My Role:
Sole UX/UI Designer & Front-End DeveloperSummary:
I spearheaded the UX/UI redesign of HealtheCareers.com, a job board for healthcare professionals. My responsibilities encompassed the entire user journey, including the homepage, job search experience, search results, job details pages, employer profiles, blog/news pages, and job seeker dashboards. I also handled all front-end development. Working within an Agile environment, I collaborated with product, engineering, and marketing stakeholders to optimize the job seeker journey, resulting in increased user engagement and application submissions. I also contributed to the UX design for HealtheCareers’ first mobile app, focusing on creating a seamless user experience for job seekers on the go.
constraints
Timeline: Multi-year redesign across research, design, and implementation phases; worked in Agile sprints with product and engineering.
Tech stack: Front-end built with HTML, Less CSS, Bootstrap; integrated into existing ASP.NET backend; version control via TFS and Git.
Stakeholders: Product managers, QA team, engineering team, marketing, and DHI leadership; balanced needs of job seekers, employers, and internal business goals .
Legacy platform: Redesign had to integrate with existing backend systems and support millions of active users without downtime; required careful phasing and testing.
Design system: Created and applied a design system across the main HEC platform and 60+ medical association microsites; established reusable patterns and web standards that enabled per-association theming and faster future development.
the challenges
- Outdated Design & Branding The website’s design was outdated and didn’t align with the company’s recent rebranding, negatively impacting user experience.
- Limited Search Functionality: The existing search refinement options were too basic, particularly the inability to select multiple specializations within the healthcare industry. Job seekers often qualify for multiple job types, so this limitation hindered their search process.
- Complex Category Hierarchy: The site utilized a deep, multi-level category structure, making it difficult for users to navigate and select relevant specializations. We needed to devise a method to present and allow selection of multiple categories, which could go 2-3 levels deep.
- Optimizing Job Application Flow: The job details pages needed a complete overhaul to optimally present information and encourage job applications. A key challenge was balancing information with calls to action to maximize conversion (completed applications).
- Mobile-First Considerations: Ensuring a responsive design and a seamless user experience across desktop and mobile devices was critical.
the process
- User Research & Collaboration: We began with months of extensive brainstorming, user research, and competitive analysis. This involved collaborating closely with product and engineering teams to understand user needs and technical constraints. I used Hotjar session replay analysis to identify pain points in the existing flows, and gathered insights through stakeholder workshops.
- Information Architecture & Workflow Design: I designed optimized workflows and intuitive layouts for the entire user journey, from login/registration to job search, saved jobs, job alerts, and the application process. This included creating user flows to visualize and streamline key interactions.
- Search Functionality Redesign: I focused on enabling users to select multiple specialties and improving search refinement options. This involved designing a new interface for category selection and location specification. I also implemented filtering options to further narrow search results. I iterated on multiple designs based on session replay analysis and stakeholder feedback.
- Search Results Page Optimization: I redesigned the search results page, carefully considering the hierarchy of information presented: job title, location, employer name, summary, tags, and save job functionality. The goal was to improve scannability and information relevance.
- Job Details Page Enhancement: I optimized the layout of the job details page to encourage completed job applications and job alert creation. This involved strategically placing the job description, employer profiles, similar jobs, and application buttons. Iterated based on session replay analysis and stakeholder feedback.
- Account & Alert Optimization: I streamlined the job alert creation and account registration processes to make them as simple and intuitive as possible. This reduced the number of steps required to create an account.
- Employer Profile Design: I designed employer profile pages with dedicated sections for “About Us” and job listings. We created standard profiles and premium versions with rich media like videos, employee testimonials, and work culture highlights.
- Homepage Redesign: I completely redesigned the homepage, taking into account the new logo and branding. Key decisions included:
- Prioritizing Job Seeker Log In/Sign Up: We tested various arrangements of log-in/sign-up links and buttons, ultimately deciding on prominent job seeker options below employer links in a secondary navbar.
- Search Form Design: I experimented with vertical and horizontal search form layouts, incorporating options to search by specialty or keyword/job title/company, and location.
- Showcasing Key Information: I featured prominent employers, top employer logos, links to the salary center, and calls to action for job seekers.
- Front-End Development & Design System: After design approvals, I handled all front-end development, utilizing Bootstrap and Less CSS to ensure a fully responsive design. I implemented version control and created reusable patterns using Less CSS variables for per-association theming across the main HEC platform and 60+ medical association microsites.
A few home page design iterations
key decisions
- Redesigned the specialty search with multi-select filters instead of single-category dropdowns.
Why: Research showed healthcare job seekers often qualified for multiple specialties (e.g., RN + ICU + Travel Nursing). A multi-select UI reduced search friction and better matched how users thought about their skills, leading to better search results and higher application rates. - Built a design system using Less CSS variables to enable per-association theming at scale.
Why: HealtheCareers needed to support the main platform alongside 60+ medical association microsites with shared structure but distinct branding for each association. Rather than maintaining separate CSS for each microsite, I created reusable patterns (search modules, form elements, job cards) themed via Less CSS variables. This reduced development time, ensured visual consistency, and made future updates faster across the platform. - Prioritized employer profile redesign to increase premium upsells.
Why: Data showed job seekers engaged more with rich employer profiles (photos, culture info, benefits). Partnering with product and sales, I redesigned premium employer profiles to be visually distinct and valuable, which improved conversion rates for premium subscriptions. - Prioritized job details page optimization to drive application completions.
Why: The previous job details page buried key information (salary, location, benefits) and didn’t emphasize the apply CTA. By restructuring the layout to surface essential info and making the apply button prominent, I reduced friction and encouraged more completed applications and job alert sign-ups.
the results
- Improved Search and Application Flow:
The multi-select specialty search and streamlined job details pages improved discoverability and encouraged completed applications and job alert sign-ups. - Improved Search Functionality: The new search functionality, with multi-select categories and enhanced filtering, enabled job seekers to find relevant positions more efficiently.
- Lasting Impact: The core elements of the workflow I designed remain in use on HealtheCareers.com today, demonstrating the project’s lasting success and positive impact on user experience. You can see the design is still implemented on the core pages like the job search, search results, job details, employer profiles, and blog sections. (The current home page is different from my design).
