Job searching is easier thanks to the internet but finding the one that meets your salary expectations is a little more tricky.
But Google is trying to fix that by hoovering up all manner of job data and adding a salary estimator into its Google for Jobs service.
If a job has a salary listed, Google for Jobs will display that. But many jobs don’t present a salary, so Google’s machine learning algorithms go to work to siphon data from other job sites and services like Glassdoor, LinkedIn and PayScale to churn out an estimated salary for a selected job.
The salary estimate will consider the location of the job, as jobs in major cities are likely to be offering a little more per year than those based in more rural areas.
Unfortunately, Google for Jobs is limited to US use for the time being, likely due to it only being released this year and Google wanting to measure its success in its home nation before rolling the service out further afield, though the search giant has noted that the service will come to more countries in the near-future.
Adding a salary estimator into Google for Jobs could go some way to tackling the pay gaps between people doing the same jobs, notably addressing the gender pay gap. And it could entourage more people to scrutinise the potential differences in pay between people of different backgrounds and racial groups.
The tool could also mean that would-be employees have an idea of their value when entering an interview process so can better negotiate a salary for themselves.
This does mean a degree of faith will have to be put into Google’s algorithms, but the search giant is has a solid track record with producing fairly accurate search results and solid machine learning performance.
Related: Best Black Friday deals
What do you make of the salary estimator? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
