Can Artificial Intelligence Get You A Job?
Google Says Yes With their New Google for Jobs Service
Google just announced a new job search engine called Google for Jobs. At first blush, it looks like Google is entering a very crowded space--do we need another job board? A quick Google search (ha) resulted in these job board search engine sites: Indeed, Snagajob, Simplyhired, Monster, LinkedIn, Craigslist, Facebook, Glassdoor, CareerBuilder, Dice, The Ladders, ZipRecruiter, Twitter, Jobs2Careers, Jobparido, Beyond, Dribble, Flexjobs, eBay (yes, eBay), Coroflot, JobsRadar, and it goes on and on and on. There are so many job boards with search engines, what makes Google for Jobs different? A lot.
Google is not creating a new job board. It is partnering with other job boards to view existing jobs and then apply Google’s powerful artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to learn about the job seeker’s queries and make smart job recommendations to the job seeker. At launch, Google will partner with LinkedIn, Facebook, Careerbuilder, Monster, Glassdoor, and other services--it will have the reach of a massive job aggregator. As the job seeker adds variables, Google for Job’s AI machine learning will assimilate data about the job seeker’s preferences and make recommendations based upon parameters, thus triangulating on job opportunities that fit the job seeker’s needs, indifferent of the title.
In a world where job titles are morphing as companies adopt different terms for similar things (consider the many different words used for customer), a search for a Customer Service Manager job isn’t so straightforward as companies are calling this position so many different things from Client Experience Manager to Store Manager. Today, job seekers must wade through the muck of hundreds of different job postings of different job titles, reading each one, to see if it fits their knowledge, skills, and abilities. Google for Jobs claims that it will learn about the job seeker and make intelligent job recommendations that may be right around the corner, or within your commute radius (and leverage Google Maps to tell the job seeker the commute time, too).
But, what is really exciting is Google for Jobs appears to give something that is sorely lacking today, interest in the job seeker’s experience. Spend a few minutes on the LinkedIn Premium Job Seeker group page and you’ll meet thousands of frustrated job seekers who are wondering how much of this recruiting stuff do they need to learn. These job seekers discuss tricks, hacks, and tips to land a job amidst the frustrations of the clunky systems and processes imposed on them. One job seeker said, “I don’t know that I want to learn so much about this,” speaking of the nuances and details of the job search process. If Google for Jobs is as intuitive as it sounds, it might just make the job search process more efficient for the job seeker.
One feature may eliminate a major pain point for job seekers: Google for Jobs’s one-click apply button. Could job seekers be eliminating hours of résumé uploads and tech-wrestling matches with applicant tracking systems? Job seekers know that applying for positions on online job boards and company career websites is time consuming--this is after hours of searching for jobs. Sure, once you have your information uploaded to that job board, say Dice.com, it is easy to apply for jobs on Dice. But, as soon as you move to another board, you’ll need to upload your information all over again. Then land on a company’s career website and spend hours (yes, hours) to apply to a couple of jobs. If Google connects all of the major job boards (and employer career websites, too, please) and creates one-click apply, think how easy the process will be. (On the flip side this also may mean you end up with a lot more competition for the job, but that is a discussion for another day!) In theory, Google for Jobs may have the power to add hours to a job seeker’s day. Then a job seeker can spend more time networking, or taking a class to prepare them for the next job, or go sailing!
Google said that it will roll out Google for Jobs over the coming weeks. And when it is, we’ll be right there to review the app. Stay tuned!