Since its inception BostonWorks has built a stable of recruitment services that is shrewdly integrated across print and online platforms. The mix of career-development editorial, job listings, training resources and events provides multiple revenue opportunities while meeting the needs of employers, staffing agencies and job seekers.

New users: Handle with care
BostonWorks.com's new homepage is one of the Web's better examples of remaining approachable to "newbies" while freeing up experienced users to move quickly through the site. The "start" and "tips" content blocks at the top of the page are geared toward first-time visitors, but smart design lets them occupy prime screen real estate without overshadowing the main job search screen below.

Hand-holding for new users

The "tips" area has another subtle advantage -- keeping a largely static homepage looking "fresh" is a constant challenge for recruitment sites. Cycling tips through that block allows both the sharing of information about the site as well as visually updating what visitors see.

Tips both inform and keep the page fresh

Highlights
"Highlighting" keywords in search results might seem geared toward novice visitors but in fact is probably most helpful to power users. The soft yellow highlight BostonWorks.com uses in both search result headings and actual listings, reminiscent of an actual yellow marker, feels comfortable and fun. (Another plus on searching: The keywords "Web" and "Internet" are treated interchangeably.)

User-supplied keywords are highlighted for speedier search result browsing

Fast, easy résumé posting
In sharp contrast to the rigid résumé posting process on Monster.com, job hunters find posting a résumé on BostonWorks.com straightforward and fast. The site offers users maximum flexibility; they can choose between pasting in a text résumé or stepping through the clean, CareerCast-powered process.

Users can choose: Copy and paste or go step-by-step

Next!
In a site where creating an approachable user interface has otherwise been handled with such finesse, it's surprising to find that multi-page search results have no "next" button. The page numbers linking to additional results are tiny and difficult to use as the primary method of navigating between pages.

(NOTE: Within a week of viewing this writing sample, BostonWorks had added previous and next buttons to its multi-page results.)

These links are actual size

Newsletters
BostonWorks has done a splendid job of creating synergy between its various content channels, especially in cross-promotion between print and online. But little attention seems to have been paid to e-mail newsletters, often an important revenue source for content-based sites and a popular tool for users to stay up to date. The job search agents are e-mailable, of course, but with the Globe's pipeline of career-focused editorial and events, it seems natural that BostonWorks would want to leverage that content and provide an additional channel for advertisers through targeted newsletter subscriptions.

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