Google Cloud Announces Enhanced Job Search Capabilities for Military Personnel

Veterans will now find easier to search employment on career sites and job boards powered by Google’s Cloud Talent Solution. Specifically, U.S. service personnel and veterans can enter their MOS, AFSC, or NEC specialty code and get a list of civilian jobs that fit the skills they gained while serving.

Military rank codes are also supported. For instance, “11A” for Infantry Officer and “11B” for Infantryman are differentiated. Employers and vendors supporting this new search feature immediately include FedEx, Encompass Health, Siemens, CareerBuilder, and Getting Hired. For any enterprise company, job board, or staffing agency already using Cloud Talent Solution, this feature is live now.

“I’m proud that my fellow veteran Googlers and I had the chance to provide input on these tools to make sure we’re best serving those who so dutifully served our country,” said Matthew Hudson, program manager at Google Cloud. “Google is committed to creating opportunities for everyone, and with today’s announcement, we hope our technology can help make transitioning to civilian life a little bit easier.”

Many job seekers struggle with knowing what to search for in order to find the right job opportunities, and this is particularly true for the 250,000 men and women who transition out of the U.S. military every year, says Google. The language used to describe military service and civilian employment is not always similar, and many transitioning personnel need a way to translate their experience so they don’t miss out on opportunities, and businesses don’t miss out on candidates.

“As a company with 2,500 military veterans in our ranks, Siemens knows that veterans have strong technical training and natural leadership skills that add tremendous value to our business. But to fully support veterans entering the civilian workforce, employers need to meet them where they are,” said Barbara Humpton, CEO, Siemens USA. “That’s why Siemens is thrilled to be an early adopter of the Google Cloud Talent Solution feature, which will make matching veterans’ skills to our open positions easier than ever before.”

It’s hard not to applaud this move by Google. Vets are historically challenged when it comes to finding jobs. Between negative stereotypes and deployment risk, the men and women of our armed services are overlooked too often, and the topic doesn’t get enough attention.

I have to wonder, however, just how much of this is politically motivated. Trump Nation can make doing business a bit dicey at times, as we’ve seen with companies like Amazon. Don’t forget, Google was on the list of companies, along with Apple and Facebook, that ripped Trump for his travel ban last year. Even if you believe there were no repercussions, you must admit it put a spotlight on each one.

Considering the news that Google is looking to get back into China, doing something that pleases the home team, like taking care of military personnel, is a solid public relations move. Now, I’m not saying Google built a feature to help vets because of Donald Trump and federal regulators … I’m just sayin’.

Here’s a video.