Jobs for Humanity
Jobs for Humanity (JFH) is a nonprofit that aims to give minority groups more equal access to fulfilling employment. I interned with JFH as part of the Frist Center of Autism and Innovation at Vanderbilt University’s Summer Internship program.
Client
Jobs for Humanity (via Vanderbilt University)
Role
UX Designer, Graphic Designer, Copywriter
Duration
3 months
Tools
Figma, Adobe Creative Suite
The Brief
When I joined JFH they had a backlog of content. They’d performed in-depth research on the six minority groups they support and now had reports full of pertinent information gathering dust in their hard drives. My main task was to translate their backlog into assets for their website and social media. They needed any assets to be easily reproducible for people who may not have design experience.
They were also expanding their website and needed to design 3 new onboarding flows.
My Job
Develop assets from JFH’s existing content to distribute on their website and social media.
Develop design templates that will be accessible to future volunteers without design experience.
Create wireframes for new onboarding flows for their website.
Research
Reading JFH’s Reports: What Communities are Facing Unemployment and Why?
I read detailed reports about each community and what struggles they face in securing employment. JFH currently supports six under-served communities: refugees, black job seekers, single parents, blind/low vision, neurodivergent, and returning citizens. These groups are systematically excluded from societal structures necessary for gaining employment and unsurprisingly have significant unemployment rates in the US.
Understanding the Business Model: What is JFH’s Position?
In order to understand the needs of JFH’s users, I needed to understand its business model. JFH partners with employers who want to hire diverse candidates. They provide employers with inclusivity training specific to each community, and job seekers with coaching for all steps of the hiring process. They also partner with local community organizations and distribute the services they offer.
Key Takeaways
JFH’s materials need to speak to its three main users: job seekers, employers, and community organizations.
Within the category of “job seeker,” there are 6 communities, each of which faces specific challenges. This needs to be considered whenever content for a specific community is created.
Defining the Users
To keep the needs of the users in mind as I started designing, I identified the main want and pain point for each user of JFH’s 3 main users.
Community Organization
Wants: to provide their services, therefore helping their community.
Pain point: lack of audience.
Employer
Wants: to hire diverse talent.
Pain point: lack of access.
Job Seeker
Wants: to secure employment.
Pain point: lack of opportunities and connections.
Designing Social Media Assets
Defining a Design System
JFH did have a brand guide, but the guide didn’t cover social media assets. I analyzed their existing content, making note of type treatments, compositions, and image styles.
Building Templates
Using the insights I’d gathered from my analysis, coupled with JFH’s brand guides, I built out design templates for their social media content.
Scaling Out to Include All JFH’s Communities
Upon getting the templates approved by the CEO and principal product designer, I recreated them in the color palettes of each community. I created a total of 20 templates.
Creating Content Using JFH’s Reports
I parsed through JFH’s reports for information that highlighted the experience of each respective community. Using the templates I created a total of 49 graphics.
Ship it Quick! Discord Launch Campaign
During my internship JFH launched its Discord Server, and asked me to create 4 social media posts announcing its arrival.
Writing & Designing Blogs
Copywriting: From Academic Report to Blog
I created 23 blog posts from JFH’s reports. I parsed through each report, then edited them down to smaller, more focused articles highlighting an important aspect of the research.
Cover Images
Cover images for the blogs needed to quickly and clearly communicate which community the post was about. Drawing from the social media posts’ visual design, I created circle graphics in the color palettes of each community and paired them with black-and-white photographs
Making Data Cute
To make statistics and quotes more easily digestible for readers, I created a banner graphic that utilizes the wavy shape used in JFH’s social media templates.
Setting the Brand Up for Success
I uploaded all the templates and assets I created to a Canva account for JFH, so anyone volunteering for them moving forward could produce content and maintain brand identity.
Wireframing New Webpages
Employer Page
I worked with the CEO and principal product designer to wireframe a new page of the JFH website targeted at employers. We structured the page based on the biggest needs of our users. Employers coming to this webpage need to know:
why they should invest
what’s in it for them
JFH is trustworthy.
Employer Check-Out Flow
Employers interested in partnering with JFH will need to provide their payment information, of course, so we developed this simple check out flow.
Community Organization Page
We designed the community organization using the same formula we’d established for employers. Because community organizations will be committing time and services rather than money, we tailored the content to focus on support and growth.
Community Organization Onboarding Flow
The community organization onboarding flow replaces payment plans for “service type," and ends in an invitation to the Discord server rather than CRM integrations.
Job Seeker Page
The job seeker page includes details on the specific communities JFH supports, and focuses on the support JFH can provide job seekers.
Reflections
Throughout this internship, I created a total of:
23 design templates
51 social media posts
23 blog posts
3 web page wireframes
2 onboarding task flows
During my internship, JFH published the blog posts I edited and designed. The founder received feedback from their community that the blog posts were deeply meaningful, enjoyable to read, and validating. I am proud to have helped JFH continue its mission to help underserved communities gain more equal access to employment, and I am especially proud of those blog posts that touched so many people.