The challenge
The IRS needed to hire large numbers of seasonal employees to process tax returns, but many candidates didn’t respond to job offers on time or didn’t complete onboarding. So the IRS asked USAJOBS to work with their applicant tracking system to create a text alert feature.
After confirming through user research that our users would appreciate text alerts, USAJOBS decided to build the candidate-facing side of the feature, allowing any agencies to incorporate text alerts into their hiring processes.
“I prioritize texts over emails. I even have a smart watch that alerts me when I get a text. For something as interesting as how I’m doing in my job search, I like a text. ”
The approach
A sketching workshop made me aware of constraints.
I kicked off the design process with an in-person workshop, asking partners and team members to sketch ideas for how job seekers could opt in to text alerts. This revealed some challenges like messy phone number data and a strict application process for an SMS short code.
Stakeholders participated in usability testing.
A researcher helped me craft a Wizard of Oz-style usability study that would take participants from USAJOBS, to an applicant tracking system, to getting live texts on their phones. I made sure to involve our stakeholders:
Our pilot ATS team attended sessions that I facilitated, and I set up workshops to have them contribute to synthesis. This helped us make sure the experience was seamless.
I did a live demonstration of the usability test in a meeting with our IRS stakeholders, having a member of the audience be a fake user. Engaging them in this work gained their confidence and made them excited for the new feature.
-
As the lead designer for the applicant–facing side of the feature, I worked with the USAJOBS product team, applicant tracking system team selected for the pilot, IRS stakeholders, content strategist, BA, and user researcher to deliver this feature.
-
The skills I used included usability testing, interaction design, and workshop facilitation.
-
I used Figma, Miro, Excel, and Powerpoint in this project.
The solution
Clear prompts for opting in to text alerts.
I tested flows for opting in to text alerts in onboarding and the user profile. The main barriers to opting in were:
Existing users not noticing the opt in prompt.
Users thinking they might get spammed with marketing texts.
So I workshoped the opt in language until we had an iteration that eased users’ concerns about getting marketing texts. Then, I designed a series of alerts to encourage existing users to opt in.
Texts that don’t raise red flags
In usability testing, I learned that a warm tone and personalization could go a long way in making our texts not seem like phishing scams. Adding “Congratulations, Emily!” to the job offer text made users more likely to trust the text. And they appreciated the warmth of the tone.
A structured phone number field for cleaner data
The USAJOBS phone number field had long been unstructured, collecting messy data. With each text alert costing money, we had to make sure we weren’t sending texts to invalid numbers. I redesigned the phone number field with a country code picker, input mask, and validation messages.
Post-MVP improvements that will boost visibility
From testing insights, I proposed future enhancements to make the texting feature more discoverable:
A simpler navigation structure for the user profile.
A streamlined onboarding flow for users coming from job postings.
A new notifications page consolidating all opt-in prompts.
The results
USAJOBS phone number fields have been updated, ensuring all new and updated profiles now capture clean, standardized phone number data.
The text alerts opt-in was launched after my departure in Summer 2025.
Post-MVP enhancements, such as improved navigation, are on the roadmap for future releases.