Agency in a Box - A job platform that puts job seekers in touch with recruiters
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Job seekers buy connects to reach recruiters at the companies they want.
Agency in a Box
Responsive web platform, 2013
About the project
Agency in a Box was a US job platform planned as the next version of the Overseas Job Portal, a site for Americans looking for work at home and abroad. It sold job seekers direct contacts with recruiters and hiring managers, and let companies post jobs and review the people who applied. In 2013 we wrote the proto-personas and user stories, wireframed both sides of the product and designed the full UI for desktop, tablet and phone.
Project
Agency in a Box Job Platform
Industry
Recruitment and Jobs
Location
United States
Date
2013
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Client Request
Agency in a Box asked us to plan and design a job platform where job seekers reach recruiters directly and companies post jobs, on desktop, tablet and phone.
Agency in a Box
Project proposal, July 2013
Design Pillars
Core UX Principles
Sign-up starts with one choice, company or professional, and each side then gets its own short steps.
Each job card shows how many emails, phone numbers and referrals the network holds for that company.
A profile meter, a step-by-step resume builder and empty states with one clear button show people what to do next.
User Research
Who the Platform Serves
Job Seekers
Americans aged 18 to 55 and up, in work or not, looking for better pay at home or overseas.
Contractors
People who have worked abroad before, like a former Navy electrician who now takes contracts, and want the next one overseas.
Employers
Business owners who hire full-time, part-time and freelance staff and want more resumes to choose from.
The Challenge
Problem Statement
The Main Goal: Put Job Seekers in Touch With Recruiters
Agency in a Box started from the idea that many overseas jobs are filled through personal contacts, so the contact itself was the product. The platform had to show who a job seeker could reach at each company, sell those contacts through plans and connects, and give employers simple tools to post a job and sort the people who applied.
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This concept will combine job search, recruiter contacts, downloadable job search reports, and a company database.
Agency in a Box
Concept document, June 2013
Our Approach
Solution
One Platform, Two Sets of Tools
Proto-personas, user stories, a site flow, 115 wireframe pages and the full UI for the job seeker and employer sides in three screen sizes. It is an example of our Marketplace Product Design work.
01 - Sign-Up and Plans
A choice between company and professional, short sign-up steps and a free plan that starts with three connects.
02 - Job Seeker Tools
Overseas and local job search, a resume builder, saved searches, favorites, an inbox and insider contacts.
03 - Employer Tools
A dashboard, a post a job form with a preview and candidate lists for in review, short listed and rejected.
Before & After
The Blueprint & Evolution
Wireframe to Final Screen
We wireframed every screen first, then designed the UI on the same structure.
Before: the contact instructions wireframe, August 2013.
After: the same screen in the final UI, September 2013.
Design
Key Features
Insider Contacts
A job seeker can reveal a recruiter’s details and pick phone, email or social, with calling instructions written for the first call.
Posting and Hiring
Employers post a job with its category, type, salary, level and start time, preview it, then move each applicant through the hiring stages.
Design System
Visual Identity
Typography
Lato and PT Sans from the style sheet, set larger on the phone layouts so forms stay easy to fill in.
Color Palette
Slate for headers and menus, teal and orange for actions, green for success and red for deletes and warnings.
UI Logic
Every button has normal, hover and clicked states, every delete asks for confirmation and every empty list points to the next step.
Impact
A Full Design Set for Both Sides
Results for Agency in a Box
By October 2013 Agency in a Box had the user stories, the wireframes and the final UI for the job seeker and employer sides at three screen sizes.
Agency in a Box
Result
By the Numbers
115 Wireframe Pages
68 for the job seeker side and 47 for the employer side.
3 Screen Sizes
Desktop, tablet and phone layouts for every screen.
4 Proto-Personas
Three job seekers and one employer, written before the wireframes.
Research
Personas, Stories and Flows
Starting From the People
We defined the target audience, wrote four proto-personas and listed user stories for visitors and members, such as searching jobs by industry, career level and salary. A site flow tied the stories to the screens. You can see some of the results below.
Final Showcase
The Agency in a Box Platform
