Peter Jin Hong & Scott Wasson, Google Job Search

Method Podcast from Google Design

In this episode, host Travis Neilson interviews two UX designers at Google—Peter Jin Hong and Scott Wasson—discussing the impact of Google Search and how the newly launched Job Search feature is changing the job-seeking landscape. They cover everything from the effect of transactional memory on job hunters to the importance of qualitative research when making UX decisions. Listen in as they talk behavioral science, soft skills, and identity to illustrate how empathy affects the experience of a product like Job Search.

A few highlights:

On fostering empathy“We can truly help humanity if we know what makes us tick, what makes us scared, what makes us inspired, what makes us push ourselves. [Looking for a job] is one of the scariest things in your life—it’s about having agency, and dignity, the ability to stand tall, and feed your family.” – Peter Jin Hong

On being reliable“We want users to be able to trust the jobs that we’re showing them, especially now that we’re getting into recommendations. It affects people’s psyche.” – Scott Wasson

On data-driven design“Good qualitative research is helping our great quantitative research. It’s also referred to as thick data, because qualitative research allows depth in really understanding what people are going through.” – Peter Jin Hong

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