Google for Jobs launched in the UK - what does this mean for the world of recruitment?

After successfully introducing the search engine in the US last year, Google for Jobs is now live in the UK, and is focused on making the job searching experience as smooth as possible for candidates.

Here’s everything you need to know about what the new online jobs platform means for the world of recruitment advertising…

So, what is Google for Jobs?

Now let’s get one thing straight – Google for Jobs is not a job board. Rather, it’s a search tool that scrapes and features job postings that are already published from employer’s career sites and a wide variety of job boards, aggregating them into one easy to use system – and then re-directing prospective applicants to the job advert source page to complete the application.

From a job seeker point of view, all they need to do is type into Google what they’re searching for – searching terms such as “Jobs near me”, “Sales jobs in Liverpool”, or even “Jobs at Company” will display vacancies relevant to the user’s location.

Jobseekers can also use the Google for Jobs platform to search via job industry (category), job title, date posted, type, company type, employer and location – Google has even integrated it’s Google Maps technology and displays the estimated commute time for the role. Google also combines any duplicates job adverts, which makes the process easy for jobseekers and will also help employers reduce duplicate CVs being submitted.

How can you get your vacancies onto Google for Jobs?

As we’ve mentioned - Google for Jobs is not a job board, so there’s no way to post directly on to the platform. There are two ways to list your job vacancies on Google for Jobs – either by using a third-party job board (such as Jobsite, TotalJobs, CV-Library or Reed – all of which are on JVP’s network of leading job boards) or by integrating your careers page directly with Google.

CLICK HERE to discover how JVP can implement a brand new ‘Google for Jobs’ integrated job search function alongside your existing website, or further develop your current careers page to provide functionality for online applications.

If you’re already a JVP client, then you’re all set! With our wide network of over 200 job sites, all our client’s job advertisements are automatically showing up in the Google for Jobs search results.

To ensure that our client’s job adverts are ranking as high as possible in search results, not only do we craft a professionally written job advert which informs and attracts quality talent, promotes the company’s employer brand and reputation, we also optimise each advert by using certain SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) techniques which ensure the advert lists as high as possible.

If your company website already has its own careers page where your vacancies are published, make sure your IT team has followed Google’s technical guide for career page integration with Google for Jobs.

How will Google for Jobs change recruitment advertising and job searching?

Job vacancy aggregators are nothing new, but with Google implementing ‘Artificial Intelligence’ into their job search feature, this should ensure that Google for Jobs is one of the most effective places for job seekers to be looking for jobs. And of course, Google has a major head start over any other job searching platform – the world-renowned search engine processes over 40,000 search queries every second, there’s no doubt Google for Jobs will be used by many job seekers all over the world.

No one knows yet how Google’s new job feature will affect recruitment advertising in the long term. Google have said they’re not wanting to compete against job boards, and the job listings are all re-directed to the job sites ensuring they’re not missing out on any traffic. And with job boards such as Totaljobs, Reed, Jobsite and CV-Library holding a database of millions of UK jobseekers – they’re certainly not going anywhere any time soon. But one thing is for sure – employers need to ensure that their vacancies are listed on the platform or risk missing out on a large audience of job seekers.