Where it began
When Growth Met Uncertainty
Southeast Asia’s Leading Job Marketplace
Often called a regional LinkedIn Jobs or Indeed, Glints connects employers and job seekers across the region, with Indonesia as its main market.
Indonesia
Main Market
6M+
Job Seekers
60K+
Employers
Fumbled at a Crossroads
In late 2022, after a company-wide reorg, leadership sought to rebuild stability and unlock growth. With job postings at the center of employer and candidate activity, monetization became the natural starting point for Glints’ first system redesign.
Who we served
Two Recruiter Archetypes, One Challenge
Recruiters came to Glints with very different hiring rhythms. But once jobs went live, they faced the same struggle: making sure roles stayed visible long enough to attract strong candidates before they moved on.
Before Jobs Go Live, Needs Diverged
Enterprises Hire in Cycles
Plan quarterly, post in bulk; need predictable budgets with room for urgent hires.
SMBs Hire on Demand
Post instantly, prioritize speed and flexibility; avoid delays or upfront costs.
After Jobs Go Live, Needs Converged
Everyone Needs Visibility to Reach Candidates
Both SMBs and Enterprises needed ways to boost underperforming roles back to the top, so more candidates saw them before top talent slipped away.
Why this moment mattered
Squeezed between Competition and Escalating Goals
Rivals grew faster and bigger
Indonesian startup Kitalulus was four times more active on mobile, while JobStreet stayed six times larger as the dominant incumbent. Glints was squeezed between a fast-rising challenger and a market giant.
Targets climbed higher in response
To keep pace, leadership raised the bar in Q2 2023. Connected opportunities (job posts that resulted in hires) had to grow from 179K in March to 1M by December.
That meant scaling 5× in just 9 months, a steep climb that pushed Glints’ system to its limits.
Glints faced pressure from outside and within
With rivals pulling ahead and internal goals escalating, Glints was caught in the middle. The new monetization system could not simply “work.” It had to scale quickly and sustain marketplace growth.
Framing the Problem
Design Principles
Balancing Recruiter Speed with Business Growth
I set principles to keep hiring fast and clear for recruiters, while sustaining predictable growth for the business.
Speed First
Recruiters should never lose talent due to delays.
Transparent Pricing
Always clear what they are paying for, when, and why.
Balanced Flows
Lightweight for recruiters with diverse hiring rhythms.
My Role
Orchestrator Turning Ambiguity to Alignment
I acted as the clarifier and orchestrator, turning shifting constraints into recruiter-friendly systems, while keeping product, sales, design, and leadership aligned under pressure.
Phase 1
We needed an efficient, flexible top-up so recruiters could hire fast
Challenge
The First Paid Posts Couldn’t Break the Flow
Keep posts fast and predictable, even with payment
SMBs hired instantly, while Enterprises planned in cycles. The pre-payment flow was simple: plan and post. Payment now had to fit without slowing speed or breaking predictability.
Paid vs free posts kept the marketplace balanced
Monetization created a split. Paid postings sustained revenue by covering popular roles. Free postings kept supply high and variety broad. The system had to balance both, ensuring revenue without stalling urgent hires.
First Try
Post with Credits like a Starbucks Card
Scoped from benchmarks into a lean MVP
After a reorg, I had only two weeks to set direction. I benchmarked five competitors and distilled their complex systems into a MVP recruiters could adopt fast: top up once, store credits, redeem for posts.
Addressed different hiring rhythms
Credits gave recruiters options that matched their needs and reduced top-up frequency while keeping posts live instantly.
Pre-purchased packages for Enterprises
Avoid repeated internal approvals when posting at scale.
One-off top-ups for SMBs
Post immediately without committing to upfront fees.
Top up credits, simple as reloading a Starbucks Card
Credits worked like a Starbucks Card: load once, spend over time. Recruiters could top up in the wallet or add credits while posting. Either way, jobs went live with balances shown clearly.
What Worked Better
Pay per Post like a Coffee Voucher
Pivoted when Credits hit policy walls
When Indonesian refund policies blocked Credits, I pivoted to a simpler model that reused most of the infra: purchase a job post voucher, no credit balance to ensure we could meet the launch timeline.
One job, one voucher — straightforward and familiar
Instead of storing Credits, recruiters bought job post vouchers. Each voucher could only be used once, just like a coffee coupon. Clearer for recruiters, simpler for engineering, but too rigid for long-term growth.
Purchase a job post at posting
Recruiters could pay one-off while creating a job, keeping hiring fast.
Purchase job posts from wallet
Recruiters topped up posts in advance and drew from them when posting, better for planned hiring.
My Impact
Steered MVP Amid Uncertainty
I clarified direction with wireframes, aligning leadership and unblocking engineering to start infra.
Delivered Glints’ first self-serve paid posting system, proving monetization was viable.
Aligned leadership and squad
Facilitated reviews and trade-offs to align direction and unblock infra.
Post-Launch Evaluation
Pay-per-post as a temporary bridge
Unmoderated usability testing (n=25) showed recruiters could follow the flow, but only 43% understood when a job was free vs paid. The issue was not usability but the pricing model itself, which was too confusing to scale.
88%
73%
43%
Understood
Paid vs Free Rules
“Pay-per-post enabled the first wave of paid postings.
But unclear pricing rules limited adoption and made the model unsustainable.”
Phase 2
We needed a clear, predictable model recruiters could trust
Challenge
Clarity was the missing piece for recruiter confidence
Phase 1 improved posting speed, but recruiters froze without clarity on when and why fees applied. Posting slowed, jobs decreased, and the marketplace weakened. Glints needed a clear model to restore confidence.
Adopted Model
Hire with Subscriptions like Reserving a Table
Scoped from benchmarks into subscription plans
When leadership called for a pivot, I benchmarked competitors and scoped job-slot subscriptions in two weeks. By clarifying when and why charges happen, subscriptions gave recruiters the confidence to plan and post without freezing.
Predictable hiring, like holding a reserved table at a café
SMBs had smaller tables with only a few seats, while Enterprises reserved larger ones to match their hiring cycles. Each active job filled one seat, giving recruiters a predictable way to plan and budget.
Reuse job slots instantly
When a role closed or underperformed, recruiters could archive it to free a slot and instantly post a new job. This flexibility kept hiring fast and predictable, without surprise fees or delays.
Nudge to upgrade, then ask for sales support
When recruiters hit their slot limits, the system prompted them to upgrade or archive repurpose jobs. If more slots were needed, they could submit a simple sales form and get contacted to adjust their plan.
My Impact
Built Glints’ Core Subscription Model
Transformed unclear pricing into a predictable system recruiters could trust.
Delivered subscription in 1 quarter
Launched Glints’ first subscription system, turning unclear rules into a predictable model.
Drove cross-functional migration
Framed messy sales needs into clear flows and led a 3-stage rollout.
Phase 3
We needed to give recruiters control once jobs were live
Challenge
Help Recruiters Catch Talent Before They Slip Away
Visibility mattered to everyone. Once jobs underperformed, recruiters needed a way to push them back up fast. But boosts were sales-led only, hidden from most and too slow for urgent fixes. Recruiters needed the power to boost jobs on demand, keeping visibility high when it mattered most.
Solution
Boost Visibility like Adding an Espresso Shot
Derived from Recruiter needs from benchmark and research learning
User research and competitor reviews revealed recruiters struggled with pre-purchase complexity. I designed two paths of self-serve checkout to match hiring rhythms: one-off boosts for urgent roles, and packages stored in wallet for planned hiring.
In-context boosts, a quick lift like an espresso shot
Recruiters acted right after seeing job performance drop. Instead of cluttering the posting flow, boosts appeared post-job, protecting marketplace job volume. A confirmation modal showed expected reach and application lift, with instant one-off purchase applied once payment was made.
Choose packages for planned hiring
On the pricing page, recruiters saw package value clearly: % discounts, boost duration, and FAQs upfront. With details handled there, checkout was reduced to just confirming the order and completing payment.
Track payments and share with finance easily
Recruiters tracked remaining boosts on the My Plan page, quickly revisited pending orders, and shared payment links with finance for approval, keeping both speed and compliance in place.
My Impact
Unlocking New Revenue with Self-Serve Boosts
Turned sales-led boosts into Glints’ first self-serve revenue feature and foundation for future monetization.
Launched revenue feature
Built self-serve flow and wallet as foundation for monetization.
Scaled self-serve adoption
Reframed visibility as just-in-time, driving 60%+ boosts in 6 weeks.
DESIGN TRADE-OFFS
We needed to weigh short-term upsell against long-term confidence
Placement of Boost Actions
Framing Boosts as Visibility Fixes, Not Fees
Hypothesis
Recruiters might want to choose visibility upgrades while posting, but they also needed clarity that Boosts were separate from job fees.
Option A: At posting
Verdict
PROs
Streamlined flow, easier to upsell
CONs
Recruiters confused Boosts with job fees
Option B: Post-publish → Chosen
Verdict
PROs
Aligned with recruiter habits
CONs
Fewer upsell chances
Decision
I placed Boosts post-publish, guided by sales insight and competitor benchmarks. This aligned with recruiter habits: framing Boosts as a visibility fix, not a job fee, and prioritizing trust and clarity over short-term upsell.
Package Options in Boost Purchase
Designing for Urgency, Not Upsell
Hypothesis
Showing package options during in-context purchase might drive larger orders, but could also add friction when recruiters were trying to fix underperforming jobs.
Option A: Show package options
Verdict
PROs
Potential upsell to larger packages
CONs
Risk of distraction and decision fatigue
Option B: Keep purchase focused → Chosen
Verdict
PROs
Faster checkout, aligned with urgency
CONs
Fewer upsell chances
Decision
I kept the in-context Boost purchase focused on one-off orders. Recruiters in urgency needed speed and clarity, so I prioritized usability and trust over short-term upsell.
Outcome
I turned fragmented pricing into flows recruiters trusted,
scaling into Glints’ core monetization system.
Design That Drove Results
Designing Glints’ First Hiring Monetization System
I transformed unclear pricing rules into clear, trusted flows. Recruiters adopted fast, and subscriptions became Glints’ core revenue model.
88%
Usability test (n=25), % who explained correctly
60%+
Orders surpassed sales-led in same period
3
2 launched, subscriptions adopted as core
Design in Action
Turning Uncertainty into Predictable Growth
Subscription Model — From scattered to predictable hiring
Turned credits into subscriptions recruiters could trust. This gave clarity for recruiters, predictable budgets for enterprises, and recurring revenue for Glints.
Visibility Boost — Control after posting
Added self-serve boosts when jobs underperformed. This let recruiters act fast, candidates see fresher jobs, and Glints unlock a healthy upsell channel.
Internal System — Scaling sales-led subscriptions
Extended admin tools so sales could set client plans directly. This reduced recruiter friction, sped enterprise adoption, and lowered sales overhead.
Design System — Consistent and scalable foundation
Proposed Shopify Polaris as the new design system foundation and partnered with the Employer Platform designer to define guidelines and consistency. This grounded monetization delivery while setting up reusable patterns for the platform.
Reflections
From foundations recruiters trusted, to futures powered by AI
Learnings
Shaping Durable Systems Together
This project taught me to
Reframe shifting constraints into design opportunities that kept the marketplace moving.
Turn usability insights into strategic proof for both user and business needs across iterations.
Simplify messy, sales-driven asks into flows engineers could build and recruiters could trust.
Align sales, engineering, and design so teams could guide customers smoothly through change.
After my handoff, the system scaled
By 2025, subscriptions grew to 3,400+ renewals, over 50% of companies repurchased boosts, and Glints passed 1M hires in 6 months, proving the system was built to last.
AfterThoughts
If I Could Do It Differently
With today’s AI, I’d push adoption further and lighten recruiter effort.
Predict boost timing
from live market signals to maximize ROI and cut wasted spend
Auto-suggest boosts
at the right moments to reduce recruiter guesswork and cognitive load
Clarify boost and package value dynamically
with data-driven reasons that make benefits obvious and adoption stronger
