Featured image courtesy of Career Sushi’s Facebook page.
The landing page of the new Career Sushi is beautifully clean. It truly entices users to sign up immediately. The aesthetic is cohesively carried all the way through the site.
Any SCAD student searching for a summer internship has most likely heard the name Intern Sushi before. The two-year-old Los Angeles-based company’s mantra is to help today’s upcoming and recent college graduates find internships. CEO Shara Senderoff, who came up with the original plan at a bad internship in her second year at university, said in an interview with Fast Company that a “traditional resume never really could show what the person’s purpose is or whether or not they fit [within a company’s] culture.” That said, the idea works the other way around, allowing companies to present themselves in a unique and enticing way.
On May 20 Intern Sushi officially announced they are now called Career Sushi. Just like their users, they’ve far exceeded the intern level and now offer entry- and mid-level jobs. All those with current accounts have been upgraded to the new platform which has great new features that make it less stressful. It’s an excellent move by the company. According to an article in USA Today the unemployment rate of those under 25 is double the national average—a frightening 10.4 percent. By offering more jobs they inevitably increase their marketability to those seeking further employment.
The biggest success is that the new site keeps true to its roots. It still guides users through the process of building a strong profile. Applicants become more than just a cover letter and a resume. They are a story. Perhaps the most challenging aspect of being a member of the community is the competition because others have similarly interesting narratives.
Creating a profile is very simple as there is now the option to connect with Facebook. Upon doing so, users are immediately directed to building their profile. What makes Career Sushi unique is the horizontal scroll. Instead of being a photo with some information, people have a series of experiences to show who they are. It also fits well with the timeline view of professional experience. Though it might be a little uncomfortable for those used to vertically scrolling through a page, the layout works pretty well for small screens, an excellent decision in terms of user experience. For some, the typography might be too large (i.e. in the skills section the 90 degree angle and smaller set type of the header don’t immediately tell viewers what section they are looking at). Considering low-vision readers however, the type size is understandable.
The step by step guidance is fool proof.
Filling up that profile is now much easier with step-by-step guidance along the way. One can describe their skills, experience, education and honors on one page. There are options to download one’s profile and to link the profile on another network. The only feature that seems to be missing would be a way to link the network with a LinkedIn or Behance profile. However, seeing as those sites are arguably competition, the feature could get tricky.
At the premium level, users can see who has viewed their profile and and choose between two other theme options for the interface of their profile. These are very basic themes that highlight content above all else, but it would be nice to have more customizable themes to showcase the artistry of the young and creative.
Career Sushi now has a much easier search functionality. At the header of each page is a large search bar where all one needs is to type a keyword. This certainly helps filter the 70,000 openings on the site. Design-wise, the different positions are overwhelming. Each position is inside a rectangular box that has the company name, the position, the location, the type of company, when it was posted, an important detail, the option to email, share and favorite it. Often times there’s a banner image, as well as a circular image in the center of the rectangle.
The circular images disrupt the straight edges. Imagining all the banners being used, the page would simply be overwhelming and intimidating.
The design of the job board could be a little cleaner in terms of hierarchy. Only one image should be used; a quick search reveals that very few companies actually use the banner image option. The circle shape is also uneasy within the space since the framework of the site is mostly angular. The share options could be featured later on upon reading a detailed description of the position. However, it is of note that the all this information is organized better upon clicking the link that opens a lightbox with a complete, and often lengthy, job description.
Overall, Career Sushi has made a leap in the right direction at exactly the right time. The visual design is clean, trendy and easy to use. For SCAD students it’s a wonderful platform that caters to the creative snob in each of us. With 60,000 internships out of 75,000 jobs, one has their pick of who to apply to. It’s not a difficult decision to make and it just takes a few seconds to get the ball rolling on paying back those student loans.
Gabby Manotoc has been Creative Director for District for the past three years. She also designs the Port City Review, the student produced and curated annual literary arts journal of SCAD.
