The inevitable is about to happen Google For Jobs is almost ready to drop anchor here in Australia. It was only a matter of time before Google makes its move into the lucrative job search and job listings market. And now with Google For Jobs soon to be up and running, job seekers will be rejoicing while both the big and small online job boards and aggregator will be “clearing the decks” ready for battle, and wondering what the scale of the impact will be on their business.
With no definitive date on when Google For Jobs will actually land here in Australia, rumours making the rounds that companies competing in this spaces are causing some delay. This also happened in the UK and EU, except that was post release: Google faces EU investigation over job-search tool
The only valid hint I heard recently that Google For Jobs is launching here in Australia in the coming months, is that Google Ads will soon include ‘Job Function’ to its target audience options across its search and display network.
So what’s Google For Jobs?
For job hunters, Google For Jobs represents a new and more relevant way to search for job opportunities in their sphere of expertise. To see a Google For Jobs listing, all you’ve got to do to is type job related keywords into Google’s search box, and when you click, amid the usual search results there’ll be a blue box featuring listings for job opportunities that match your search criteria. They’ll even be localised to your area, and there are further options that Google suggests to help you refine your search criteria.
Google For Jobs promises to make job searching much easier for candidates, but it’s likely to rock the boat for the big search and selection recruiters who now have a big name rival to contend with.
How Does Google For Jobs Work?
To create its job list, Google trawls the online job boards and listing sites and displays the relevant opportunities it finds. It’s another Google service that aligns will their stated aim of making the world’s information accessible to all.
The algorithms Google uses are some of the most advanced out there, the result of over 200 criteria being used to filter the information that gets displayed on your search results page. And there’s an added element to Google For Jobs that makes it even more advanced, as it learns how job adverts are formed as well as the searches job seekers perform and uses that data to deliver the most relevant matches.
The Job Listing Platform Anyone Can Access
Results listed in a Google For Jobs search are likely to be the most relevant to a job seeker’s needs. What’s more, Google For Jobs is accessible to all. Anyone can include a job listing on the platform, illustrating a real levelling of the playing field. All you need to do is ensure your job listing complies with the Schema used by Google For Jobs, and then inform Google of your new content by updating your RSS, Atom feed and/or Sitemap.
It’s crucial that you keep your job listings up to date. Any whose application deadline has passed need to be quickly taken down, or you’ll risk being black marked by Google. Out of date and irrelevant is not what Google is about, and repeat offenders will find Google stops searching your site.
This Is Bad News For The Big Job Boards, Right?
Not just a new player, but potentially the biggest player. Google For Jobs will increasingly position the likes smaller job boards/aggregator as unnecessary middle men in the job search business, and with such a broad reach and advanced algorithms, no job board can hope to match Google For Jobs in terms of number and relevance of search results.
Smaller recruiters are likely to see big advantages in Google For Jobs, delivering a ready-made platform on which to connect with candidates. And, of course, it’s the candidates themselves who will mostly benefit from the range and relevance of job opportunities that Google For Jobs will serve up.
Either way, Google For Jobs represents another example of Google expanding its presence and making accessing information easier for all. If you’ve a job role to fill or you’re looking for your next career opportunity, there’s a new platform from an old favourite that’s ready to help. If you’re a running a big job board, well, interesting times are ahead.
Ryan McNally
