External company careers site and internal job and candidate management platform.
Clark Careers
Webstaurant Store
Responsibilities
Interaction design
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User research
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Visual design
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Accessibility
Business impact
The company receives more applications than hiring managers can effectively review, on average 700 per day.
The application does not warn applicants that do not meet residency requirements, nor is it easy for hiring managers to filter out those ineligible applicants.
Design goal
Allow applicants to create an account on our job search site to create a profile, save jobs, and track their applications.
Update job descriptions to use a consistent format that highlights job requirements and potential disqualifiers.
Add AI to suggest related jobs to the applicant based on their previously viewed jobs, applications, or profile.
User benefits
- Apply to multiple jobs faster using a saved profile
- Reduce customer service calls for application updates
- Find matching jobs easier
- Receive hiring decisions faster
User challenges and design solutions
Application is not WCAG compliant
Updated visual design to meet AA contrast.
Restructured page to use semantic headings.
Worked with accessibility development team to ensure page was navigable by screen readers & keyboard users.
Inconsistent job descriptions
Created consistent job description format to help applicants determine if they are (or are not) a good match for a position before starting the application.
Added a related jobs section to help applicants find relevant jobs.
No user accounts
Created user accounts to save personal information and jobs to speed up the application process.
Save responses within the same browser session for applicants without an account.
Confusing "apply to additional positions" feature
Removed the feature to apply to up to two additional jobs with the same application. These dropdowns list every open job with no search/filter or a link to the job description, resulting in excessive "bad" applications for hiring managers to review and eliminate.
Instead, added ability to save jobs from the job description and submit multiple applications quickly.
The last question of the application is the option to apply to two additional positions. Applicants often pick two random jobs because they think it's required or they apply to the wrong positions because the job titles are so similar.
Merging candidate profiles
Added user accounts to tie applications to a single candidate record.
This eliminates the need to merge multiple application submissions in the candidate review tool, which was done either manually or with an automated tool that takes over 100 business days per year of development time to maintain.
Ineligible candidates
Gave hiring managers the ability to identify and filter out candidates that are not eligible for hire so they can spend more time reviewing eligible candidates.
Cannot customize job requirements
Added option for hiring manager to mark or add required fields to the application, such as a cover letter or portfolio.
Prevent application submission if one of these required fields is missing.
Design journey
Competitive research
Researched other examples of adding additional jobs to an application and did not find any. This feature is not consistent with how applicants expect to apply for jobs.
Majority (13/17) of other applications reviewed allow or require users to create an account before or after applying.
Color coding different steps in competitor's applications to identify common tasks
Looking for industry standard language, in this example when asking about sponsorship needs
Recent hire user research
Surveyed 34 recent hires [21 office workers and 13 warehouse workers] about their experience with the Clark Careers site, application form, and hiring process.
Identified ways to simplify the application process and standardize what's included in job descriptions.
Salary in a job posting has a bigger influence on the decision to apply to a job for recent hires in warehouse roles than office roles.
Hiring manager user research
Surveyed 12 hiring managers about their experience with the candidate review and hiring process. Conducted follow up interviews with 5 managers.
Identified ways to help hiring managers focus on the best candidates for their job.
Hiring managers' rankings of the most to least important part of a candidate's profile. Resume was ranked first yet it currently appears at the bottom of the page.
Suggestions from hiring managers on how to the candidate review tool can improve their hiring process
Identified top 5 improvements
Identified the 5 improvements to include in MVP that would have the greatest impact on both applicants and hiring managers:
- Add user accounts, saved profile, and saved jobs
- Separate personal information questions (saved profile) and job specific questions
- Warn ineligible applicants before they apply
- Improve application instructions and questions to help applicants complete application properly
- Clear and consistent job descriptions
Job application improvements
Added user accounts so applicants can save their demographic info, save jobs to apply to later, and view status of completed applications.
Application status page for logged in applicants
Hiring managers can customize the questions asked for each job. Applicants can tailor their responses to each job, in turn providing better applications for hiring managers to review.
Hiring managers can add in optional application questions such as requesting work samples
Job listing improvements
Created consistent job description format with clear section headings for job summary, requirements, and qualifications.
Added links to related jobs to connect applicants with relevant jobs.
Consistent headings between job listings make it easier for applicants to compare positions.
Discourage ineligible applicants
Show a warning both on the job listing (if user is logged in) and on the application if the applicant lives in a state where remote work is not available for that particular job.
This prevents wasted time for applicants that won't get hired and for hiring managers having to eliminate ineligible applicants.
Warning on application if the applicant does not live in an eligible hiring state.
Updated candidate review tool
Updated the internal tools for reviewing candidates and creating a job listing to support the changes to the application form and process.
The existing tool shows all of a candidate's responses on the same page, even if they are not applicable to all positions
The updated tool groups candidate responses and their hiring status by job application