testing to refining our design, every phase required intense commitment. On top of that, we faced unexpected challenges—like a team member quitting without any discussion, leaving us to quickly reorganize responsibilities and adapt on the spot. But, I’m actually kinda grateful for this experience. It pushed me to stay adaptable, think on my feet, and keep moving forward. In the end, we successfully delivered a project that we’re proud of!

Turning Abstract SEL Concepts into Action

Social-emotional learning is a relatively new and abstract concept, which made designing for it especially tricky. We worked hard to translate it into real, practical action by focusing on what users actually struggled with, rather than relying on assumptions.

First Time doing Learning Design

This was my first time designing a learning project, and I quickly saw the value of an evidence-based approach. Using learning theories and research-backed frameworks gave our design clear direction, ensuring it wasn’t just engaging, but actually effective in supporting learners.

Lessons for the Future

Would I do things differently next time? Absolutely. That’s what makes real-world design exciting—it’s never perfect, and every challenge is a chance to grow. I know the lessons from this experience will stay with me as I take on new projects in the future!

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