Integrated Reference Management
Pinpoint ATS
Role
Lead Designer
Tools
Figma, FigJam, Linear, Notion
Year
2025
01.
Introduction
Pinpoint is a B2B applicant tracking system used by in-house recruitment teams. Reference checking is a standard part of almost every hire - but for Pinpoint's customers it was happening entirely outside the product. This is how I took it from a gap in the workflow to a shipped feature used across the enterprise customer base.
02.
The Problem
Reference checking happens at the end of every hire - but for Pinpoint's customers it was happening entirely outside the product. Recruiters were chasing referees over email, tracking status in spreadsheets, and losing audit trails in the process.
I started with a competitor audit across the dedicated reference tools in market to understand what best-in-class looked like outside an ATS. I followed that with interviews across internal stakeholders and Pinpoint customers, specifically targeting enterprise clients where compliance and audit requirements made the pain most acute.
The pattern was consistent:
Recruiters weren't just inconvenienced - they were running entire parallel systems to manage something that should live inside their ATS. The opportunity was to make the full process native to Pinpoint, so every hire had one complete, centralised record.
03.
Challenge
Three user types. One flow.
An admin requests a reference. That triggers a candidate to submit referee details. That triggers a referee - with no Pinpoint account and no context - to complete a form. An action by any one of them changes the state for the others. A bad referee experience would undermine the entire flow. I had to hold three very different design bars simultaneously.
04.
Decisions
Request Reference
Ship a focused MVP, validate fast
The first version gave recruiters structured reference requests - customisable templates, configurable fields, and packaged reference requests that enforced the right mix before moving forward. Once we saw real usage, we layered in time-based validation, confirming references cover required periods.
Audit Logs
Status is the product
The audit trail wasn't a nice-to-have for enterprise clients - it was the feature. Compliance-conscious hiring teams needed a complete record of every request, response, and status change. I designed the status system first and built the entire UI around it.
Candidate Portal
Give candidates visibility, reduce admin chasing
Once a candidate submits referee details, they get a persistent link to track progress themselves. If a referee goes quiet, the candidate can follow up directly - removing a whole category of back-and-forth from the recruiter's plate.
Email - Reference Request
Design for the reluctant referee
Some referees won't click an unknown link. We added a reply-to email field - referees could respond directly or attach a reference on company letterhead, captured in Pinpoint either way. A small decision that removed a meaningful drop-off at the most fragile part of the flow.
05.
Outcome
The feature launched to enterprise clients first, then rolled out across the wider customer base - replacing email and spreadsheets with a structured, embedded workflow.
Candidates
References
Completion Rate
Repeat usage
Statistics taken 9 months from release
Request Reference
