Diagnosing a Sharp Drop in Job Applications

Scenario

A recruiting platform observes a sudden decline in the Job Applications metric.

Assumptions and Context (for clarity)

• "Job Application" = a successfully submitted application event (includes both on-site and off-site/partner applies if tracked). Deduplicated per user–job per day, and measured in UTC.
• Typical application funnel: Job impression → Job detail view (JDV) → Apply click → Apply start → Apply submit. Off-site applies may add an extra step (redirect to partner ATS) and a delayed callback for success.

Question

Walk through how you would diagnose the problem:

1. Which parts of the funnel you would inspect.
2. How you would separate upstream vs. downstream effects.
3. How you would account for external factors or seasonality.
4. How you would check demand–supply balance (e.g., job inventory).
5. How you would segment users (platform, geography, audience, etc.).
6. What analyses or visualizations you would build.
7. What data you would request.

Hints: Discuss funnel break-downs, cohort trends, inventory supply, seasonality baselines, segment slicing, and external events.