My Thoughts on Job Matching
I’ve been asked for consult on several occasions about whether or not to use job matching systems. Obviously depending on the system my answers will vary although if I’m asked about job matching in general here’s my opinion.
Stand alone job matching platforms do not have a chance against the more traditional models, no matter the economic climate.
Why?
In a job seeker rich market:
Employers have less budget and resources so unless the job matching platform can map the fielded data from an xml job feed into the system your rate of adoption will be extremely low. The process has to be automated and fluid, not hand entered and clumsy. That being said.. If the fielded data is cut down to merely what is available on the job directly from your career site then there’s probably not enough data to make an accurate match. You may see match platforms try this method to increase adoption, only to find it’s a double edged sword laden with bad matches.
In a job rich market:
Inverse climate, inverse problem. People have jobs and don’t need to jump through the matching system hoops. Most job searches, in a job rich market, are performed during the day from work so asking them to spend 10-15 minutes to set-up a profile is unrealistic. Plus, if a matching system says they’ve cut “streamlined” their process this means they’ve also cut the fielded data the system needs to make a good match. So they’ve cut the question process to try and drive more candidates into their system, although the process cut is what makes the system work well.
Another huge downfall.
Most job matching systems only return system matches, meaning you may miss many candidates if you’re a company or opportunities if you’re a job seeker. The only way around these “missed matches” is to offer a “Browse” functionality. Unfortunately as soon as a browse jobs function is offered no one will use the matching system. Why? Because we’re a race of instant gratification seekers and going through a long drawn-out process with little fruit at the end is converse to our wants and perceived needs. The short answer is plain old human nature.
Last but not least…
If a matching company touts their use of parsing I have only one reaction. Immediately run yelling and screaming the other way!
I believe the theory of match is sound until you introduce the biggest variables, employers and job seekers.
Comments(3)
“the theory of match is sound until you introduce the biggest variables, employers and job seekers.”
that sums it up nicely Chad! there is so much expert advice flying around which nearly always makes unrealistic simplifications and assumptions… the thrust of which is that there are no variables.
– Eric
Thanks Eric.. I believe the winners in this industry best understand behavior over cool technology.
“Most job matching systems only return system matches, meaning you may miss many candidates if you’re a company or opportunities if you’re a job seeker.”
Very well said. I couldn’t agree more. I recently had a conversation with a job seeker about matching sites. The response was that they only get very general matches and overly broad.