On the job hunt? This is what you need to know about the new Google job search experience

Global tech giant Google is adding a new string to its platform with a new job search experience on Google.

The new search experience is being launched today in the UK after it debuted in the US last year.

Instead of trawling through different links on Google to find the job you want, there will now be a search box at the top of the page to serve you the most relevant job postings for your query.

Joy Xi, product manager at Google Search, told the Standard: “Job hunting can be challenging – jobs are listed on different sites across the web and it’s not always easy to identify which jobs are suited to your needs or where to find them.

“We know people are turning to Google already to search for job listings, so we wanted to find something their needs.”

The new Google for Jobs aims to speed up the job search experience. You can search for things such as “jobs near me” or a specific query such as “consultancy jobs near me”.

The company’s prowess in ranking and relevance also comes in handy here. Say you’re searching for a software developer role, but a company may call it “computer programmer” or “developer”. Even though these roles are all the same unless you were searching for a specific keyword you might not see the ad. Google for Jobs will change this.

“On many employer websites if you search for the wrong set of words you might not get the job that’s relevant for your skills,” said Xi. “But at Google, we know on the backend that all of those things are the same and will surface your jobs.”

You can save a particular job search on your smartphone and then access it again on a desktop computer, or save a search term to set up Gmail alerts. And, once you find a job you’re interested in, you click on it and this takes you to the job listing site where you can apply for the role.

As a result of this particular feature, Google says it’s not out to kill job sites like Indeed or Reed. The platform is working with specific job sites already in the UK, but any employer or job-seeking platform can access its guidelines on how to mark up their listings and appear in the new search experience.

Yet, with anything on the internet at the moment, there are questions over how Google can prevent fake job adverts from appearing. This isn’t a new phenomenon but considering the attention fake news and fake data have been having over the past 18 months, it’s a conversation that needs having.

“There are quality metrics in ranking already applied to any given search,” explained Xi. “Beyond that, our job content policy does not allow abusive, untrustworthy and spammy job hostings from search results so if receive a complaint about something that violates the law, we will handle it according to our policies.”

Another element of the new job search experience that could face the fake news treatment is its ratings and reviews system. Similar to restaurant ratings you can currently see on Google, job listings will appear with ratings and reviews alongside.

The company says this is because it finds that once people look at a job advert, they will often search for information and reviews about the recruiting organisation.

However, in the case of fake reviews being published to boost or discredit a company, Google says it will use the technology it has to hand, including spam detection and quality assurance, to do its best to prevent this from happening.

Even if there are aspects of Google’s business that you don’t like, you can’t fault its efficiency. Thanks to integration with Google Maps and its location tracking services, you can even see how long a commute will take you when you’re searching for roles on the new platform.

It’s little things like this, aimed at making your general online experience easy and seamless, which has helped Google to succeed so far.