Optimal Resume Blog

Many of you probably heard how IBM’s latest brainchild,  Watson,  was put to the test on Jeopardy!  The IBM Challenge. Since Watson has been coined a system for answers, the television quiz show seemed like the perfect place to showcase its capabilities.

Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, two of the most successful contestants in the show’s history, went toe-to-terabyte with the mammoth computer system for a two-day trivia extravaganza (I’ll take “Alliteration” for 200, Alex).   This man-versus-machine battle ended in a crushing defeat for humanity, as Watson dominated both days of the competition.

Trivia proficiency aside, think of the impact Watson’s technology (called natural language processing, for you tech geeks) could have on career software — here are just a few ideas to illustrate. We’ll call our system Sherlock, just for fun.

1. Skill-detection engine

When beginning the job search process, it can be overwhelming to compile a comprehensive list of your skills and proficiencies.  A having a brief virtual conversation at sherlockskillsassessment.com,* Sherlock would provide a detailed report of what talents and accomplishments you have that will be most desirable to employers in a particular field.  The system would rate your skills based on their relevance to your desired profession.  You could also Sherlock about other sectors that would fit your education and proficiencies.

2. Interactive resume feedback

After gathering a list of your skills,  www.sherlockmyresume.com* would help you create a targeted resume.  Sherlock would suggest ways to incorporate your skills, recommend formatting options, and provide a list of additional keywords to make your resume more effective.  While you type, Sherlock would use its robust processing system to provide suggestions based on feedback and best practices from career professionals.  For instance, you would receive feedback such as: 94% of sources suggest that including your experience guessing age at a carnival in the summer of 99 is not relevant to hiring managers in the IT field.  The end result would be an eye-catching resume that is free of typos and peppered with keywords to effectively showcase your talents and accomplishments to prospective employers.

3. Conversational interview practice

With a dynamite resume in hand, it’s only a matter of time before a groundswell of interest from prospective employers comes your way.  After you schedule initial meetings with several companies, head over to www.interviewwithsherlock.com* and have an interactive mock interview with with Sherlock through your web cam. Sherlock could understand and respond to content of your answers, which would make the interview conversational and allow Sherlock to provide specific suggestions. You would be graded on your level of professionalism, quality of your responses, body language, and eye contact.  At the end of the interview, you would receive a report with your score for each question.  The report would also include a list of suggestions to improve the quality of your responses, or suggest places where you could mention skills and accomplishments from your resume and skills assessment to make sure you don’t leave out anything that has a high probability of being desirable to employers.

Bonus: Smart offer evaluator

Now that you’ve knocked it out of the park during the interview, you have the luxury of several excellent offers.  A quick visit to www.sherlockwhatoffershoulditake.com* provides you with a detailed analysis of the offers, based on your education, experience, and past earning history.  Any low-ball offers can be addressed with this report, similar to the way a Kelly Blue Book value works when buying or selling a vehicle today.  No more guesswork; just ask Sherlock.

What advancements do you predict or would like to see related to technology in career services?

* These website addresses do not actually exist, and used for comedic effect only.

Filed under: Trends and Technology by edpotter