It’s hard to fathom a Google-free existence. Significant amounts of day-to-day life are augmented by Google search or a Google Product. Even when imagining a post-apocalyptic world full of zombies and vigilantes, somehow Google was still there to answer hard-hitting questions like “best brunch in Chicago.” Beyond personal conveniences, in the past few months, Google has begun to lay siege of the talent acquisition world with the introduction of Google for Jobs. They’ve shaken up the industry by changing how candidates search for jobs, and how job postings are viewed. With all this in mind here are a few ways the disappearance of Google would pull the rug out from under recruiters and sourcers.
Literal Communication Black Hole
Not everyone uses Gmail or Google Docs professionally, although if you aren’t, you’re probably missing out. Even if you don’t use Gmail, odds are a good chunk of your CRM is packed full of users, and you just lost the ability to email them. This would be the like experiencing a rolling communication blackout. Until adjustments are made you better hope the phone numbers work, and that it wasn’t a Google voice number to start.
The thoughts of losing Google would affect the following:
Oh the Humanity & the Chrome Extensions
Google Chrome has been a long-standing favorite for many sourcers. With a smooth design and plethora of extensions at the ready to make your day a little easier, what’s not to love? Here are a few examples of Chrome extensions that make a sourcer’s life easier which would no longer be available:
Bye Bye Google for Jobs
While Google for Jobs is still fairly new to the market, it is rapidly changing the landscape with strategic partnerships with career board giants such as CareerBuilder and Monster. Beyond driving traffic to this site, Google is also giving corporate career sites a leg up by changing the algorithm on how job postings are spidered, helping them move to the top of the list. The major player who isn’t playing along is Indeed. Indeed, with its long-term success of using Google’s algorithms to make their postings jump to the top of the search list, has decided to stand alone on its brand and market reputation. With these titans battling it out, it’s hard to imagine Indeed grieving Google’s loss.
There are alternatives….we promise.
In 2100 when all search engines become irrelevant and the robots have eventually taken over the….ok we kid, but if Google disappeared tomorrow what would that look like for the search engine landscape? The clear standout here is Bing and the recent acquisition of LinkedIn by Bing’s daddy, Microsoft. Although you see smaller search engines like DuckDuckGo, Yandex, Ask, and others, Bing will most likely become the go-to search engine, and their product focus would shift entirely to mimic that of what Google had. We probably won’t see Bing for Jobs because of LinkedIn, but we could see a bigger play as Bing and LinkedIn integrate with each other on the job landscape.
Grieving Google
The fact is if Google disappeared it’d completely change the way sourcers and recruiters work. Over time, we would get over the initial shock and grief and move into the arms of other search engines. Even so, it’s hard to imagine another company who could fill the shoes of Google and how they aid sourcers everywhere, for a very long time.