Overview Research Empathize Ideate Design

Context:

A UX design side project and unsolicited redesign

Team:

Solo, under mentorship

Role:

UX Researcher + Designer

Timeline:

2 Week sprint

Deliverables:

Research findings, user persona, wireframes, interactive prototypes, high fidelity mockups of proposed changes to user interface design

FLEXJOBS

A UX Case Study + Redesign

FlexJobs (flexjobs.com) is a job board for vetted remote and flexible work opportunities. The website is subscription-based, paid for by the job seekers. These paying users are the focus of this project.

Research

Challenges

• Being resource-constrained, recruiting users for 1:1 interviews was not possible

• Blogger-users are paid affiliates who write reviews

• Some would-be users opt for free alternatives

Solutions

Through investigations of online forums (reading and two-way communication), blogs, and review sites, I was able to gather data on competitors, work-from-home employees, and the societal shift toward remote work in general. Some initial assumptions were also validated by heuristic evaluations and analyses.

Competitors

• Remotejobs.today

• Indeed.com

• United Nations Dev Jobs

• Remote.co

• We Work Remotely

• Remotely Awesome Jobs

• Hacker News Jobs

• Working Nomads

• The Training Associates

• Angel List

• Remote OK

• Awesome Remote Job (GitHub)

Key Findings

• There is no straight path to a central job search. There are redundant links that lead to search yet naming conventions are inconsistent.

• The cognitive load on the user is heavy with lengthy copy, some links overly decorated like display ads, and too many options.

• The pricing or where to find it is not explicitly clear.

User Comments

“FlexJobs certainly gives you plenty of information to take in when you hit the user dashboard… it’s a bit of a shame it’s still a rather cluttered experience. I’m still not a huge fan of the user experience here as it’s initially a little overwhelming. However, it is still perfectly functional…The interface is too cluttered, the searches aren’t quite perfect (yet), and some of the features seem bolted on for the sake of it.”

-via homeworkingclub.com

Empathize

Users

Digital Nomads & Tech Professionals

• Millenial generation

• Devices are extensions of themselves

• Technology is critical to their work and enables remote flexibility

Moms-to-be, Parents & Family Caretakers

• Care costs make working outside of the home inconvenient

• Desire to be present in family life with work schedule flexibility

• Desire to be a household earner

• Skeptical of online scams

Disabled or otherwise unfit for conventional work

• Physically disabled

• Spouses & partners of armed services members

• Those with social anxiety and other mental illnesses

• Those with chronic pain / illnesses

Ideate

Plan to Address the Issues

Create a Higher Level

One solution to alleviate cognitive overload create a higher level of navigation, with few general categories within which the plethora of information could live, the user will be able to choose their path and get introduced to the content at their own pace and according to their needs.

Ensure Consistent Language

By streamlining the language used in calls-to-action, titles, and tips throughout, users will be able to clearly understand that any redundancies are intentional and for the users’ own convenience.

Clean Up Visual Metaphors

Simplifying some of the graphics used throughout will visually clean up the space. One color icons can be used instead of colorful badges to indicate job features. Icons can be eliminated from the secondary navigation inside the sidebar.

Take a Cue From Google

Revamp the search process to start simply and get more detailed with sorting and filtering as the user dives deeper (if needed).

Make it Bigger, Bolder, Brighter

Use power colors, larger, bolder type, negative space, and bigger shapes to make the search bar a focal point.

I Saw the $ Sign

Add a link in the main navigation, which is persistent throughout the site, specifically for Pricing. Add inline copy that includes the lowest cost option (“Starting at just $14.99/mo. for unlimited access...”).*

“...numerals often stop the wandering eye and attract fixations, even when they’re embedded within a mass of words that users otherwise ignore.”

-Nielsen Norman Group

Design

Home Page

The home page has been reorganized to prioritize a direct job search, more in alignment other popularjob search websites.

The user’s journey will begin by experiencing some of what the website has to offer for free, before they need to subscribe and pay. However, the pricing information is now disclosed on this front page.

At the top, there are now two columns — one for searching by typing in a specific query and one for browsing by job openings by the top employers on the site.

Viewing information about the top companies is a priority because the Flexjobs Value Proposition is that the website lists only legitimate, hand- selected job opportunities.

The short blurbs of information, illustrating the benefits and basics of using Flexjobs reamain; however, these are not hyperlinks as it is meant to be an overview only. There is a call-to-action immediately following this information for the user to make the decision to sign up, after having looked over the benefits.

Top Employers Page

This page holds a list of the top employers that have been vetted by Flexjobs and offer flexible and/or remote work opportunities.

Rather than displaying many badges next to each employer to show every one of their accolades, an asterisk is displayed next to employers that meet a certain level of prestige.

More in-depth information about how these employers rank, should be on another page, cleaning the list up for the user to scan without as much visual noise while still disclosing the information for those interested.

Pricing Page

This page discloses all of the pricing tiers upfront, showing transparency.

This page can now be accessed from the main navigation, rather than buried several steps into the sign up process. The information has been flipped so that the numbers are front and center and the justification for paying these amounts are immediately below.

There are several calls-to-action to make signing up quick and easy once the user decides he can afford the prices.