Google amps up job search tools with salary, location features

Earlier this year, Google unveiled new search tools designed specifically to help people find jobs. Now the tech giant wants to try to make the process a little easier. Google said on Wednesday that it's adding new features to its job search tool.

With the updated features, you can search for jobs by location, from two to 200 miles away, or by selecting "anywhere." You'll also have the ability to "save" job listings so you can find them again later. And if a job listing is posted in multiple places, like on Monster or CareerBuilder, you'll be able to apply at your preferred site.

Google is also trying to get more salary information posted on job listings. Right now, the company said, more than 85 percent of listings are missing that kind of information. So now Google is using data from sites including Glassdoor, PayScale and LinkedIn to include estimated salary ranges on job posts.

Google is the king of search, but when it came to searching for jobs, people told the company it was harder than trying to find other stuff online, said Nick Zakrasek, product manager for Google for Jobs.

"It's hard to imagine search that has more impact than trying to find a job for yourself," Zakrasek said in an interview. "This was perhaps the area we were least invested, relative to its importance."

Helping people find jobs has been top of mind recently for Google. Last month, CEO Sundar Pichai went to Pittsburgh to unveil new initiatives aimed at training and educating workers to help them find jobs and grow their businesses, and he said Google was pledging $1 billion toward the effort. The company will spend the money over the next five years to fund grants to nonprofits globally as part of efforts to prepare people for the "changing nature of work."

One of the initiatives, called Grow with Google, aims specifically to help US workers by giving them access to Google products and in-person training sessions. The company is hosting a tour of sessions, which kicked off earlier this week in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Zakrasek said one of the main components of those sessions is teaching people how to use Google job search.

Google is introducing the new features as tech giants in Silicon Valley face growing scrutiny over the implications of technology and automation on jobs and the workforce. "Google bears some responsibility for that transformation," said Zakrasek, but he added that the effects are not purely negative or positive. For example, he said, lots of small businesses are helped by better technology and communication tools.

Most of the new Google job search tools, including the salary and location features, are rolling out now. But the "save" tool is coming in "a couple of weeks."

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