The Future of AI Based Job Search

In the coming years, artificial intelligence (AI) will play a major role in the job search process. Much has been written about how AI will affect recruiting but I’d like to explore it from the other side of the table.

New AI-powered job search tools will be launched to help job seekers find open positions that match their skills and interests, and it will also help them to connect better with recruiters and hiring managers. For instance, imagine being able to ask AI to create a personal profile info sheet on your potential boss? 

AI will be used to analyze job postings and to identify keywords that are relevant to specific skills and experience. This will help job seekers compare themselves against the job requirements. Perhaps a score could be generated to see how qualified you are.

AI will also be able to apply for you by pre-filling in apply forms on the web. This may help to speed up adoption of a universal job seeker focused apply profile.

I am also curious about job aggregation. Google has Google for Jobs but will it become even more powerful through AI?

Overall, AI will make the job search process more efficient and effective for both job seekers and employers. This should greatly help to cut down the time spent job hunting online. A common complaint among job seekers today.

AI Resume Creation Tools

One of the other ways I see AI being used is around the resume creation process. Today many job seekers will create multiple versions of a resume based on each job they apply to in order to be as relevant as possible. AI based resume tools should be able to make this chore much easier to accomplish.

AI-powered resume builders are already available, and they are becoming more sophisticated all the time. These tools can help job seekers to create resumes that are tailored to specific jobs, and they can also help job seekers to improve their chances of getting hired.

Here are some of the AI-powered resume builders that are available today:

• Rezi

• Kickresume

• Teal

• ResumA.I.

• Designs.ai

Will the Job Search Box Go Away?

Another prediction I have heard is that one day the typical job search box (keyword+location) may be replaced by an AI chatbot. I had a long conversation recently with Jobcase CEO Fred Goff on this subject. 

He thinks the search box may be going away eventually to be replaced by an AI chatbot as the starting point/interface to begin your search. You simply answer a few questions about what you are looking for and it responds with a list of jobs. Or you could just ask it to browse jobs near you so you can see what's around you.

Goff told me how he thinks about it;

Identifying, discovering, applying, and landing a new job continues to be a painful experience for most workers. First off, most people aren’t even sure what to put in a search box; and those that do, tend to be more constrained by their anchor point than the full valid consideration set. Thereafter, the ‘black hole’ and other post application problems have certainly not been solved as technology further enables both purposeful and accidental mistreatment of candidates.

Many well-intentioned companies and tech-providers have been struggling to tackle various points of this challenging process; but, now with modern frontier AI, intentions and execution are about to meet. Jobcase is clearly not the only one rethinking how to serve both employers and workers alike with this new technology. I see this akin to when Mobile technology allowed countries to leapfrog forward in their modernization of economies. Now, in HRTech we can leapfrog forward on various product roadmap and candidate experience intentions.  And the pace of change will likely be staggering.

How Will Job Sites Use Future AI?

Job sites like Ziprecruiter already use AI to match job seekers to jobs but in the future, these platforms are likely to adopt AI in even more ways to aid job seekers.

For example, they might use AI to:

• Create AI-powered chatbots that can answer job seekers' questions and provide them with support (virtual career coach)

• Use AI to provide job seekers with personalized feedback on their resumes and cover letters. This will help job seekers to improve their chances of getting hired. (This could affect the future of resume writers as a business)

• Use AI to conduct mock interviews with job seekers. This will help employers to assess the skills and experience of job seekers more quickly and efficiently.

• Use AI to negotiate salaries for job seekers. This will help job seekers to get the best possible salary for their skills and experience.

• Let AI summarize what it's like to work at a company based on publicly available reviews and comments on social media.

Today we have yet to scratch the surface of the role AI will surely play in the future of job search. Job sites that adopt AI will be able to provide job seekers with a more personalized and efficient experience. I’ll be waiting and watching to see who goes first.