Improving the Employability of Indian Naturopaths
Designing a Niche Job and Community Platform (MVP)
Background
I worked as the sole product designer on this project. My responsibilities included research, participation in MVP planning, design of user flows, and creation of final high-fidelity designs and prototypes.
AYUSH stands for Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy—traditional and alternative medicine systems in India. The Ministry of AYUSH is the government body responsible for developing, promoting, and regulating these healthcare systems.
Role: Product Designer
Tools: Cursor, Figma, Notion
Duration: 3 Months
Core Problem and Goal
Core Problem
Students under the Ministry of AYUSH, India face great difficulty in finding suitable jobs. As a result, they often have to settle for low-paying and unsatisfactory jobs.
Goal
Design a platform that allows students to find and apply for relevant jobs while ensuring the platform remains sustainable in the long term.
Context
This project is an initiative of a project coordinator at the Center for Chronic Disease Control. This coordinator herself is a BNYS (Naturopathy Graduate) and MPH (Master in Public Health, AIMS Rishikesh). Having worked in this field for many years, she has seen and experienced these challenges firsthand.
Core Users and their Challenges
| Category | Challenges |
|---|---|
| Students | Unaware of job opportunities, Clueless about career paths |
| Institutes | Lack of a dedicated department for hiring which leads to: Less active presence on job portals, Limited time and resources to invest in hiring, and unpredictable hiring needs |
These challenges lead to poor hiring quality and sub-optimal placements.
Research
We analyzed current hiring channels and existing job portals.
Existing hiring channels used by the institutions
- Job listings on their organization's website
- WhatsApp or Facebook groups to circulate hiring requirements
- Hiring through references (which is limited in scope)
- LinkedIn and other job portals (very few organizations post on)
Key findings from the research
There is no bulk hiring as the number of people required is very less. This demand is not concentrated at the same time of year, making joint hiring drives impossible.
The attrition rate for higher education is very high, leading to low returns from campus hiring drives. This greatly reduces the motivation of institutions to conduct campus placements.
Challenges with existing job portals: Niche filters for AYUSH or Naturopathy were not available on any platform. Currently there is only high-level categorization, which gives irrelevant results.
Example: Searching for a job as a researcher in naturopathy returns results like 'jobs as a yoga teacher in a school'.
Metrics and Defining Success
Access to relevant jobs
Students can browse and apply for relevant jobs.
Digging deeper:
Delving deeper into the definition of a 'relevant' job, another key finding was that a large number of students were clueless about what they were looking for—such as what specialization they should pursue, or what specific role best matches their expertise and lifestyle.
Seamless onboarding for institutions
Institutions can independently onboard and post jobs seamlessly.
Platform Engagement and Retention
A strong retention model is essential to keep this ecosystem alive. No matter how seamless the job posting experience is for institutions, it's meaningless if there are no students.
MVP Solution
Focus on Retention and Clarity
To address secondary challenges (such as lack of career clarity among students) and retention, we plan to add the following supporting modules (features) along with the main job portal:
| Feature | Goal and Description |
|---|---|
| Community | A community with admin-approved posts. It helps in keeping individuals updated about their field, keeping the industry on the same page, will help bridge the knowledge gap, promote inclusivity and improve retention (This includes news + updates + knowledge content). |
| Mentorship | Experienced professionals can join as mentors. Students can book one-to-one calls with mentors for clarity and guidance (Currently in beta testing). |
| Real-life Courses | These courses focus on opening up career opportunities such as: better communication, marketing themselves independently, starting your own clinic, etc. This will also be a source of revenue for the platform (Currently in beta testing). |
For the MVP and early users, we aimed at targeting naturopaths first due to network benefits and then cover other disciplines that come under AYUSH ministry of health.
Key Screens & User Flows
Explore the platform through interactive tablet mockups
Sign Up
Clean and intuitive registration process for new users to join the platform
Onboarding
Strategic questions designed to personalize user experience and gather insights that shape product direction in this early phase
Jobs Page
A curated job board with niche filters specifically designed to surface relevant opportunities for AYUSH professionals
User Public Profile
Every user gets a shareable public page after completing their profile details, showcasing their experience, qualifications, and achievements—with easy editing to keep information up to date
Public View
Edit Profile
Community Feed
A curated feed of industry news, knowledge content, and admin-approved posts that keeps the AYUSH community informed and connected
Submit Community Post
A submission interface where community members can share knowledge, updates, or questions for admin review and approval
Organizations
A directory of hospitals, clinics, and wellness centers focused on natural healthcare, with search and filter capabilities
For Employers
Employer Dashboard
Comprehensive dashboard for employers to manage job postings, applications, and organization activities
Post New Job
Seamless job posting interface for employers to create and publish new job opportunities
Organization Profile
Employers can view and update their organization information, mission, and branding
Current Status & Next Steps
The MVP is currently under active development, with the team working diligently to bring the platform to life. In parallel, we're conducting interactive demos based on the UI designs to gather early feedback and validate our approach with key stakeholders.
To ensure we build features that truly address user needs, we're taking a lean validation approach. The mentorship and courses features are being tested through WhatsApp groups before being integrated into the platform. This allows us to refine the experience and gather real-world insights before committing to full development.
We're excited to share that over 1,000 users have already signed up for the beta, demonstrating strong early interest and validating the need for this platform in the AYUSH community.
Explore More Projects
Check out some of my other work
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