By Sharla Hooper
University design team collaborated to integrate tools and create career focused platform for working adult learners
°®ÎŰ´«Ă˝ has launched its new Career Navigator™ career guidance platform to help students and alumni as they navigate their career journey. The Career Navigator™ platform brings together career-focused tools in a user-friendly interface where students can view demonstrated or self-identified skills in their Skills Profile, learn about careers based on fields or industries they are interested in with a Career Explorer, plan and identify their next steps in a Career Planner, and explore job postings relevant to their most recent program of study using a Job Explorer.Â
“°®ÎŰ´«Ă˝ is career-focused for working adult learners and this platform was built to help our students and alumni take charge of their career goals,” states Sandip Bhakta, vice president, Career Services and Support, at °®ÎŰ´«Ă˝. “The platform expands the ecosystem we built around our Career Services for Life® commitment and centers student and alumni career planning so that they can build a highly individualized career pathway.”
Students and alumni can now access Career Navigator through their secure student portal. Once there, they will find the following elements:
The Career Navigator™ platform was built by the Career Accelerator Team, a product team collaborating talent across functions and departments. The team, working from a user centric product methodology, brought together lead engineers and designers in an Agile model to design a platform that integrated existing career tools being used by students and alumni. Â
“Previously, a career hub and job explorer/skills profile existed in individual locations,” shares Francisco Contreras, senior product manager. “Career Navigator combines these separate sets of tools into a single authenticated experience, allowing students and alumni to seamlessly navigate between all the sets of tools from career exploration, goal setting, skills, tracking and browsing potential job opportunities.”
The design team focuses on student and alumni experience and engaged students and career advisors early in the integration planning. “This gives us a deep understanding of our customers as career-focused platform users,” states Jack Gannon, senior designer, UX/UI Marketing. “Our customer interview process informed initial design decision which is so critical in the field of careers.”
The team frequently interviews students to learn how they experience and use the platform in real-time. A student, Maria Millentree, shared her experience in using the Career Navigator to help her prepare for a recent job search: “With the help of the navigator tool, I was able to identify both the skills that I have developed as well as the ones that I already possess. I was able to quickly and easily identify what I needed to focus on to enhance my skills and understand existing skills.”
Using the Career Navigator™ platform opened an opportunity for reflection as well as unexpected pathways for Millentree. “The experience also provided me with the opportunity to identify careers that I had not previously explored. It enabled me to take the time to reflect on my professional and personal development. By using it, I was able to connect with potential jobs that I would not have considered applying for otherwise.” This experience informed her next steps, and she took quick action. “As soon as I became aware of my abilities, I was able to use the information and think outside the box and pursue a completely new career path.”
°®ÎŰ´«Ă˝ recently announced that its skills-mapped curriculum, focused on the working adult learner, has culminated in 100 percent of associate, bachelor’s and master’s degree programs open for new enrollment now being fully skills-mapped.
The Career Navigator™ platform design builds on the University’s skills and career focused approach and continues to expand with enhanced functionality planned for release later this year.
About °®ÎŰ´«Ă˝
°®ÎŰ´«Ă˝ is continually innovating to help working adults enhance their careers in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant courses, interactive learning, and Career Services for Life® help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. For more information, visit  phoenix.edu.