11 SEP 2018
Google For Jobs… What is it?
Back in July, Google released its new job search tool in the UK. Although we knew the UK launch would happen after its success in the US, the official release date was a closely guarded secret. As usual, with little fan fair, Google quietly unveiled Google For Jobs.
Back in July, Google released its new job search tool in the UK. Although we knew the UK launch would happen after its success in the US, the official release date was a closely guarded secret. As usual, with little fan fair, Google quietly unveiled Google For Jobs.
What does GFJ do?
Google For Jobs is a search platform that aggregates vacancy listings from job boards like Reed.co.uk, Monster, Guardian Jobs etc and then displays them above other organic search results. The new feature is designed to help job seekers find new positions easily and efficiently.
The candidate experience
Google for jobs will help job seekers to filter the results by additional options such as location, date posted, title and employment type. It should also help resolve the issue of job duplications, caused when recruiters post the same job across multiple job boards. Though a new Google feature will recognise them as the same job and display it as a unique listing, users can still view and apply for the job from the selected job website.
GFJ allows users to save a job and return to it later. It works across multiple synchronised devices, which means users can save a job on their mobile and send an application from their laptop. Users can also opt to receive alerts and updates about the latest job offers that match their criteria.
If no location is specified in the job search, Google automatically uses the location of the performed search to display the best match for nearby jobs.
Summary
In theory, GFJ should help candidates find relevant jobs faster than before. It’s too early to gain any meaningful data at present but provides a great opportunity for any job sites to boost organic traffic, even if a site hadn’t previously received many visits from search engines. If job sites let Google understand the content of their sites for job postings, the chances of attracting job seekers to their sites will increase.
Interestingly, Indeed - one of the biggest job aggregators, isn’t partnering with Google for Jobs… as such, their listings are being penalised and appearing further down and excluded from the GFJ portal.
At onlyFE, we’re constantly monitoring our network of job sites and aggregators to ensure we’re reaching the widest audience possible, whilst keeping our network cost effective for our clients. We have ensured that many of our partner sites are integrated and optimised for GFJ and will continue to track its performance over the next few months.