No Status Indicator Project Case Study - Azure Arc
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Case Study Cover

Soca Network

My Role Founding UX Designer
Timeline 16 Months
Team 3 Eng
Status
Shipped
The Overview

A vertical social community designed to bridge the gap between job seekers and company insiders. Unlike generalist platforms, Soca uses structured, intent-based pillars (Referral, Salary, Interview) to facilitate high-value connections.

The Challenge

"The Signal-to-Noise Problem." Competitor research (LinkedIn, Blind) revealed that 76% of users felt overwhelmed by unstructured feeds and "content chaos." The challenge was to restructure social networking from a passive scroll into an active, goal-oriented experience.

Impact
2k+
Users Acquired
Achieved rapid organic growth within the first 2 months of launch.
70+
Referrals
Facilitated successful direct connections between job seekers and insiders.

02 Research & Strategy

From "Infinite Feed" to "Intent-Based" Pillars

The Research: Uncovering the "Signal-to-Noise" Problem

Before designing, I conducted a user study with 21 participants to analyze their experience on major platforms like LinkedIn, Blind, and Glassdoor. The goal was to understand why job seekers felt anxious despite having access to so much information.

Low Efficiency
76%

Of users could not efficiently find specific information. Content was too scattered across unstructured feeds.

Emotional Drain
71%

Felt "emotionally drained" by invalid information, spam, or toxic discussions on generalist platforms.

High Friction
90%

Complained that even when useful info existed, the search & filter costs to access it were too high.

The Pivot: Strategic Simplification

Based on these pain points, we realized that "More connection" wasn't the answer; "Better structure" was. We decided to abandon the traditional "General Feed" model (where all posts are mixed together) and pivot to a structured, intent-based categorical model.

The Solution: Four Pillars of Career Growth

Interview

High Value

Focused on "Low cost / High efficiency" insights. Users share real interview questions and loops, not just general advice.

Referral

High Trust

A dedicated channel for "Stress-free referral acquisition," connecting seekers directly with employees willing to refer.

Salary

High Transparency

Structured data entry for position and level, allowing for accurate benchmarking vs. vague bragging.

Review

High Authenticity

Honest company reviews and layoff intel, separated from PR-heavy news and corporate speak.

03 The Solution (Showcase)

"A Glimpse into the Ecosystem." While the full platform includes Interview, Salary, and Review modules (100+ screens total), the grid above highlights the Referral Flow—the most critical interaction loop. It demonstrates how we applied a consistent design system to guide users through a complex, multi-step journey.

Referral Flow Design

Reach Out for the Full Design Walkthrough.

04 Impact & Outcomes

Learning

Ultimately, we proved that in a professional community, better structure isn't just about usability—it's about building trust between strangers.

Organic growth through authenticity.

The hypothesis was that users were tired of the "performative professional" persona required on other platforms. By allowing anonymous yet verified interactions around specific pillars (like Referrals and Salary Transparency ), we tapped into a latent demand for honest career conversations. The result was viral organic growth driven entirely by word-of-mouth in tech communities.

2,000+
Users Acquired
Secured over 2k verified users within the first 8 weeks of beta launch, with zero marketing spend , validating the product-market fit for structured networking.
70+
Direct Referrals
Facilitated successful interview referrals for candidates who had been previously ignored on major platforms, proving the value of the Intent-Based model.