This article explores how the more recent global migration trends are affecting new developments in CV Matching and Job Matching Technology.
According to the World of Work Report 2014, developing countries are quickly gaining on nations with more advanced economies. During the last 30 years, per capita income in developing countries grew, on average, by 3.3 per cent per year – much quicker than the 1.8 per cent growth reported in developed nations.However, despite this progress, levels of working poverty remain high and 839 million workers in emerging economies are unable to earn enough to lift themselves and their families above the US$2 a day poverty threshold.
Moreover, around 200 million new jobs are needed over the next five years to fulfil the growing working-age population in these countries, which may push many younger members to emigrate. In 2013, over 230 million people were reported to be living in a country other than the one in which they were born, a rise of some 57 million since 2000, with South Asia making up for half of this increase.
What is the impact of this trend on developed countries and more specifically on the companies employing these individuals? At first glance, this means one thing: a bigger talent pool and therefore a larger amount of qualified candidates looking for a job.
However when this is examined more closely, the flow of incoming foreign CVs may present some drawbacks: thousands of CVs in different languages, formats and using different keywords and skills to those hiring departments and agencies are familiar with; what is the point of having a larger pool if we can’t understand the information that it contains?
The solution for employers, if they are to take advantage of this trend, comes through the use of technology, specifically, CV Matching and Job Matching technology. However, Recruitment Automation has already been in the market for years so further explanation so of its basic functions is not necessary.
However, in this context the concept of CV Matching and Job Matching Technology, have never proved harder. Technology has to be able to do more than just scan CVs, search for keywords to extract and match to other keywords in the same language. Job matching software has to become multilingual in order to be able to “swim” in this new massively enlarged “pool”. To “survive” employers of choice must make sure they have the intelligent and robust technology in place.
The CV Matching Software they use has to be able to go further than just matching a skill to its translation, but to understand the whole context in the same language that the cv is written. This means that the technology has to be “knowledgeable” and aware of the new skills that the foreign talent is bringing in. This may be due to the emergence of new institutions or universities in that region, as well as the different ways to allude to a skill in a given language.
It goes without saying that this trend affects everyone in the recruitment market, not just agencies, which means that even job board software will have to adapt to it.
This technology is more than a simple software tool. It is a project in continuous development. In the same way as languages and cultures don’t stay static and are constantly evolving, any technology based in natural language and semantic search has to be carrying out constant research and development. In such a dynamic and ever-changing arena as the job market, CV Search and CV Matching tools and the technology that supports them have to be evolving at the same rate or faster.
Investing in a resume parsing and resume matching software that is able to perform this, might involve a cost initially, but when we consider the 200 million CVs that are expected to be received in the next 5 years and we translate it to potential placements, the possible revenue from the exercise could be massive.