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Talent Acquisition

What Does Google’s Entry Into the Recruitment Space Mean for the Industry?

With Google for Jobs and Google Hire, Google has formally staked their place in the recruitment industry and it looks like they’re here to stay. It’s one of the biggest bombshells to hit the recruitment space in recent times, so how big of an impact will they have?

Will Google Hire revolutionize how small to medium-sized enterprises attract talent? Will Google for Jobs completely disrupt the $200 billion recruiting industry? Let’s ask our panel of experts.

Jonathan Kestenbaum

If I were Indeed, I would be scared. If I were an Applicant Tracking System that focuses on small to medium sized businesses, I would be scared. If I were a Talent Acquisition enthusiast, I would be excited that such a large organization is taking interest in helping innovate within the space.

Jonathan Kestenbaum, Executive Director, Talent Tech Labs

Cheryl Cran

Google Hire is going to transform the use of algorithms in the recruitment space – faster data and faster matching of talent to employer is going to make Google Hire a major competitor in the recruitment space.

Cheryl Cran, CEO & Future of Work Expert, Synthesis at Work Inc

Nathan Perrott

Whilst it’s too early to tell for sure, it’s a potential game changer. With Google for Jobs (their search engine job board-style user experience) it could have a major impact on the future of job boards and aggregators. Although, the EU’s European Commissioner for Competition may have an issue with its rollout in Europe. With the Google Jobs API (job search for career sites), the benefits are easy to see – better user experience, greater relevancy, happier candidates. Cost could prove a barrier to some though. And lastly, Google’s ATS offering (‘Hire’) could disrupt the SME space, but not the enterprise market just yet.

Nathan Perrott, Director of Digital Marketing Strategy, AIA Worldwide

Adam Glassman

No doubt that it will be disruptive. I frankly don’t believe Google’s initial approach with organic searches will last, and can’t imagine that they won’t monetize their recruitment solutions. Think what that could mean as they charge companies directly for a suite of products, including Google ads, SEM, Google Jobs, Google Hire, etc. Imagine what that will do to the likes of Indeed, CareerBuilder, Snagajob, Monster, etc. If priced affordably, it could be a huge benefit to companies as the candidate data will be robust and coordinated (FYI – Google will know a hell of a lot about our candidates). But what will it cost? And who will be their new competitors?

Adam Glassman, Recruitment Strategies Manager, Alorica

Hung Lee

It’s as big a deal as it sounds. Both of Google for Jobs and Google Hire are potentially marketing changing for the job ads and ATS space respectively. Google for Jobs is going to mean problems for Indeed, job boards and job aggregators. Anyone who sells traffic and job discovery are in line to be disintermediated. Conversely, original content makers – employers with career sites – stand to benefit as Google for Jobs prioritise their job content over duplicates or aggregated data. In the ATS space, Google Hire is obviously a problem for all the ATS players out there – a direct competitor that can offer the unique advantage of seamless integration with GSuite, and presumably with the aforementioned Google for Jobs product in the near future.

Hung Lee, CEO, WorkShape.io

Chris Russell

Firstly I think its a huge validation for other players in the space. It means that they see their is money to be made and problems to solve. It also means that they think the current vendors need to do a better job of creating a simplified user experience. More competition will weed out the vendors and products that fail to keep up with the new way to attract and retain talent.

Chris Russell, Managing Director, RecTech Media

Bryan Chaney

When there are more companies trying to solve a recruiting problem, the world gets a lot smaller. Increased competition makes us all think more creatively to push limits. If you can help people get the right jobs faster and easier, then the job seeker gets a better experience and we as employers and recruiters, all win.

Bryan Chaney, Director of Employer Brand, Indeed