When I came on board at Causes, they were looking to grow the engineering team, and I was asked to design a microsite to help facilitate their efforts. The primary goals of the site were to reflect the warmth and humor of Causes' culture; be potentially sharable enough to go viral; and – with top tier candidates being in high demand – to differentiate Causes in the competitive arena of Silicon Valley recruiting. 

The final concept was an interactive experience where engineers would be presented as ambassadors through which candidates could learn more about Causes.

The hover state of one engineer would reflect his excitement at being chosen, while the two remaining would express their dismay.

The active state would see the remaining two recede while details about the primary engineer would be revealed showing both personal interests as well as their real-world impact via Causes as a product.

Greg, one of the more reserved people in the office, turned out to be one of the most expressive during the photoshoot. He required little direction when asked to look distressed.

To eliminate as many barriers as possible in the application process, rather than redirecting the user to a third-party recruiting platform and forcing them to register for a new account or fill out forms asking for unnecessary information, applicants could apply simply and directly.

How effective was the microsite? Well, the direct results – like much of life – are unknowable. No quantifiable data exists to prove the site had any effect, good or bad. Circumstantially, the team grew from about 20 employees to over 60, and many of the engineers were talented enough to eventually abandon Causes for roles with higher pay and more prestige, so they must have been pretty good.