Can Technology Improve My Job Or Talent Search?

NEAG connects talent to opportunity in the workplace. Traditionally, NEAG operates through good, solid networking by meeting others and telling your story. Honestly, this is still the best way to find the right fit because people hire people. As more networking moves online, are there any ways technology can improve the search process?

Yes, there are tools to help job seekers and hiring managers find the best fit for open positions.

In addition to leveraging LinkedIn, there are tools that can help showcase your story. Often, the same tools work for both sides of the equation (both the job seeker and job holder). In order for the cream to rise to the top, then the right candidate needs to know about the role and describe how they are the perfect fit. The onboarding process is expensive, so hiring managers want to be sure they have found the best fit for their team.

This is where some new technology tools help. If managers and HR departments are finding difficulty finding the talent that meets their needs, then a new tool can help check the job posting.

Textio (https://textio.com/) is a startup that leverages big data concepts to analyze language. Here is a quick overview.

Why is this important?

There are unintentional biases in all of our writings. We all have certain tendencies and overuse some words and phrases. Textio checks writing (mainly job postings) to identify words and phrases that attract or detract certain people. The technology is dynamic. This means as certain buzzwords become overused, they will be flagged. High quality talent veers away from cliched postings.

As Textio points out, attention spans do not last long.

NEAG has no affiliation with Textio, but learned of the services through this excellent interview with the founders. The service might be expensive at the individual level. But, if you only have a few postings, then sign up for the free trial and use the service before the trail ends.

Everyone may consider the free trial. As the interview details, there are a host of ways to use the product. In fact, the Textio team wrote about how job seekers found value in unexpected ways by analyzing the job postings. Recently, Kieran Snyder, the founder, described why candidates want to know about potential employers:

it suggests that strong job candidates are becoming increasingly savvy, both in how they use technology and in the thoughtfulness they bring to evaluating a company’s employment brand.

This may seem like cool tech and Silicon Valley stuff, but why does it matter? It matters because the employment world is competitive. Little tools like ensuring your language reflects your character and values stands out.

These tools help people tell their story. The ability to share your skills on LinkedIn tells people about your experience. Not simply the number of recommendations, but the quality of recommendation matter. The word choice and status are an important distinction that can sway a hiring manager’s decision.

So how would this work?

Take a piece of writing and run it through Textio to understand the trends and phrases. For example, I tend to write in “business speak” and complicate many sentences.

Understand the audience, in a term paper or research report, this might be fine. But if I’m writing a blog, the tone should be more conversational, so I’d want to revise and simplify some of those phrases.

For hiring managers, this is important not to subconsciously offend or alienate any particular group. For job seekers, it is important to appeal to the company’s sensibilities.

Typically, I use another great tool, called the Hemingway App (http://www.hemingwayapp.com/). Hemingway is a web site that is like an more sophisticated spell (and grammar) check. Here is the analysis of this post (a little too complicated).

As you likely suspected, the service is named after Ernest Hemingway. The analysis includes Readability at the top because some of the greatest writers wrote at a grade 3-4 level. Obviously, I’m not in that ballpark. However, the analysis clearly shows what to fix (although the how remains your task) and help transform your writing.

In a competitive world, context is key. Technology can help you stand out from the crowd, which is the first step towards finding that dream opportunity and fit.

If there are any questions or comments, then please let us know. We would love to hear some insights from the HR folks in the group.

Joel Whipple

Senior Marketing Strategist at All Points Digital

Joel provides marketing strategy to All Points Digital. He contributes to the social media and content marketing plans that are vital to developing brand awareness and community engagement. His background includes roles in financial services and providing advisory services to micro-entrepreneurs. With a Information Design and Corporate Communications degree and Master's of Business Administration with a concentration in Entrepreneurial Studies from Bentley University, he leverages multiple disciplines to expand client limits.