Google's Cloud Jobs API is creating a great deal of buzz in the recruitment industry. It gives the industry plug-and-play access to Google’s search and machine learning capabilities. Company career sites, job boards, applicant tracking systems and staffing agencies can hopefully improve the experience of job seekers who visit their sites to find jobs.
Now with Google Hire there is a tremendous amount of interest about what they are further planning for the recruitment industry.
What impact will Google Hire have?
For Job seekers, having the world's largest search engine as a route to search for your next job makes complete sense. It may even negate the need for subscribing to numerous job sites.
Established global recruitment brands, such as Monster, LinkedIn & Indeed and more regional ones such as and Bayt, CareerJunction and Jobberman must be looking on with some degree of trepidation.
There is little real data available to us on Google Hire's market offer. However, some see this as an extended ATS (see Axios comment). Others see this as an opportunity to glean more accurate information on the candidates.
ONE thing is clear - the massive reach that Google can bring to this industry, will bring change. Don't forget, we've also had Facebook and Snapchat dipping their toes into this industry (see TechRadar comment).
The biggest question for me is what effect Google Hire will have on the volume of applicants who apply for jobs.
Are you ready for a surge in applicant numbers?
Just last week I noticed an advert with 3,750 applicants! While LinkedIn does provide some filters to help sort the wheat from chaff, they aren't perfect. So, for this role (and others) that already means 1000s of applicants to be sifted and filtered.
Our blog (177 Candidates in 72hrs) outlined the challenges of the increasing volumes of applicants for every role.
Like it or not, good candidates are over-looked and sadly, it is an accepted part of the process. Even the best recruiters can only hope to minimize the losses here.
A ramp up in applicant numbers can easily turn a strained process into a broken one.
It's like a boxing match
Some recruiters might liken the selection process to that of a fierce competition (comment from Brand Recruitment). Many see this as unfairly one-sided. What is clear - it's becoming tougher.
In the blue corner we have applicants using all the technology and advice available to get selected. In the green corner we have the vast majority of the recruitment industry (and quality applicants) still using old-fashioned tools and processes. The result,
"It's like pitting Mike Tyson against the likes of..........well me!"
In today's pressure-cooker of a recruitment industry, it's all too easy for strong applicants to be over-looked. And this is the BIG ISSUE. How many times have recruiters started the process over again because the selected candidates were too weak?
What are the options available to us?
- Optimise Application Process
There are many who offer advice on how best to manage high volumes of CVs. But it all starts with the application process - do you make it harder for people to apply? Ask them to jump through hoops and have them fill out form after form? Do we then not run the risk of no candidates applying full stop ?
- Get More Recruiters
Another solution is to spend more money on recruiters (internal, or external) to go through these ever increasing and complex applicants lists. Is that a viable long-term solution?
- Take a Fresh Approach.
Why not take a leaf out of the applicants' book and use the available technology?
"But we're a peoples business" i hear you shouting - agreed, but so are doctors and dentists and just look at all the technology they have at their disposal!
The University of California's research on recruiting workers in the agriculture industry (click here) offers valuable insight for us. Be warned, it's a long article, but the summary at the bottom says it all - they advocate 'selection via skills assessment.'
What works for us
It’s going to be vital to have tools and processes that will allow you to shortlist effectively. Without these in place recruiting could be even more challenging than it already is. We have found that using Assessment powered hiring automation is a fantastic way of shortlisting candidates. Not only does it allow us to accurately assess 1000’s of candidates but it also delivers an outstanding candidate experience. We’re now offering this to our customers who are inundated with job applicants as a service – take a look for yourself!
