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Morgan McKinley is a global talent services company offering recruitment, executive search, and talent solutions across 10 countries. With a robust reputation for connecting businesses with the right talent, the company helps professionals advance their careers. A vital part of Morgan McKinley’s services is their Jobseekers platform, designed to help job seekers discover new opportunities. However, the platform had an outdated interface and struggled with a confusing user experience that was hindering job applications and user engagement.
As part of a three-designer team, I was responsible for leading the UI design efforts for the job board. I collaborated closely on UX strategy to ensure a seamless, user-centered design that met both user and business needs.
UX Process: Discover, Define, Design, and Deliver
The design process was divided into four key phases: Discover, Define, Design, and Deliver. This structured approach helped guide our work from gathering insights to delivering an optimized solution.
To identify pain points in the current design, I conducted user research and analyzed behavior through tools such as Google Analytics, Hotjar, and Userlytics. These insights revealed a significant challenge: users were abandoning applications mid-process due to frustration with the form’s length and a lack of clear navigation. Many users reported difficulty in finding relevant jobs, particularly due to the poor search functionality.
User Feedback:
Key user complaints included:
From this user feedback, we established the following design goals:
To tackle these issues, we implemented several key changes:
To reduce cognitive load and make the application process feel less overwhelming, we broke the form into multiple smaller steps. Each step contained only a few fields, which made the process seem more manageable to users. This approach—called progressive disclosure—enabled users to focus on one task at a time without feeling burdened by the length of the form. By showing users a progress bar or step indicator, we reduced uncertainty and set clear expectations for how many steps were left, thus increasing commitment to completing the application. As a result, users were more likely to engage with the process and submit their applications.
The previous job search functionality was difficult to use, leaving users frustrated and unsure where to start. We redesigned the job search to include a location-based filter and added an auto-complete feature. This gave users suggestions as they typed, helping them quickly find relevant jobs. The job search became visually clear and intuitive, providing a more seamless experience and reducing the likelihood of users leaving the site due to difficulty finding the right jobs.
Recognizing the importance of mobile for job seekers, we adopted a mobile-first design strategy. The platform was optimized to ensure it worked seamlessly across devices, allowing users to browse job listings and apply easily from their phones or tablets. This addressed the previous mobile usability issues, such as freezing and slow loading times.
To guide users effectively through the application process, we redesigned the call-to-action buttons, making them more prominent and intuitive. By strategically placing the “Apply Now” button in key locations and ensuring its visibility at every stage of the process, we minimized confusion and improved user flow. This made it clear where users needed to go next, increasing the likelihood of completed applications.
The redesigned job board yielded impressive results, demonstrating the effectiveness of the new UX/UI strategy:
These enhancements significantly improved the user experience and contributed to Morgan McKinley’s goal of increasing engagement, reducing friction in the job application process, and streamlining the overall platform.
This project reinforced the value of user-centered design and the importance of reducing cognitive load in enhancing user engagement. By simplifying the application process, improving the job search functionality, and optimizing for mobile, we created a more intuitive and engaging experience. Through continuous user testing and feedback, we were able to refine the design and make decisions that directly aligned with the users’ needs. This redesign not only helped increase user satisfaction but also improved key business metrics, demonstrating the impact of well-executed UX design on conversion rates and operational efficiency.
Draft me a quick email with your ideas or questions, and I’ll get back to you real quick!
