Guerilla Design Research and a Guy with an Eagles Jersey
It is a beautiful sunny Tuesday. The dash clock says 11:20am, as I pull into a parking lot of Crowne Plaza hotel in Philadelphia, PA. I see many smartly-dressed individuals getting out of their cars, and walk towards the sliding front doors of the building.
I’m feeling quite nervous at this point, in attending my first job fair, especially since I am here not because I’m looking for a job.
To give some history (flashback) as to why I’m attending: My team was tasked with creating a better user experience for job seekers as they are going through the application process. Instead of the usual route of user testing our current or potential clients, we were faced with the question of “How are we going to validate our designs with our end users?” The phone interviews I had been using will not work here. We needed to talk to those who would be potentially using our product: real life job seekers.
According to UX Booth, guerilla research tactics are “faster, cheaper and often less formal research alternatives… Much like the warfare from which it takes its name, guerrilla research is unconventional yet effective, in that it allows the designer to gather meaningful data at low cost.”*
My team needs answers, and I am here to find them. So I am now like moth to a flame, as I join the line to walk into a roomful of applicants and recruiters.
I run through a mental checklist to make sure I have everything I need for the interviews.
- Sketches to show participants (check)
- Clipboard to record responses (check)
- Phone to show interactive prototype (check)
- Open and honest game face (check!)
As a warm up, I go up to one of the tables, and am greeted by a Pennsylvania State Trooper. I introduce myself and start asking questions to gain some recruiter perspective. She said the average job seeker is “around 40–55 years old”, which was surprising. Hence, this is the ultimate reason for user testing, to prove yourself right or wrong. I didn’t realize at this point that I had a preconceived idea that I was just going to see a room full of college candidates. As I look more closely, I see that she is right. There are a handful of college-type people there, but a lot of job seekers are a little older than that.
Most job seekers seem to travel in packs of 2, so I decide to approach my first couple. They are in their late 40’s and early 50’s and are at first very tentative in their responses, but I quickly gain their trust, and we had a great 20 minute discussion on the difficulties of job seeking.
Then there’s the one applicant wearing jeans and Eagle’s football jersey. He looks like he came straight from the Eagles after party the night before. I actually did a double take, wondering if he is here to apply for a job. He is.
Fast forward to a few months later, and between Nate (my design colleague)and I, we have done 4 job fairs altogether. Here are some of our findings:
- 20 participants took our survey/Q&A, with ages ranging from 25–77 years old.
- Most common applicant complaint: “It’s hard to find a job that matches the skills that I already have.”
- General impressions on our work in progress UI: “It looks user friendly” (Yay, we are on the right track!)
Lessons learned from my experiences:
- Always give a good background of yourself to participants. If you establish a good connection from the beginning, this fosters trust and enhances the process overall. Participants like honesty.
- Give participants an idea of what you expect from them and how long the interview will take.
- Don’t be afraid to go deeper during an interview, and ask difficult questions if related to the Q&A.
- Be humble and thank participants for their time, since this is all on a volunteer basis.
- Do not wear an Eagles jersey or any other team jersey at a job fair — people won’t take you seriously.
*Quote from UX Booth “Guerilla Research Tactics and Tools”
**Photo courtesy of Billy Penn article
