The job search can often feel like a solitary journey, but it doesn’t have to be. In an age of rapid technological advancements, job seekers can tap into a wealth of resources and tools to enhance their search.
On stage at Indeed’s annual FutureWorks conference in Dallas, CEO Chris Hyams debuted the global job matching and hiring platform’s new artificial intelligence-powered talent agent—Pathfinder—last week.
The AI-driven feature will provide personalized guidance and support to job seekers as they navigate their career paths—whether they are looking to grow in their current roles or pivot into something new.
“At the highest levels—professional athletes, movie stars, recording artists—they are each individually represented by a talent agent,” Hyams stated in an interview with me. “A talent agent is a dedicated champion who knows their clients’ skills, passions and career goals, and they work tirelessly to connect them with the best opportunities. Our vision for the future is that through Indeed, every worker in the world will have their own personal talent agent,” he added.
The Pathfinder tool analyzes a job hunter’s background to identify core skill sets and generates bespoke career trajectories, complete with compatibility ratings based on the individual’s experience and goals. It will share prompts and recommendations about job opportunities that are a good fit for the job search applicant.
As AI learns more about the job seeker, it will help continue to fine-tune, personalize and help with exploring career options and strategies they may not have considered, opening up new and exciting professional avenues.
How An AI Talent Agent Can Help Your Career
In my conversation with Hyams, he shared that Pathfinder was built to “help people not just get jobs, but get better jobs.”
He opened up about its deeper purpose in identifying quality employment, “Work of course is a source of economic sustainability, but it’s also so much more. A job is a source of dignity and pride. It’s where we find meaning and purpose in our lives. The average American worker will spend roughly 90,000 hours of their life at work—more than most of us will spend with our families and loved ones. The time we spend at work is precious, and that means that better work leads to better lives.”
By leveraging AI and machine learning, Pathfinder aims to provide more relevant and personalized job recommendations compared to traditional job search methods. It helps users discover opportunities that best match their unique profile and career aspirations, making the job search more efficient and effective.
By understanding a candidate’s individualized profile, the AI system can filter through vast numbers of job listings to present the most suitable opportunities. This saves job seekers time and reduces the frustration of sifting through irrelevant postings.
Pathfinder can suggest roles at various levels of seniority, from entry-level jobs to more advanced positions, depending on the user’s experience and career stage. It may recommend jobs in different locations if the user has expressed openness to relocation.
Additionally, it has the capability to identify transferable skills and suggest roles in new industries or fields, as well as pinpoint skills gaps and suggest developmental paths. It might recommend specific courses, certifications or experiences that could make a candidate more competitive in their desired field. This proactive approach to skill development can significantly enhance a job seeker’s employability and career prospects.
Furthermore, Pathfinder can provide insights into industry trends, salary expectations and job market demands. This information empowers job hunters to make informed decisions about their career trajectories and negotiate better terms when opportunities arise.
The feature is designed to complement rather than replace human judgment. Job seekers are encouraged to use the tool’s recommendations as a starting point for further research and personal reflection.
“Our aim is to empower job seekers and employers with AI tools to simplify the slow, complex and impersonal aspects of finding jobs and hiring, and help them simply and quickly jump to the part that matters the most—two humans talking about opportunity,” the CEO reaffirmed.
Over time, Hyams looks to enhance the AI talent agent so that it can support job seekers through complex situations.
“Pathfinder is incredibly exciting, but it is just the beginning. In the future, AI will enable us to offer workers personalized career advice, help them learn new skills, coach them to prepare for interviews and advocate on their behalf to employers. Our agent will get to know the worker better over time, and help guide them as they grow in their careers. We believe that AI can help bring everyone the kind of career champion that today is only available to the very few,” he stated.