Share Interview Experiences: A New Feature Request

Hey everyone!

This is an exciting feature request to add an Interview Experience Submission Form to our platform. The goal is to create a space where students can share their real-world interview experiences, helping each other prepare for placements. Think of it as a community-driven hub filled with tips, questions, and company-specific insights – all the good stuff!

Why This Matters

We all know how nerve-wracking interviews can be. Having access to firsthand accounts from students who've been through the process can be a game-changer. By sharing our experiences, we can:

• Reduce anxiety: Knowing what to expect can significantly ease pre-interview jitters.
• Improve preparation: Real interview questions and tips are invaluable study resources.
• Gain company-specific insights: Understanding a company's culture and interview style can give you a competitive edge.
• Build a supportive community: Sharing our knowledge strengthens our bonds and creates a helpful network.

Making It Happen: The Proposed Implementation

So, how do we make this awesome idea a reality? Here’s a breakdown of the proposed implementation:

Placement: Where Should the "Share Experience" Option Live?

Visibility and accessibility are key. We want to make it super easy for users to contribute their experiences. Two prime locations come to mind:

1. Hamburger Menu: Adding a "Share Experience" option to the hamburger (three-dash) menu ensures it's always within reach, no matter where you are on the platform. This is a great way to keep it consistently available without cluttering the main interface.
2. Home Page or Resources Page Button: A visible button on the Home Page or Resources Page could be a real magnet for contributions. It’s right there in plain sight, encouraging users to share their stories.

Let's dive deeper into these options:

Option 1: The Hamburger Menu Approach

The hamburger menu, often represented by three horizontal lines, is a staple of modern web and app design. It's a fantastic way to tuck away less frequently used options while keeping them readily accessible. Adding a "Share Experience" link here would ensure that the submission form is just a click away, regardless of what page a user is currently viewing. This approach offers several key advantages:

• Consistency: The hamburger menu is a consistent element across the entire platform, meaning users will always know where to find the "Share Experience" option.
• Clean Interface: By housing the link within the menu, we avoid cluttering the main interface with too many buttons or links. This is particularly important for maintaining a user-friendly experience.
• Accessibility: While tucked away, the hamburger menu is still easily accessible, making it a practical choice for features that aren't used constantly but are still important.

However, it's also worth considering the potential drawbacks. Some users might not immediately think to look in the hamburger menu for this feature, especially if they're new to the platform. This is where the second option comes into play.

Option 2: The Prominent Button Strategy

A visible button on the Home Page or Resources Page is a more direct approach. By placing the "Share Experience" button in a prominent location, we can immediately grab the user's attention and encourage them to contribute. This strategy is particularly effective for driving initial adoption and building momentum for the feature.

• High Visibility: A button on the Home Page or Resources Page is hard to miss, ensuring that users are aware of the option to share their experiences.
• Clear Call to Action: The button serves as a clear and direct call to action, prompting users to take the desired step.
• Increased Engagement: By making the feature easily accessible, we can encourage more users to contribute, leading to a richer and more valuable resource for everyone.

Of course, the prominent button approach also has its considerations. We need to ensure that the button is visually appealing and doesn't clash with the overall design of the page. We also need to think about the placement – where on the page will it have the most impact without being intrusive?

Choosing the Best Option

Ultimately, the best approach might be a combination of both! We could start with a prominent button to drive initial awareness and then keep the "Share Experience" option in the hamburger menu for ongoing accessibility. This ensures that the feature is both visible and consistently available.

The Technical Stuff: Route/Page and Form Fields

Alright, let's get a bit more specific about the implementation. We'll need to create a new route or page specifically for submitting interview experiences. A /submit-experience route seems like a clear and logical choice. This page will house the submission form, which should include the following fields:

• Name: To give credit where it's due and add a personal touch to the experience sharing.
• Email (optional): This allows for follow-up questions or clarifications if needed, but it's not mandatory to encourage more submissions.
• Company: Crucial for organizing and filtering experiences. It helps users find information relevant to the companies they're interested in.
• Role: Similar to the company, this allows users to focus on experiences relevant to specific roles or positions.
• Round-wise Experience: This is where the real meat of the experience lies. Users can detail each round of the interview process, including questions asked, their responses, and any challenges they faced.
• Any Tips or Advice: This free-form field allows users to share their wisdom and offer practical advice to future candidates.

Pro Tip: Consider adding a rich text editor for the "Round-wise Experience" and "Tips or Advice" fields. This will allow users to format their text, add headings, bullet points, and even code snippets, making their submissions more readable and engaging.

What Happens After Submission?

Once a user hits that submit button, what happens to their valuable insights? We have a couple of options:

1. Immediate Display: The data could be shown immediately on a new "Interview Experiences" page. This creates a sense of instant gratification and encourages more submissions. However, it also means we need to have a system in place to handle potentially inappropriate or low-quality submissions.
2. Admin Review: Alternatively, submissions could be stored locally or in a database for admin review before publishing. This gives us more control over the content that's displayed, ensuring quality and accuracy. However, it also introduces a delay between submission and publication, which could discourage some users.

Let's weigh the pros and cons:

• Immediate Display:
  • Pros: Faster feedback loop, encourages more submissions, creates a sense of community.
  • Cons: Requires robust moderation system, potential for low-quality or inappropriate content.
• Admin Review:
  • Pros: Ensures quality and accuracy, prevents inappropriate content.
  • Cons: Delay in publication, potential discouragement of submissions, requires admin overhead.

A hybrid approach might be the best solution. We could initially display submissions immediately but also flag them for admin review. This allows for quick publication while still maintaining quality control.

Displaying the Experiences: Card or List View?

How should we present these interview experiences to the world? Two popular options are card view and list view.

• Card View: Presents each experience in a visually appealing card format, often including key information like company, role, and a brief summary. This is a great way to make the experiences scannable and engaging.
• List View: Displays experiences in a more traditional list format, typically with basic information like company, role, and submission date. This is a more efficient way to present a large amount of information, but it can be less visually appealing.

We could also consider allowing users to sort and filter the experiences. Sorting by company or latest submission would be particularly useful.

The Value Proposition: Why This Feature Rocks

Adding an Interview Experience Submission Form isn't just a nice-to-have feature; it's a game-changer for our platform. Here's why:

• Promotes Peer-to-Peer Knowledge Sharing: It creates a space where students can learn from each other's experiences, fostering a collaborative learning environment.
• Builds a Community-Driven Repository of Placement Guidance: Over time, we'll build a valuable collection of real-world insights, making our platform a go-to resource for placement preparation.
• Adds Fresh and Practical Content Regularly: User-generated content keeps the platform fresh and relevant, ensuring there's always something new to discover.
• Encourages User Contributions, Increasing Engagement and Retention: By giving users a voice and a platform to share their experiences, we foster a sense of ownership and loyalty, leading to increased engagement and retention.

Let's Do This! Call to Action

So, guys, what do you think? I'm super excited about this feature and the value it can bring to our community. Let's make this happen!