Scaling a platform for early career discovery & exploration
HireMe is an early-career job network built to bridge Nigeria's unemployment gap. Over 6 months I led growth strategy, customer discovery, product development, and multi-channel marketing — growing from 1,000 DAU at beta to 10k by mid Q3, and a platform now at 350,000 DAU.
1k -> 350k DAU
Beta launch to today
10k DAU
6-month engagement target — hit
5M NGN
ARR target
The Challenge
"HireMe's Beta launched with ~1,000 daily active users. The goal: increase user engagement and activation by 20% within 6 months, by the start of Q4."
1,000 DAU
At beta launch
+20%
Engagement & activation target within 6 months
My Contribution
Growth Strategy & OKRs
Customer Discovery
Competitive Positioning
Web Design & Product Development
Digital Marketing & Channel Strategy
Launch Planning & Partnerships
Strategy
North Star Metric & OKRs
North Star Metric
% of job applications that lead to an interview or job offer
Q2 — Awareness
5x DAU within 6 months
- Grow daily active users from 1k to 5k by end of Q2
- Achieve 20% week-over-week retention in the first 90 days
- Launch campus ambassador programme in 3 universities
Q3 — Monetisation
Drive engagement, retention, and first revenue
- Convert 10% of active users to HireMe Plus or Pro
- Place 50 candidates into roles via the platform
- Hit 5M NGN ARR run rate by end of Q3
Customer Discovery
35
User interviews conducted
4
Distinct user segments identified
3
Research categories synthesised
Early stage employers
Mid-scale employers
Candidates in school
Candidates out of school
Pain Points & Prioritisation
Resume vetting is broken
12 / 15
60% of employers cited this as their top friction
Applying into the void
8 / 15
40% of candidates receive zero application feedback
No learning & development path
10 / 15
80% of candidates want structured skill-building on the platform
.png)
.png)
Customer Personas
Product & Design
Features Shipped
Resume Builder
Solved the resume vetting problem for employers by helping candidates produce structured, scannable CVs — reducing low-quality inbound and giving candidates a fighting chance at the filter stage.
Events Feed
Turned passive browsing into active community participation. Campus events, career fairs, and employer meet-ups aggregated in one place — converting the platform from job board to career community.
AI Tools Screening
Automated first-pass candidate screening for employers using skills-based filters — cutting time-to-shortlist by an estimated 60% and addressing David's core frustration directly.
Web Design & Prototype
CTA Click Rate
Primary sign-up CTA
Avg. Session Duration
Time on landing page
Bounce Rate
Single-page exits
Scroll Depth
Heatmap avg. reach
Competitive Positioning
| Hub by HireMe | CareerBuddy | Jobberman | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product space | Online Career Networking | Online Career Networking | Online Career Networking | Online Career Networking |
| Target customer #1 | Candidates at 1–3 years | Candidates at 1–3 years | Candidates at 1–3 years | Candidates at 1–3 years |
| Problem | who are struggling to start and build successful careers but lack career knowledge and direction | who want to find jobs and expand their network but don't have the access | who want to find jobs but don't have the access / CV building tools | who want to find a job but don't have the access / CV building tools |
| Solution | Can access career guidance and gain insights from professionals to secure the right job for you. | Can use a social media platform that expands their professional networks and highlights their skills. | Can access a Job board and CV building tools | Can use a Job board, CV building tools, skill training and learning materials |
| Features |
|
|
|
|
| Benefits | so they can get 360° career guidance at any stage in their career | so they can make professional connections across borders | so they can successfully land a job | so they can successfully land a job and be equipped with soft skills |
| Positioning #1 | Get AI-driven career guidance in a Private Career network | Find jobs and connect with professionals around the world | Get jobs with professional level CV building | Get jobs with professional level CV building and soft skills training |
HireMe Plus — for candidates
Premium tier for job seekers: resume builder, AI-matched job alerts, application status tracking, and access to exclusive events. Designed to convert engaged users who have already applied at least once.
HireMe Pro — for employers
B2B tier for hiring teams: AI-assisted screening, candidate shortlisting tools, branded employer profiles, and direct outreach to matched candidates. Priced to compete with Jobberman Pro on value-per-hire.
Launch Plan
| Phases | Phase I — Introduction to Market | Phase II — Growth | Phase III — Maturity | Phase Out / Keep on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theme | Launch on Campus / Student areas | Promotions and collaborations | Webinars & Success stories | Depending on success |
| Duration | 3 months | 3 months | 3 months | |
| Market | Early Career Candidates (1–3 years) | Candidates (5–10 years) | Candidates (All) | |
| Stakeholders | Design & Marketing team | Design & Marketing team | BD, Design & Marketing team | |
| Metrics | %Activation (Subscriptions, Sign-ups) | %Engagements, % Growth | #Viewers, #Successstories |
| Phases | Phase I — Introduction to Market | Phase II — Growth | Phase III — Maturity | Phase Out / Keep on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theme | Onboard Early Stage Employers | Expand to Mid-Scale Employers | Enterprise partnerships | Depending on retention |
| Duration | 3 months | 3 months | 3 months | |
| Market | Early Stage Employers (1–20 staff) | Mid-Scale Employers (20–100 staff) | All Employer segments | |
| Stakeholders | BD & Design team | BD, Design & Marketing team | BD, Design & Marketing team | |
| Metrics | #Employer sign-ups, #Job posts | %Employer retention, #Hires made | #Partnerships, ARR growth |
10%
Target activation rate increase within 30 days of launch
50
Candidate success stories targeted as social proof by end of Q3
20%
Average month-on-month user growth across the 6-month period
Marketing
Digital Marketing
TikTok: 1.5k → 6.3k
5% conversion to platform sign-up
LinkedIn: 105 → 608
2.4% conversion rate
Newsletter: 3.5k → 9k
21.3% average open rate
Collaborations & Partnerships
6 candidates
Directly placed via partnership pipeline
400K NGN ARR
Revenue attributed to partnership channel
5K reach
Road to 30 podcast audience
Events & Campus Activations
Impact & Results
10x DAU
Hit 10,000 DAU by mid Q3 — 6 months ahead of stretch goal
1,200+
Job matches per candidate on average
65%
User activation within first 7 days
Today HireMe is at 350,000 DAU — a 350x growth from beta launch.
Learnings
The chicken-and-egg problem is a strategy problem, not a product problem
Candidates won't come without jobs; employers won't post without candidates. Waiting for product to solve it is a trap. We solved it with strategy — free first-month benefits pulled employers in while campus ambassadors built the candidate side through community, not advertising.
Community beats job board every time
Positioning HireMe as a community changed user behaviour. People came for connection, not just jobs. That stickiness drove 65% of users to complete their profile and apply within 7 days. A job board gets visitors. A community gets members.
Growth at scale requires a channel mix, not a single bet
TikTok, LinkedIn, newsletter, podcasts, career fairs — no single channel got us to 350k DAU. I treat channel strategy like a portfolio: diversify, measure, and double down on what converts.
