Cleveland Clinic

Personalized User Experiences

Cleveland Clinic's careers website overwhelmed users with massive healthcare content across dozens of professional areas. As lead UX/UI designer, I created a personalization strategy that immediately segments users by career interests and motivators, then displays dynamic persona pages with only relevant content. The result: a scalable system that transforms information overload into personalized career discovery.

UX Strategy/UI Design/Information Architecture/Personalization/Design Systems

The Challenge

Cleveland Clinic needed to replace their existing careers website and create a solution that could handle an enormous amount of content across a range of healthcare fields. The primary challenge was information overload: users were getting lost in content irrelevant to their interests and career goals and bounce rates were high.

Research & Strategy

Working closely with Cleveland Clinic stakeholders, I conducted discovery sessions to understand our specific design challenges.

Inquiries:

  • Different healthcare career paths and their unique requirements

  • User motivations beyond just job searching (culture, benefits, relocation, etc.)

  • Content priorities for each professional area

  • Existing user journey pain points

Insights:

  • Healthcare job seekers have highly specific career interests and don't want to wade through irrelevant content

  • Users care about different motivators (benefits vs. culture vs. location) depending on their career stage

  • Personalization needed to happen immediately to prevent abandonment

Design Strategy: User Personalization

Based on research insights, I developed a personalized content strategy that would adapt the entire user experience based on individual motivators.

Immediate Personalization Gateway:

A dropdown menu on the homepage allows users to select what content fits their needs:

  • Career area of interest

  • Location preferences

  • Key motivators (benefits, culture, growth, etc.)

Dynamic Content Architecture:

I created a modular content system allowing flexible combinations of content:

After selecting motivators from the homepage dropdown menu, users are directed to a Persona page with content tailored to their specific interests and needs.

By creating Figma components for each motivator module, I was able to add or remove them with a click, allowing the client to better understand the functioning of the site with a working prototype. I had to build two versions of each module to control alternating background colors based on the user selections.

Personalized Homepages:

For a further personalized experience, returning users are directed to an alternate homepage based on their browser cookies. I created 5 distinct homepage designs:

  • Default

  • Nursing

  • Allied Health

  • Facilities

  • Nursing Support

Example Persona page showing modules based on selected motivators

Design Process & Execution

I started with systematic wireframing to solve structural challenges before visual design.

  • Mapped content relationships across different user paths

  • Designed flexible layouts that could accommodate varying content volumes

  • Created reusable component patterns for scalability

  • Tested information hierarchy through stakeholder reviews

Information Architecture & Wireframing:

Cross-Channel Design System:

I developed a comprehensive design system that:

  • Extended Cleveland Clinic's brand while creating a unique careers identity

  • Ensured responsive behavior across all devices with dedicated mobile designs

  • Created modular components for easy content management

  • Supported dynamic personalization through flexible layouts

Prototyping:

To facilitate client collaboration, I built an interactive Figma prototype featuring:

  • Component-based persona modules that could be toggled on/off

  • Dynamic background color switching based on content combinations

  • Working personalization flow to demonstrate user experience

  • Developer handoff specifications for accurate implementation

Collaboration & Implementation

Stakeholder Management

  • Regular client reviews throughout wireframing and design phases

  • Content strategy sessions to ensure accurate representation of each healthcare area

  • User journey validation with Cleveland Clinic's recruitment team

  • Iterative feedback integration while maintaining design system consistency

Developer Collaboration

  • Detailed component specifications for dynamic content system

  • Responsive breakpoint documentation for mobile implementation

  • Interactive prototype handoff showing personalization logic

  • Quality assurance support during development phase

Conclusion

This project reinforced the importance of evidence-based personalization in complex content environments. Rather than creating a one-size-fits-all solution, we used user research insights to build a system that adapts to individual needs.

The component-based design approach proved crucial for managing the scale and complexity of the content while maintaining design consistency. Building flexibility into the system from the start enabled dynamic personalization without sacrificing performance.

Cross-functional collaboration was essential. Working closely with stakeholders on content strategy and developers on technical feasibility ensured the vision could be fully realized while meeting business objectives.