How automation can help people develop their careers

Covid-19 has caused widespread job losses in many industries and placed additional stress on those workers that we’re able to retain their jobs. As a consequence, there has been a renewed wave of interest in job-search and career development services.

This demand comes from three main sources: people who have lost their job and are looking to improve their chances of finding one, people who fear for their jobs and/or want to improve their career prospects, and, finally, from companies that want to keep their workforce healthy and improve their effectiveness.

A supply and demand problem

The best people to fulfill the growing need for personal and career development are those that have trained as coaches, mentors, and mental health specialists. The challenge is that their number has not changed much in the last year and therefore cannot be expected to match the increased demand caused by Covid-19.

If we add to this the fact that the services of these professionals are also, often, expensive and time-consuming, we can understand why many of the people that need support are struggling to get it. To start imaging a solution the first step must be thinking of accessibility. Ideally, a tool developed to help people with their careers needs to be easy to access from devices that people already have.

A good solution would be, for example, to create a service that can be accessed from a smartphone, even with low bandwidth, and does not require installing any new app on the device or use much memory. Something based, perhaps, on a conversational interface like a messaging app such as WhatsApp, WeChat, or Facebook Messenger.

How a chatbot can help

To make things scalable the solution would need to enlist the help of a chatbot. Today’s chatbots are incredibly powerful tools that, as well as holding conversations with users and provide easy access to information can be programmed to do a wide range of things.

For job searchers, the chatbot could be programmed to automatically alert users of offers that match their profile as well as offer reminders to follow up on interviews and tips on how to improve their employability. These personalized tips could also be served to those who are currently employed but are looking to improve their career progression.

Companies can also create company-specific chatbots to provide support to their employees with mental health and personal development tips. To learn more about how this kind of solution could be developed for your company do not hesitate to reach out to us using the contact link below.