Designing for Hope: A Review of 4 Career Websites

DESIGNING FOR HOPEA REVIEW OF FOUR CAREER WEBSITES UPA BOSTON MINI-CONFERENCE JUNE 9, 2010Presented by:Niyati Gupta & Michelle Kwasny

Agenda!   Job Seeking, Emotions, & User Experience!   Project Overview!   Project Stages >  Overall Job Search Affect >  Positive Affect >  Design >  Design & Affect!   Overall Findings & Next Steps 2

JOB SEEKING, EMOTIONS &USER EXPERIENCE

Short Exercise Think of the last time you were job hunting, By choice or by necessity…What emotions did you experience? 4

Emotions cheerful sad active angry at self disgusted calm guilty enthusiastic attentive afraid joyful downhearted bashful tired nervous sheepish sluggish amazed lonely distressed daring shaky sleepy blameworthy surprised happy excited determined strong timid hostile frightened scornful alone proud astonished relaxed alert jittery interested irritable upset lively loathing delighted angry ashamed confident inspired bold at ease energetic fearless blue scaredconcentrating disgusted shy drowsy dissatisfied with self with self* Emotions taken from the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule – Expanded 5 Form (PANAS-X)

Job Search Feedback 6

Job Search Feedback 7

Job Search Feedback “Another day searching job listings... Another day where I am qualified for nothing... Except maybe selling Lay-‐Z-‐Boy recliners on commission. I hate myself. ” 8

Job Search Feedback I have been looking for 3 months now and It is TOUGH out I just cannot find there. anything. I’m really frustrated! The job market is Looking for a not what it used to specific field and be – with the just can’t find economy the way it those jobs online. is and all! What do I do now? 9

Emotions and User Experience >  “It is impossible to act or think without engaging, at least unconsciously, our emotions.” (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974) >  “For designers it is important to design products that ‘fit’ the emotions of the users, that is, products that elicit the emotions that the user would like to experience.” (Desmet & Overbeeke, 2001) >  “While research concludes that emotion is a fundamental component of being human, the HCI community -- a community which studies the interaction between humans and computers -- has mostly overlooked emotion as a component of user experience.” (Agarwal & Meyer, 2009) 10

STUDY OVERVIEW

Research Questions Job Search Affect1 What emotions do users bring with them to career websites? Design2 What are career websites doing to ease users’ minds? Positive Affect3 What positive affect are users looking for? Design & Affect4 Are any of the career websites’ designs/features successful in building hope & easing frustration?

4 Websites

Method11 !   Collected overall emotions about job search using the PANAS-X scale (Watson & Clark, 1994) !   Collected positive job search situations & associated2 emotions !   Created a survey !   Launched on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk34

MTurk Demographics 2009 US Census11 MTurk Abstract median age 31 (US only) 36 % with college degree 63% (US only) 25% female 69% (US only) 51%2 US vs. India 57% vs. 32% employed full time vs. unemployed 38% vs. 31% mean annual income ~ $25,0003 average time using mturk 1-6 mo activity per week 1-5 hrs per week earnings per week $1-$5 per week4 “While the MTurk population may perhaps be representative of the U.S. internet-using population, it cannot truly be seen to be a microcosm of the country as a whole.” (Ross, Zaldivar, Irani, &Tomlinson, 2010)* Results above from Ross, Zaldivar, Irani & Tomlinson, 2010; Consistent with Ipeirotis, 2010.

Welcome SurveyBackground Screening Qs Introduction Job Search Affect (PANAS-X) Positive Affect (Positive Experiences) N=62 Debrief Within-Subjects Design

Survey Demographics !  Represented 21 States AL CT IN MI PA WA11 AZ FL KY NC TN CA HI LA NY TX CO IL MA OH VA !  Are you currently employed?2 Employed 35% Unemployed 65%3 !  How many jobs have you applied to in the past 2 months? Over 15 jobs 22%4 1-5 11-15 jobs jobs 10% 55% 5-10 jobs 13%

PANAS-X Scale !  Likert-Like Rating scale11 1 2 3 4 5 Very slightly or a little moderately quite a bit extremely not at all !  60 emotion words2 cheerful sad active angry at self disgusted calm guilty enthusiastic attentive afraid joyful downhearted bashful tired nervous sheepish sluggish amazed lonely distressed3 daring shaky sleepy blameworthy surprised happy excited determined strong timid hostile frightened scornful alone proud astonished relaxed alert jittery irritable upset lively interested4 delighted angry ashamed loathing inspired bold at ease confident fearless blue scared energetic disgusted with self shy drowsy concentrating

Job Search Affect Question11234

PANAS-X Scale General Dimension Scales11 Negative Affect (10) afraid, scared, nervous, jittery, irritable, hostile, guilty, ashamed, upset, distressed Positive Affect (10) active, alert, attentive, determined, enthusiastic, excited, inspired, interested, proud, strong Basic Negative Emotion Scales Fear (6) afraid, scared, frightened, nervous, jittery, shaky2 Hostility (6) angry, hostile, irritable, scornful, disgusted, loathing Guilt (6) guilty, ashamed, blameworthy, angry at self, disgusted with self, dissatisfied with self Sadness (5) sad, blue, downhearted, alone, lonely Basic Positive Emotion Scales3 Joviality (8) happy, joyful, delighted, cheerful, excited, enthusiastic, lively, energetic Self-Assurance (6) proud, strong, confident, bold, daring, fearless Attentiveness (4) alert, attentive, concentrating, determined Other Affective States Shyness (4) shy, bashful, sheepish, timid4 Fatigue (4) sleepy, tired, sluggish, drowsy Serenity (3) calm, relaxed, at ease Surprise (3) amazed, surprised, astonished

Job Search Affect Results Positive Affect11 Positive Affect = active, alert, attentive, determined, enthusiastic, excited, inspired, interested, proud, strong Overall Positive and Negative Affect2 extremely 5 quite a bit 43 moderately 3 a little 2 2.97 2.79 2.74 2.61 2.58 2.214 Very slightly or not at all 1 Basic Positive Affect Basic Negative Affect Combined Unemployed Employed N=62 N=40 N=22

Job Search Affect Results Positive emotion = ATTENTIVENESS11 Attentiveness= alert, attentive, concentrating, determined Posi?ve Emo?ons during Job Search extremely 5 2 quite a bit 4 3 moderately 3 3.24 3.41 a little 2 3.15 2.72 2.27 2.38 2.20 2.08 1.98 4 Very slightly or 1 not at all Joviality Self-‐assurance A>en?venes Combined Unemployed Employed N=62 N=40 N=22

Job Search Affect Results Negative emotion: SADNESS11 Sadness: sad, blue, downhearted, alone, lonely Nega?ve Emo?ons during Job Search 5 2 extremely quite a bit 4 moderately 3 3 a little 2 2.95 2.62 2.76 2.37 2.39 2.61 2.63 2.67 2.29 2.15 2.00 1.69 Very slightly or 1 4 not at all Fear Hos?lity Guilt Sadness Combined Unemployed Employed N=62 N=40 N=22

Job Search Affect Results Affective State = FATIGUE11 Fatigue= sleepy, tired, sluggish, drowsy Other aﬀec?ve states during job search extremely 5 2 quite a bit 4 moderately 3 3 a little 2 2.28 2.41 2.06 2.37 2.40 2.33 2.23 2.09 2.47 1.82 1.84 1.81 Very slightly or 1 not at all4 Shyness Fa?gue Serenity Surprise Combined Unemployed Employed N=62 N=40 N=22

Positive Affect11 !   Respondents shared three positive situations that they experienced in their job search…234

Positive Affect11 !   And indicated what emotions they felt when the positive experiences occurred.234* Emotions taken from the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule – Expanded Form (PANAS-X)

Positive Affect Results11 “Family member took “Former employee had time out and helped new positions “I saw all of my me rewrite my resume available that might accomplishments” professionally” suit me” 2 Help from family Help from past & friends colleagues or company Self-Achievements3 “Application was “I got an interview, responded to very and it went well” promptly” 4 Getting/acing Good experience with the interview potential employer

Positive Affect Results11 Posi?ve emo?ons and feelings based on respondents posi?ve experiences (N=62) Average No. of Respondents2 30 23 23 3 14 4 Joviality A9en:veness Self-‐Assurance Serenity Posi?ve emo?on card groups

Positive Affect Results11 3 Positive emotions = CHEERFUL, HAPPY, INTERESTED Positive emotions based on positive experiences2 (N=62) 43 41 No. of Respondents 39 38 38 38 36 34 34 33 283 25 21 20 19 16 16 15 14 13 12 12 10 84 Positive emotions

Conclusion !   Job seekers are slightly more positive than negative11 about job searching !   When thinking about overall job search, job seekers are…2 >  ATTENTIVE >  SAD >  FATIGUED3 !   Whenthinking about positive situations during job search, job seekers are…4 >  JOVIAL (cheerful, happy, interested)

Design thoughts !   Encourage positive emotions11 >  Direct people to the right information at the right time >  Direct attention to important and relevant information through visual hierarchy2 !   Reduce negative emotions >  Include some self-assuring messages and content >  Keep task flows short to eliminate fatigue34

Method Design1 What are career websites doing to ease users’ minds? >  Reviewed four websites – Career Builder, LinkedIn, Simply2 Hired and Monster >  Collected features that we hypothesized would elicit positive and negative emotions in job seekers.34

CareerBuilder1 It knows what jobs are near me.2 Homepage shows me recent jobs in my location.34

CareerBuilder1 I am confused!2 Search results do not match search keywords.3 Did I enter something wrong?4

LinkedIn1 WOW! someone from TCS looked at my2 profile. I know TCS is hiring! I like to see who is3 visiting my profile and which company they are working at.4

LinkedIn1 I met David at UPA conference, but I2 cannot add him! BUMMER! I cannot immediately3 connect to people who I do not know.4

SimplyHired1 Staples is hiring, let me contact Katelyn as2 she works there! I like to see my LinkedIn and3 Facebook connections who work at the companies that are hiring.4

SimplyHired1 Usability Associate position at Vistaprint is2 listed twice here- is it the same positing or do they have two openings?3 I do not like to see repeated job postings.4

Monster1 After I finish applying to a particular job,2 Monster directs me to related jobs that interest candidates like myself.3 I like to see more relevant job postings.4

Monster1 Which search/browse jobs option I should2 use? Which one will give me the most relevant3 search results?4

Method1 !   Focused on positive features from each of the four websites !   Pleasure Arousal Dominance (PAD) scale to measure2 emotion elicited from feature/design !   Created a survey !   Launched on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk34

Welcome Survey Background Questions Introduction SimplyHired Monster LinkedIn CareerBuilder“shows connections” “also applied to” “who viewed profile” “jobs on homepage” Emotional Emotional Emotional Emotional Response Response Response Response Positive Designs Only Within-Subjects Design Debrief Designs Randomized

“When Isearch for ajob, I amshown who Iknow at thiscompanybased on myLinkedIn andFacebookconnections.”

“After I apply to a job, there is a link that says "Candidates forthis job also applied for..." which shows me other jobs I maybe interested in.”

“When I log in, I can see who has viewed my profile.”

“When I go tothe homepagefor the firsttime, thewebsite knowsmy location andshows me jobopeningsthere.”

Welcome Survey Background Questions Introduction SimplyHired Monster LinkedIn CareerBuilder“shows connections” “also applied to” “who viewed profile” “jobs on homepage” Emotional Emotional Emotional Emotional Response Response Response Response Positive Designs Only Within-Subjects Design Debrief Designs Randomized

PAD Scale1234

Pleasure Arousal Dominance Scale1 Pleasure Arousal Dominance unsatisfied - satisfied calm - excited cared for - in control2 tense - relaxed sleepy - wide awake influenced - influential melancholic - contented unaroused - aroused submissive - dominant despairing - hopeful relaxed - stimulated controlled - controlling annoyed - pleased guided - autonomous3 unhappy - happy unfriendly - friendly4

Survey Demographics !  24 States Represented1 AL FL MD MO NU TN AZ IL ME NC OH TX CA KY MI NH OR UT2 CT MA MN NV PA WA !  Are you currently employed?3 Unemployed; 31%4 Employed; 69%

Survey Demographics How many jobs have you applied to in the last 2 months?1 !  Over 15 jobs; 12% 11-15 jobs; 7%2 1-5 jobs; 48% 6-10 jobs; 33% Which of the following websites have you used in the past year to3 !  look for jobs? (check all that apply)4 71% 19% Craigslist 55% 50% 14% Government Site 5% Indeed 17% 12% Monster CareerBuilder LinkedIn SimplyHired Other

Results Emotional Profiles of Features1 (N=44) 9 high 8 72 6 Average Rating 5 43 5.37 5.50 5.39 5.47 3 4.93 5.11 5.17 5.01 5.12 4.50 4.60 4.62 2 low 14 SimplyHired Monster LinkedIn CareerBuilder "shows connections" "also applied to" "who viewed profile" "jobs on homepage" Pleasure Arousal Dominance

Results PAD by Feature (N=44)1 9 high 8 72 6 Average Rating 5 43 5.50 5.37 5.39 5.47 3 4.93 5.17 5.12 5.11 5.01 4.50 4.60 4.62 2 low 14 Pleasure Arousal Dominance SimplyHired Monster LinkedIn CareerBuilder "shows connections" "also applied to" "who viewed profile" "jobs on homepage"

Results Pleasure Differentials by Feature1 (N=44) 9 high 8 72 6 Average Rating 5 43 3 2 low 14 unsatisfied - tense - melancholic - despairing - annoyed - unhappy - unfriendly - satisfied relaxed contented hopeful pleased happy friendly SimplyHired Monster LinkedIn CareerBuilder "shows connections" "also applied to" "who viewed profile" "jobs on homepage"

Results Arousal Differentials by Feature1 (N=44) 9 high 8 72 6 Average Rating 5 43 3 24 low 1 calm - excited sleepy - wide awake unaroused - aroused relaxed - stimulated SimplyHired Monster LinkedIn CareerBuilder "shows connections" "also applied to" "who viewed profile" "jobs on homepage"

Results Dominance Differentials by Feature1 (N=44) 9 high 8 72 6 Average Rating 5 43 3 2 low 14 cared for - in influenced - submissive - controlled - guided - control influential dominant controlling autonomous SimplyHired Monster LinkedIn CareerBuilder "shows connections" "also applied to" "who viewed profile" "jobs on homepage"

Conclusion11 !   Emotional profiles of all positive features were very similar2 !   Positive features elicited slightly more AROUSAL than PLEASURE, and slightly more PLEASURE than DOMINANCE3 !   Emotions are difficult to elicit without interaction4

Discussion1 !   No meaningful differences could mean… >  Job seekers cannot relay their emotions accurately after only viewing the feature2 >  The designs/features are very similar >  It is difficult to evoke an intense positive reaction !   In the future we should…3 >  Have job seekers interact with the website in context >  Look at designs that have more differences >  Look at negative features4

OVERALL FINDINGS & NEXT STEPS

Overall FindingsJob Search Affect & Positive Affect !   Overall, job seekers show slightly more positive affect than negative affect !   Job seekers are >  Attentive >  Sad >  Fatigued !   Positive experiences make job seekers >  Jovial (Cheerful, Happy, Interested)

Overall FindingsDesign & Affect !   Emotional profiles of all positive features were very similar !   Positive features elicited slightly more AROUSAL than PLEASURE, and slightly more PLEASURE than DOMINANCE !   Emotions are difficult to elicit without interaction

Next Steps !   Conduct additional research on Design & Emotion >  Have job seekers interact with the website in context >  Look at designs that have more differences >  Look at negative features !   Consider personality as a factor !   Investigate the effect of emotion in behavioral response >  Approach-Avoidance !   Look at non-verbal emotional scales !   Investigate the social component of job seeking and emotions

Citations Agarwal, A., and Meyer, A. Beyond usability: evaluating emotional response as an integral part of the user experience. In: Proceedings of ACM CHI 2009 (Boston USA, May 2009), ACM Press, 2919-2930. Desmet, P.M.A., Overbeeke, C.J., & Tax, S.J.E.T. (2001). Designing products with added emotional value; development and application of an approach for research through design. The Design Journal, 4(1), 32-47. Mehrabian, A., & Russell, J.A. An approach to environmental psychology. M.I.T. Press, Cambridge, MA, USA, 1974. Ipeirotis, Panagiotis G. (2010). “Demographics of Mechanical Turk,” New York University Working Paper No. CeDER-10-01, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/2451/29585, (accessed May 2010). Ross, J., Irani, I., Silberman, M. Six, Zaldivar, A., and Tomlinson, B. (2010). "Who are the Crowdworkers?: Shifting Demographics in Amazon Mechanical Turk". In: CHI EA 2010. (2863-2872). Watson, D. & Clark, L.A, (1994). “The PANAS-X Manual for the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule – Expanded Form”. Retrieved from http://www.psychology.uiowa.edu/, (accessed May 2010).

THANK YOU Niyati.Gupta@Monster.com Michelle.Kwasny@Monster.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSWe would like to acknowledge Denise Nangle, Sandra Teare, the Monster UX Team, Yanling Zhang, and Ryan Powell for their support with this project.

Job Search Affect Results Positive emotion = ATTENTIVENESS: ATTENTIVE11 Average Ra?ngs for Emo?ons related to A>en?veness extremely 5 2 quite a bit 4 moderately 3 3 a little 2 3.68 3.50 3.64 3.23 3.40 3.35 3.20 3.13 3.08 2.97 3.09 2.90 Very slightly or 1 not at all4 0 alert a9en:ve concentra:ng determined Combined Unemployed Employed

Job Search Affect Results Negative emotion: SADNESS: ALONE11 Average Ra?ngs for Emo?ons related to Sadness extremely 5 2 quite a bit 4 moderately 3 3 a little 2 3.18 3.05 2.81 2.68 2.73 2.85 3.05 2.80 Very slightly or 2.39 2.5 2.55 not at all 1 2.14 2.14 2.09 1.86 4 0 sad blue downhearted alone lonely Combined Unemployed Employed

Job Search Affect Results Affective State = FATIGUE: TIRED11 Average Ra?ngs for Emo?ons related to Fa?gue extremely 5 2 quite a bit 4 moderately 3 3 a little 2 3.06 3.08 3.05 2.18 2.25 2.35 2.38 2.32 Very slightly or 1 2.05 1.90 1.90 1.91 not at all4 0 sleepy :red sluggish drowsy Combined Unemployed Employed

Designing for Hope: A Review of 4 Career Websites

by Niyati Gupta

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