New Careers Website
What was the problem?
The previous digital touchpoint for anyone interested in working at Center Parcs was a section buried within the corporate website. Candidates could read about life at Center Parcs and browse some information about roles and benefits. However, the journey to actually apply was where things fell apart. Clicking to apply launched Dayforce Recruit: a clunky applicant tracking system that felt entirely disconnected from the Center Parcs brand. The forms were long, the UX was unclear, and the process felt more like an obstacle course than an invitation. Having personally experienced the old Dayforce system, I understood how off-putting it could be.
The mismatch was striking. A brand known for making people feel welcome was inadvertently frustrating future colleagues before they’d submitted a CV. The business needed a careers presence that felt as fresh, human, and on-brand as the guest experience itself.
What was I responsible for delivering?
Center Parcs partnered with inploi (a candidate experience platform) to build a brand-new, standalone careers site from scratch. I was invited to the project as a UX manager and copywriter, working across both the design and content dimensions of the project. My main responsibilities included:
- UX copywriting across key pages – particularly the homepage and the Life at Center Parcs page. I helped applying a new TOV throughout the careers site and producing compelling, candidate-facing content.
- Collaborative UI design in Figma – working alongside the inploi team on the navigation layout, information architecture and user flows. I focussed on the flow from our main site, and overall design decisions.
- Redirecting old links – ensuring that all relevant navigation links and page links directed to the new Careers website on launch.
This was not an iteration on something existing: it was a blank canvas. I was aware that every content and design decision would define how some potential colleagues experienced the Center Parcs brand for the first time.
How did we approach the work?
Developing the UX copy. The homepage needed to do a lot of work quickly. We needed to communicate the uniqueness of the working environment, inspire an emotional connection, and move candidates towards browsing and applying. We used the second person voice, describing the forest setting, the pace and the community of a Center Parcs village. We intended to immerse the reader inside the Center Parcs’ world. Lines like “Imagine a workplace that’s set within up to 400 acres of beautiful forest…” were written to evoke feeling, not just inform. The Life at Center Parcs page needed to paint a picture of culture, values, and day-to-day life in a way that felt authentic rather than corporate. I was challenged to provide a concise Center Parcs’ history, reducing the sprawling copy on the Corporate site to a simple paragraph.
Collaborating on UI design in Figma. Working in Figma alongside the inploi team, I helped make decisions around page hierarchy, component structure and visuals on the site. A key principle throughout was mobile-first design and accessibility, ensuring the site worked beautifully for candidates browsing on their phones, who represent around 70% of the target audience.
"Fresh, intuitive, and built with real people in mind."
What did we achieve?
The site launched successfully on 1 July 2025, following a soft launch on 23 June. The result was a visually stunning, mobile-first careers hub that bore no resemblance to the corporate-website section it replaced. It felt every bit as distinctive and human as the Center Parcs guest experience. In the first few months we had almost +15% increase in form completion rate from applicants. The overall dropout rate decrease showed that we had replaced a fragmented experience with one that candidates were engaging with. Simon Gibson, our key senior stakeholder in the project, said the following about the new Careers website:
“Fresh, intuitive, and built with real people in mind. It’s a key step in rethinking how we hire: removing barriers, opening doors, and focusing on potential over perfection.”
What did I learn and what would I do differently?
I definitely learned the value of UX copy. I have been taught to think of text as something people scan on websites and not really read. However, it is something that shapes how users feel, what they understand, and whether they act. Working in Figma alongside the design team from the start meant copy and layout could evolve together, each informing the other. That collaborative rhythm produced a much better result than a linear “design then write” workflow would have.
Writing for a diverse candidate audience (e.g. lifeguards, kitchen staff, spa therapists, marketing managers) also sharpened my understanding of inclusive language. The copy needed to feel welcoming to someone with no formal qualifications as much as to someone with years of experience.
If I were to approach the project again, I would push earlier for more candidate research and data. For example, I would have conducted interviews with recent hires or carried out usability testing after launch. I was armed with my own recent terrible experience of the Dayforce system and my knowledge of the brand, but direct input from the target audience would have added another layer of confidence. This was also the first time I contributed to building a tone of voice from scratch for a major brand’s recruitment presence. Seeing the new tone of voice & branding come to life across the site was really satisfying and a good reminder that excellent UX can influence someone’s first impressions of a company.
