Findr — Case Study | Elisa Galand

The Challenge

Job searching sucks. We asked why.

Gen Z job seekers spend an average of 11 hours per week on job applications — and report feeling more anxious and less confident after a single session. Existing platforms feel like filing a tax return, not launching a career.

Findr's founding team came to us with a clear brief: build a job discovery experience that feels as natural and engaging as social media, without sacrificing the depth employers need.

"I feel like I'm shouting into the void every time I apply. I spend hours writing cover letters and then… nothing. It's exhausting."

— Interview participant, 23

Photo of a user interview session with sticky notes and research artifacts

Research & Discovery

We talked to 28 job seekers. Then we really listened.

Over four weeks, we ran in-depth interviews, diary studies, and a competitive teardown of 12 existing platforms. Three themes surfaced again and again.

The black hole problem

87% of participants said they rarely or never heard back after applying. The silence felt demoralising and eroded confidence over time.

Discovery is broken

Users wanted to explore opportunities serendipitously — like stumbling on a great book — but every platform forced them into keyword-based search.

Identity vs. resume

Gen Z wants to be seen as people, not PDFs. They resented reducing themselves to bullet points and dates.

Affinity diagram from research synthesis session

The insight that changed everything

We noticed that the most engaged users weren't searching for jobs — they were browsing companies. They wanted to fall in love with a place before committing to an application.

This flipped our entire approach. Instead of "search for roles", we designed around "discover companies worth working for."

We reframed the core question from "What job do you want?" to "What kind of work life do you want?"

Design Process

From scruffy sketches to something real.

Information Architecture

Mapped 3 competing IA structures with card sorting sessions (n=18). Landed on a "discovery-first" architecture that buries search behind exploration.

Rapid Prototyping

7 rounds of paper prototypes in week one. We killed our first concept entirely after round 3 — the data told us to, and we listened.

Usability Testing

Ran 4 rounds of moderated usability tests (5 participants each) using Maze. Iteration cycle was tight: test on Tuesday, ship changes by Friday.

Design System

Built a component library in Figma with 60+ components, 4 colour modes, and full annotation for the engineering team.

Wireframe progression from low-fidelity sketches to high-fidelity screens

The Solution

A job app that feels like your favourite app.

Findr uses a card-based discovery feed, personalised by values and interests — not just keywords. Users swipe, save, and apply in three taps. Employers get a richer picture of who's interested.

Findr home screen showing the discovery feed

Discovery feed — swipe-first browsing

Company profiles — culture before job listings

Quick apply — 3 taps, no cover letter required

Outcomes & Impact

The numbers that made the team do a little dance.

We launched a closed beta with 1,200 users over 8 weeks. The results validated our core hypothesis: making discovery delightful drives deeper engagement.

3.2× more applications per session vs. competitor average

68% of users returned the following day (vs. 22% industry avg)

4.7 average App Store rating in beta (from 340 reviews)

41% reduction in reported anxiety around job searching

What I'd do differently

We underestimated how much users wanted to see salary ranges upfront. We buried compensation info behind the apply flow, and it was one of the top complaints in beta feedback. In hindsight, the research hinted at this — we just didn't listen hard enough. I'd surface it earlier next time.

Findr — Reimagining Job
Discovery for Gen Z