Website Recommendations
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Transcript of Website Recommendations
Improving the Career Development Office’s Web Presence
Identifying Issues & Suggesting Solutions
• Yale SOM InReach •
Agenda
• What we did
• Conducted focus groups and school-wide survey
• Reviewed current website
• Researched best practices
• Our Recommendations
• Proposed Organization of Website
• Student Wishlist
• Problems and Solutions for Current Website
• Best Practices
Answer
Response %
I use the CDO website everyday. What more do you want from me?
2 2%
I don't think there's enough useful information on it.
30 36%
I don't know where to find the website.
4 5%
I can't find what I'm looking for.
10 12%
There's a website?!?!!!
19 23%
Other
18 22%
Total 83 100%
Almost 60% of the Students Don’t Know There’s a Website or Don’t Think the Information on It is Useful.
What has prevented you from using the CDO website more often?
Yet Many Say They Would Use It If Better It Were Easier to Use
“It could be much better organized and easier to access through mySOM.”
How could the CDO website better support your job search?
“If you selected the industry you wanted, and then entered a portal where everything was dedicated to that industry, that would be great.”
“Better organized.”
“If it were easier to use / more intuitive.”
“Needs to be easy to navigate.”
“More easily accessible, more clear as to what resources belong where (make it more intuitive/user friendly). "
Which of the following structures makes the most sense to you in terms of organizing the website?
Students Like the Idea of Organizing by Both Industry and Stage
Answer
Response %
By industry and function (banking, consulting, marketing, nonprofit, etc.)
34 48%
By stage in search (assessing, exploring, researching, dropping, interviewing, etc.)
24 34%
By time of year (summer, orientation, fall, spring, etc.)
5 7%
By topic (current website)
4 6%
Other
4 6%
Total 71 100%
Standard Static Homepage with Corner with Highlights from
the eNews
Quick way to understand how to use the website, links to
stages of search or graphic with hyperlinks that say hey click
here for blah blah blah
Work with graphics designer to come up with easy to use
and understand clickable navigation graphic
Top links that people use: cover letter, resume, alumni
directory, interviews, let people know resources are under
respective industries
So We Propose an Organization and Layout that Uses Both
ABOUT US
STAGE OF SEARCH
• Exploring
• Networking
• Applying
• Interviewing
• Post-Offer
Finance GenMgt&Ops Marketing Non-Profit OtherConsulting
Industry Research
Career Profile
Career Timeline
Links to External Sources Inside and Outside of Yale
Clubs
Competitions/ Conferences
Courses/ Professors to Take
Treks
Events/Workshops/Corporate Presentations
eListserves
Contact: Relationship Manager
So We Propose an Organization and Layout that Uses Both (cont)
ABOUT US
STAGE OF SEARCH
• Exploring
• Networking
• Applying
• Interviewing
• Post-Offer
Finance GenMgt&Ops Marketing Non-Profit OtherConsulting
Proposed Site Map
Student Wishlist
Wishlist
• Single login for all information
• List of companies that come on-campus or post on MBA Focus
• Searchable SOM resumes/ internships of previous classes
• Videos of mock interviews online
• Archive of documents/ videos of past workshops, panels, and info sessions
• Provide a list of all employers, sorted by function or industry
• Better organization and ease of use for website
• Get into the heads of students!
• Club leaders can be change agents – get them involved in organizing the information on their respective industry webpage
• Career coaches can also be change agents – they should always point to resources students can use on the website and how to use it
• Emphasize during CDO curriculum – website could be on the CDO curriculum magnet and should be prominently introduced during CDO Fridays
• A good website will bring about its own awareness
Also, Generating Awareness of the Website is Very Important
But People Really Like CDO eNews!
“These are good!”
“The CDO eNews is great!”
“eNews is how I find out about CDO offerings and that suits
me fine.”
Problems and Solutions for the Current Website
Problem Solution
Navigating to Careers page from MySOM is not intuitive One link to the new homepage
Redundancy of categories on main page Simply have a ‘Home’ category on the page
Random graphics on different pages Replace the images or remove them altogether
‘Careers’ button takes home Change graphic to make feature obvious to students
‘Email CDO’ is pushed through to a generic email address Single category called ‘Contact Us’ (under ‘About Us’)
CDO Curriculum category just refers users to MBA Focus No more non-starter links!
The need to log in more than once The whole website needs to be behind a wall
Industry resources page is a mess Separate the resources into industry pages
The site is currently full of Word/ Excel files Migrate documents to the website
Policies and procedures page too difficult to use Increase ease of navigation around page
Job reporting page difficult to use Change link names and integrate into MBA Focus
Industry resources page has too much information Prioritize which documents students need to use
Relationship manager page not specific enough Integrate into ‘About Us’ section and add descriptions
Job search tools poorly organized Organize by stage of search
SOM resumes from students past hard to use Put all the information in a searchable database
Best Practices by Other Business Schools
Best Practices
• Have a single log-on screen for all components of the webpage
• Use a clickable tree structure to organize large amounts of information on a single page
• Provide detailed information for international students, such as US specific legal requirements
• Provide a clear and concise description of the main types of career services provided to students
• Provide a detailed career development calendar complete with national conferences
• Provide a list of all employers, sorted by function or industry
One link to the new homepage
Arriving at Careers Page
Problem: Solution(s):
Navigating to Careers page from MySOM is not intuitive
Main Careers Page
Problem: Solution(s):
Redundancy of categories on main page. Why have links to MBA Focus 2009 and 2010, or to ‘courses,’ ‘careers,’ ‘IT,’ etc when students have just eschewed these categories to come to the CDO page? (Note: The following assumes that students access the CDO Careers site via MySOM)
Simply have a ‘Home’ category on the page, which will return visitors to MySOM where they can find all of these links
Main Careers Page (cont)
Problem: Solution(s):
Poor graphics. The photos are completely random: FFT, soccer, families, etc
Replace the images with more applicable photos or remove them altogether
Navigating Back to the Main Careers Page
Problem: Solution(s):
‘Careers’ button takes you back to the beginning of the Careers page, but it isn’t obvious. People who don’t want to hit home and be taken all the way back to MySOM need an obvious way to get back to the main Careers page.
Change the ‘Careers’ graphic so that this feature is obvious to students using the site
Email CDO/CDO Staff Categories
Problem: Solution(s):
When you click ‘Email CDO,’ you automatically get pushed through to a generic email address, when it’s possible you were looking for someone with a specialization to answer your question
‘Email CDO’ and ‘CDO Staff,’ should be collapsed into a single category called ‘Contact Us’ (under ‘About Us’), which would then give you the option to send an email to the CDO staff member best equipped to answer the question, or to send a general email if applicable
No more non-starter links!
CDO Curriculum Category
Problem: Solution(s):
CDO Curriculum category is completely unhelpful. It just refers users to MBA Focus.
Either eliminate this category altogether, move the relevant content to the CDO Careers page, or have the category link directly to the right portion of MBA Focus without forcing students to log in again (which may be difficult given that students use different names and passwords for the two sites)
Get rid of a link that goes to a link that goes to a page (e.g., minimize clicks)
Increase ease of navigation around page (i.e., keep pertinent items “above the fold” or shorten agreement)
Most students probably didn’t read this in the first place, and it definitely isn’t something they likely want to revisit. Move this page to a less conspicuous place on the site– perhaps to the bottom left-hand corner of the page
Policies and Procedures
Problem: Solution(s):
Too many clicks needed to access.
• One single link, visually unappealing
General Information Category
Problem: Solution(s):
Streamline appearance of links throughout website
Job Reporting Page
Problem: Solution(s):
• No one knows this site is here• Students are likely to look for this tool
in MBA Focus• Where is a warning that this
information is only shared with the CDO?
• “Class of 2009/2010 Job Reporting” categories are misleading. The name of the website suggests that students can find reporting statistics from past classes here
• Once you’re here, you can’t go back to the CDO website
Change the name of the links, so people don’t mistakenly believe that they can get information about other students by clicking on them
Integrate this tool with the Careers page or MBA Focus seamlessly, to avoid ‘back button’ annoyances and difficulty with students locating the tool
• Get rid of password protected sites OR
• Make passwords easily available and consistent with net id
• Don’t make users register for passwords – just one password
Industry Research Resources Category
Problem: Solution(s):
The need to log in more than once to gain access to certain content. The login box says: “Warning: This server is requesting that your username and password be sent in an insecure manner,” which is disconcerting.
• Separate the resources into industry pages
• Have consistency with information
• Only at the top do we see “Hard copy resources available in the CDO are listed in black.” These items should be listed in an entirely different section, perhaps below the other links and titled “Available in hard copy”
• Alphabetize• Explore whether its possible
to auto login to the sources…
Industry Research Resources Category (cont)
Problem: Solution(s):
Some of these items have links to other sites, some have descriptions, but others have nothing. For example, what do we do if we want to read the “Harvard Business Review?”
• Migrate word documents to the website
• Have a printable PDF version available for downloading if needed
• This is an issue beyond the Industry Research Resources Category as well
Industry Research Resources Category (cont)
The site is currently full of Word documents and Excel files—when you click on many links, a window prompting you to open a file appears. This slows down web browsing and is aggravating
Problem: Solution(s):
• Make it graphical• Make a checklist• Assign priority rankings
(differentiate between items which are ‘must do’s’ and those which are nice but non-essential)
Industry Research Resources Category (cont)
Problem: Solution(s):
• Information is poorly organized, overwhelming, and somewhat repetitive (for ongoing stuff)
• Describe what a relationship manager is
• Describe what the industries are• Going top down this is the first site a
new person sees…but it doesn’t tell them anything about what the career center is or how to use the site…
• Move ‘Relationship Manager Industries’ under the greater ‘Contact Us’ umbrella, and allow the industry research category to stand alone
• Add some more substantive information about what relationship managers’ backgrounds/areas of expertise are
Introducing the Relationship Managers
Problem: Solution(s):
Why is the description of which area the various relationship managers cover paired with Industry research?Poorly organized
Job Search Tools Category
Problem: Solution(s):
• It is imperative that links be named well and that a separate link exists for CDO presentations
• Organization of this section could be organized chronologically, by industry, or in some other way that mirrors how students think
• Poorly organized, with no indication of a process that should be used. Leaves students wondering “Where do I start?”
• Function and Role Profiles link is repeated from Industry Research section of site Job search communication skills is a presentation about the resume and cover letter…not about communication.
Job Search Tools Category (cont)
Problem: Solution(s):
• Inconsistent naming convention, leaves students overwhelmed
• This should be displayed and explained as a process, so that students can begin to understand the logic underlying the process
• More examples would be helpful to guide students
This information is great, but insufficient
Job Search Tools Category (cont)
Problem: Solution(s):
• Would be great to have a synonym list…which makes me think…what do we need but don’t have?
• No one knows this is here! Too far down
• It isn’t organized in a way that facilitates searching
Job Search Tools Category (cont)
Problem: Solution(s):
• Move this database to a more conspicuous place
• Work to combine years and to make this database searchable by name, undergraduate institution, industry, etc. It is unlikely that someone looking to make contacts/find his or her mentor/etc, enjoys scrolling through year after year of names.
What Other B-Schools Are Doing Right
Best Practice:
• Have a single log-on screen for all components of the webpage• Provide clear instructions re: which user name and password to use• If possible, only require one log-on while user is visiting website
What Other B-Schools Are Doing Right (cont)
Best Practice:
• Use a clickable tree structure to organize large amounts of information
• In the example below, the user clicks on “conduct a self-assessment” to obtain information. To return to the list, the user clicks the term again
What Other B-Schools Are Doing Right (cont)
Best Practice:
• Provide detailed information for international students, such as US specific legal requirements
What Other B-Schools Are Doing Right (cont)
Best Practice:
• Provide a clear and concise description of the main types of career services provided to students
• The list of services will serve as a road-map for students as they use the CDO website
What Other B-Schools Are Doing Right Cont’d
Best Practice:
• Provide a detailed career development calendar complete with national conferences
• Note: The team found this calendar difficult to read; the CDO should attempt to make calendars as reader-friendly as possible
What Other B-Schools Are Doing Right (cont)
Best Practice:
• Provide a list of all employers, sorted by function or industry
• The list should include both on-campus and off-campus firms to facilitate a comprehensive job-search
• Many students switch industries and find a list of employers a helpful starting point in their career search
• There is a lack of clarity about what kind of information belongs on MBA Focus, and what kind of information belongs on the CDO Careers site
• In order to find the information they’re searching for, students need to sort through a great deal of inapplicable information. What’s the use of having so see consulting and finance sample cover letters if you’re pursuing a non-profit career?
• Potential Solution: Perhaps the site could be organized by industry or job function, so that someone who is interested in non-profit work isn’t forced to content with tips for banking and consulting
Additional Notes/Issues