Why mode exists
A college student exploring internships, an active seeker drowning in applications, and an employed holder thinking about the next move do not need the same first action, the same home framing, or the same job defaults. Mode lets the app stay coherent without forcing three disconnected products.
What changes by mode
Home becomes Weekly for holders. Jobs becomes The Market. My Dilly becomes My Career.
The masthead, briefings, nudges, and what rises to the top all shift by current state.
Students skew internship-first. Holders hide internship listings. Degree and location defaults react to profile context.
Labels and framing shift so the same screen feels appropriate to the moment the user is in.
The AI talks differently to a stressed seeker versus a benchmarking holder, even on the same question.
Field Intelligence shifts emphasis: AI risk for holders, capability building for students, momentum for seekers.
What stays constant
- The underlying identity and profile history
- Wins timeline and accumulated context
- The system's memory of what the user has done and where they are trying to go
- The ability for one screen to improve another later
How switching feels
Mode switching is not a new-account event. It is a state transition. If a seeker lands a job, the app behaves like it learned something important about the same person, not like it deleted them and started over.
Where mode flips come from
- The first onboarding path selection
- Career status changes in settings
- Job landed or job lost flows
- Internship sub-flows that add a more specific state signal
Mode by mode
Design consequence
If a screen cannot explain what it does differently for Student, Seeker, and Holder, it is probably too generic. If a mode flip destroys prior context, the system has broken its own promise.