How can SEEK balance the user experience of job seekers with the needs of paying employers on its job board platform?

Introduction

Balancing the user experience of job seekers with the needs of paying employers on SEEK's job board platform is a critical trade-off that directly impacts the platform's success. This scenario involves managing the interests of two key stakeholder groups while maintaining a healthy ecosystem. I'll address this challenge by analyzing the trade-offs, proposing metrics, and designing experiments to inform our decision-making process.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Based on SEEK's business model, I'm thinking revenue primarily comes from employer job postings. Could you confirm if this is correct and if there are other significant revenue streams?

Why it matters: Helps prioritize employer needs vs. job seeker experience Expected answer: Majority from job postings, some from premium services Impact on approach: Would influence how we balance improvements for each group

• Considering user behavior, I'm assuming job seekers spend more time on the platform but employers are the paying customers. Is this accurate, and do we have data on average time spent by each group?

Why it matters: Informs design decisions to optimize for different user types Expected answer: Job seekers spend more time, employers less frequent but higher value interactions Impact on approach: Would guide feature development and UI/UX priorities

• From a technical standpoint, I'm wondering about our current matching algorithm's effectiveness. How satisfied are employers with the quality of applicants they receive?

Why it matters: Identifies potential areas for improvement in the core platform functionality Expected answer: Room for improvement in matching accuracy Impact on approach: Might suggest focusing on algorithm enhancements over UI changes

• Regarding resources, I'm curious about our current team structure. Do we have dedicated teams for employer and job seeker experiences, or is it more integrated?

Why it matters: Affects our ability to implement and test changes for each user group Expected answer: Integrated teams with some specialization Impact on approach: Would influence how we structure experiments and roll out changes

• Thinking about timelines, are there any upcoming major events or seasonal peaks in job posting or job seeking that we need to consider?

Why it matters: Helps plan experiment timing and potential impact on results Expected answer: Seasonal variations with peaks in January and September Impact on approach: Would guide experiment scheduling and interpretation of results