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Major Project

KARE × LinkedIn

Reimagining how job seekers find their perfect match — an AI-powered platform built on LinkedIn, named after the Arabic word for "choice" (خيار).

KARE empowers job seekers and makes them believe they can find a job in which they'll be the top candidate, simply by simplifying and making it all transparent.

Context
2024 · LinkedIn · Process Book
Focus
AI & Machine Learning · Job Matching · LinkedIn · UX Research
Year
2024
KARE × LinkedIn — Title
10M
Job Openings (2021)
39.5%
Youth Depression from Job Stress
800M+
LinkedIn Members
25%
More Hires via LinkedIn
TL;DR

Each section opens with a one-paragraph summary. Tap Read more to expand the supporting visuals and detail.

01 /

The Overview

The current job market poses significant challenges for individuals, companies, and the broader economy. Job seekers deal with considerable stress due to the uncertainty of securing employment, which can lead to serious mental health issues. Companies struggle to maintain reputation and attract top talent, especially post-downsizing, while adapting to remote work as the new standard.

Read morecontext, supporting figures
The Why — job market statistics
The Why — Job market challenges and mental health impact

The economy suffers as high unemployment rates hinder recovery, leading to increased social costs including greater need for healthcare to address mental health concerns. Youth unemployment (ages 15–24) was 3× higher than the adult rate, at approximately 13.6%.

Effective support for job seekers, encouragement for new entrepreneurs, and adaptable strategies for companies are crucial in navigating economic changes and mitigating the widespread impacts of job market challenges.
Aristotle quote — pleasure in the job
Defining inspiration — "Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work"
02 /

The Challenge

A wide-ranging survey was conducted targeting a diverse pool of individuals across backgrounds and industries to understand satisfaction with the current job-seeking process. The survey focused on usability of job search platforms, effectiveness of networking tools, and clarity of job postings.

Read moreresearch findings, supporting figures
Survey data — job seeker experience
Surveys — Understanding job seeker pain points across age groups

Research into hiring decisions revealed a nuanced interplay between automated tools and human judgment. While job testing and analytics enhance candidate evaluation accuracy, they can also introduce biases and inaccuracies — leading to high turnover and suboptimal employee performance.

Decision making research
Decision Making — Balancing data-driven and human approaches
Recruitment analytics statistics
Analytics — 15-25% decrease in time to fill with advanced recruitment
i.
20-30%
Improvement in matching when job testing is used
ii.
22%
Of hiring decisions bypass matching recommendations
iii.
18%
Reduction in early turnover with proper testing

An experiment assessed the impact of structured, constructive feedback on job search strategies of recent college graduates — examining shifts in application strategies, LinkedIn engagement, and overall perception of the job search process.

Experiment methodology
Experiment — Structured feedback impact on job seekers
Experiment conclusions
Conclusions — Feedback reduced anxiety and increased confidence
03 /

The Process

The process began by tracing the evolution of recruitment technology over three decades — mapping how the job-seeking landscape transformed from simple classified ads to today's AI-powered matching algorithms. This signals analysis revealed key inflection points that shaped how candidates and employers connect.

Read moremethodology, supporting figures
Understanding the history of recruitment innovation was critical to identifying where the next breakthrough could come — and why LinkedIn's platform is uniquely positioned to deliver it.
HORIZONTAL TIMELINE
1994
Monster Job Board
Jeff Taylor revolutionized job hunting by collecting help wanted ads from across the country onto one website — igniting explosive growth and attracting hundreds of thousands of seekers.
1994
Monster Job Board
1996
HotJobs
One of the earliest niche job boards, founded by Richard Johnson for tech careers. Within a year it expanded across all sectors, becoming an industry leader.
1996
HotJobs
2003
LinkedIn
Reid Hoffman pioneered professional social media — by expanding access to past career connections, users unlocked a wealth of new job opportunities.
2003
LinkedIn
2005
ATS Adoption
Over 50% of large corporations adopted Applicant Tracking Systems, automating resume screening and transforming how applications were evaluated.
2005
ATS Adoption
2010
Resume Services
In a cutthroat market, résumé writing services became essential — crafting SEO-targeted documents and optimized online profiles to help candidates stand out.
2010
Resume Services
2016
AI Integration
AI-powered tools emerged for automated resume screening and candidate sourcing, hinting at the profound transformation AI would bring to hiring.
2016
AI Integration
2020
Remote Hiring
COVID-19 forced a dramatic shift — companies rapidly adopted digital tools to manage the entire recruitment process virtually, from attraction to onboarding.
2020
Remote Hiring
2023
Predictive Analytics
Integration of predictive analytics and automation enhanced efficiency and accuracy in hiring, reducing time-to-fill by up to 30%.
2023
Predictive Analytics

This evolution revealed a clear trajectory: each wave of innovation made recruitment more data-driven but also more impersonal. The challenge became finding a way to combine algorithmic precision with human empathy — a gap that KARE was designed to fill.

LinkedIn was identified as the ideal partner for this innovation. With over 800 million members worldwide, LinkedIn is the world's largest professional network and an active labor market connecting job seekers and employers alike. Its resources span from big data to detailed user profiles mapping career histories, educational backgrounds, skills, and endorsements — enabling cutting-edge matching algorithms to pair candidates with appropriate opportunities.

LinkedIn's mission — "to connect the world's professionals to make them more productive and successful" — aligns perfectly with KARE's goal of empowering job seekers through intelligent, transparent, and supportive job matching.

Strategic analysis of the partnership identified four key value dimensions that KARE would bring to the LinkedIn ecosystem:

i.
Engagement
A new recruitment feature increases user satisfaction and job matching accuracy, reinforcing LinkedIn's leadership in professional networking and attracting an even more extensive user base.
ii.
Complementarity
Advanced job matching improves LinkedIn's algorithmic accuracy, leading to more personalized job recommendations and higher user satisfaction across the platform.
iii.
Development
LinkedIn may adopt AI-based career-path predictions, automated tools for resumes, better virtual interview technologies, and personalized mental health insights for job seekers.
iv.
Innovation
AI, machine learning, and data analytics together give LinkedIn a competitive advantage — predictive models drive recommendations, and VR applications transform interviews.
04 /

The Outcome

KARE is a novel platform that boosts the capabilities of LinkedIn and completely changes the way people seek jobs. Named after the Arabic word for "choice" (خيار), KARE gives users a matched list of job opportunities based on their skill and experience profile — all powered by advanced algorithms.

Read moreconcept detail, supporting figures

The platform is not just more effective at finding jobs — it also seeks to reduce negative mental health outcomes associated with the job search process. KARE empowers job seekers and makes them believe they can find a job in which they'll be the top candidate, simply by simplifying everything and making it transparent.

i.
AI Job Matching
Powerful algorithms match users to opportunities based on their complete skill and experience profile, not just keywords.
ii.
Mental Health Support
Reduces job-seeking anxiety by providing clear directions, confidence-building feedback, and transparent processes.
iii.
Predictive Analytics
Data-driven career-path predictions help users understand where their skills can take them and what to develop next.
iv.
LinkedIn Integration
Built on LinkedIn's 800M+ member network, leveraging existing profiles, connections, and endorsements for richer matching.
KARE represents a shift from passive job searching to active, intelligent career navigation — where the platform works for you, not the other way around. By combining AI precision with human empathy, it creates a job-seeking experience that is both more effective and more humane.