There’s nothing quite so ominous for an industry as when Google decides to focus its energy in that industry’s direction. As we stand in the dawn of Google for Jobs, it’s hard to say what it’s impact will be on the recruiting world or how Google Jobs changes recruiting, but as with most things Google, it is safe to say there will be some level of resonation. As it stands today, Google for Jobs seems to be dipping its toe in the waters of client and candidate connection, but what’s important for most firms is how they steady themselves for the inevitable moment when the behemoth decides to cannonball in the pool. There’s a lot that is yet to be determined about Google for Jobs, but from what we’ve gleaned in its infancy, it may be the most impactful digital entity in the world of recruiting since LinkedIn, and it's clear Google Jobs changes recruiting.

How it works 

Google for Jobs incorporates the machine learning technologies that has propelled Google to the front of the search engine pack, using them to index sites for job postings and aggregating them as a Google search result with an interface specifically designed to filter results specific to the available jobs, as collected by Google. Google Jobs changes recruiting by pulling from sources such as LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, Jobs.com, Career Builder and more, Google for Jobs seems to pull from all the major job board players, with one notable exception:  Indeed. According to Google, Indeed has not opened its individual listings to search engines, although there is some rumbling that Google could be playing to undercut Indeed entirely. Google Jobs changes recruiting, but what can you do about it?

Where to start 

All this information makes it evident that Google Jobs changes recruiting, but the question for many recruiters is “how do I get my jobs listed alongside the likes of Glassdoor and WayUp?” This is where there is room for optimism. The primary thing to understand is that Google crawls a site’s index for job listings; however, it cannot crawl an index of an iframe or other embedded frame. This is where the value of a custom integration system becomes exponential. A custom integration, like those provided by Recruiters Websites, allows the job listings to appear organically on a site’s index, allowing Google for Jobs to pull and post your jobs.

How to compete

So you’ve gotten your jobs properly posted on your website and Google is including them in its job search results, but is that enough to compete with the job board giants? Maybe. Once your jobs are properly integrated in your site to allow Google to read and pull them, your ability to compete depends on the content of your listing. A well-written job posting will win the day. The more information you can provide the more powerful your posting becomes. As it stands, the domain name in the URL is not nearly as relevant to Google’s endeavors as the veracity and quality of the job posting. And it makes sense. Google doesn’t need Monster, or LinkedIn, or Career Builder or even you for that matter. Google needs a collection of quality jobs to provide the best possible service to its users. As with much of Google’s focus, they are more interested in organic results that deliver viable res... rather than keyword-stuffed postings. It's possible that Google Jobs changes recruiting for the better.

Should you be worried? I’m not going to tell you to be worried. I’m not going to tell you not to be worried. Google for Jobs is in such a primitive state that it’s difficult to tell which direction it could take. Could it be a MapQuest-killer like Google Maps or a defunct social media brand like Google Plus? These questions are irrelevant in that there is nothing that can be done in regards to them. What can be done is providing quality job postings in a properly integrated format, which, surprisingly enough, is what you should be doing anyway. And don’t forget our glass-half-full approach:  there’s a real chance Google Jobs changes recruiting by leveling the playing field for recruiters to use their own websites as the source for quality job postings in their specific industries.