Google has updated its company jobs board with support for Google+ profiles, allowing users to see more relevant search results, star jobs they want to return to later on and receive curated email updates.
The changes, spotted by Google Plus Daily, hints at a larger push from Google into job listings and applications. We’ve already seen Google+ profiles inch into the company’s other mainstream products, such as Gmail and YouTube, so it’s not altogether surprising to see it used here in its company jobs board as well.
Users that look for an opening on the Google jobs board will be shown a new search results page that pushes Google+ profiles hard. If you’re already signed in with your Google+ profile, the page will show a blue bar along the top prompting you to connect the two. The same is true on the right-hand side of the page, where it lists some of the benefits of authorizing your account.
Depending on what you’ve written throughout your Google+ profile, you’ll be given a more tailored set of search results. As a blogger for The Next Web there weren’t that many changes in my search results, although I imagine that if you were a programmer or designer, the customized recommendations would be much more obvious.
Being able to star specific job openings is a nice touch, and one that will come naturally to anyone with a Gmail account. The link through to your Gmail account for email updates is also an obvious way for the firm to continue creating an internal ecosystem for its services and products.
Connections from Google+ are also shown on the right-hand side of the webpage, depending on what you’ve searched for. The idea is to remind users about who they can contact at Google should they wish to find out more about the listing. As a help page written by Google states though: “Keep in mind that this data is user-generated, so any person can list any employer, no matter whether or not they work for that employer — so use good judgement as to what information you share.”
Profiles that may be shown must have Google listed as their employer, have their privacy settings altered so anyone may see their employer, and also be in each other’s circles. That’s quite a specific set of parameters, although it does ensure that only Google employees are shown, and also that they’re not bombarded by complete strangers about a job opening.
The updated jobs board also has a share button next to every listing, allowing you to post it directly to Google+ without leaving the webpage. It’s what we’ve come to expect from Google, but by and large it works very well. More importantly though, when you click on a job posting there is an option to “Apply Now” using only your Google+ profile. It’s a feature found on LinkedIn, known as the “Apply with LinkedIn” button, and further hints at a wider job application role for Google+.
Of course, Google’s long term plans might just be to keep this entirely in-house. The firm’s new jobs board is an interesting development though, and adds some much-needed functionality to Google+ profile. Perhaps a competitor to job listing sites such as Indeed, Monster or Gumtree from Google isn’t such a far-fetched thought.
Image Credit: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images
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