Washington Debuts Scalable Job Match Website for Highly Mobile Workforce

Scouring the classifieds for a job has long been a thing of the past, but even the next iteration of job hunting — the standard online job listing and search — is becoming outdated. As the number of online career search tools grows, so too does the need for a platform that feels unique and innovative.

Enter WorkSourceWA.com, the state of Washington's new job match website, announced July 6 by Gov. Jay Inslee.

Developed by the state in conjunction with Monster Worldwide Inc., the website hosts more than 157,000 jobs and about 191,000 resumes.

"It's scalable for a highly mobile workforce,” said Dale Peinecke, the state’s employment security commissioner. “It provides a robust job search and resume solutions for job seekers, and it gives employers talent management software to provide real-time, ranked job matches."

The new platform replaces the state’s previous platform, go2worksource.com, which, like many other online job sites, was developed more than a decade ago and used an outdated technology.

WorkSourceWA.com offers job seekers a personalized dashboard that stores their preferences and activity in a single location. Instead of continuously re-searching for relative job opportunities — and skimming past irrelevant listings — the platform alerts job seekers to matching listings as they appear in the system. Users also have access to skills assessments, career path mapping, professional training and tools that let them view specifics about labor markets in specific locations within the state.

The website also uses a case management platform that allows WorkSource specialists to support job seekers by accessing past job search activity and current professional skills. Job seekers also receive assistance beyond the keyboard. Employment counselors provide support to:

• complete job applications;
• write dynamic resumes;
• take command of an interview; and
• connect workers with resources such as short-term, long-term and online training programs.

Employers can access Monster’s resume database along with its candidate search function. This tool is built to understand context and concepts beyond keywords. Once they identify the most qualified candidates, employers can rank job seekers based on specific preferences, as well as conduct comparisons.

"Employers no longer need to plow through piles of resumes to find the right person," said Steve Cooker, executive vice president for Monster Worldwide’s global government solutions. “The candidate spotlight quickly shows them the best candidates available. That means the best matches are always at the top of the list. They can also compare and evaluate candidates based on 15 million different job/term context combinations to help make quick, informed decisions."

As it does for job seekers, WorkSource centers also provide in-person assistance for employers. This includes:

• helping improve job postings;
• arranging interviews;
• conducting candidate assessments;
• hosting hiring events; and
• helping employers take advantage of tax credits and training resources. 

Washington’s WorkSource is a network of more than 60 centers throughout the state that is composed of a partnership of government agencies, community colleges and nonprofit organizations. Together, and supported by the new website, they provide employment and training services to job seekers and businesses. As opposed to a more archaic format — where such parties may all work in silos — the new website supports collaboration between the technology platform, future employees, workforce stakeholders and recruitment services.

“We constantly are looking for the very best talent to meet our clinical and business needs,” said Gerard Fischer, vice president of ancillary and business services at Group Health Cooperative. “We advertise many of our openings on the new WorkSourceWA.com site. The site helps us advertise our jobs to a diverse pool of qualified candidates, which easily helps us cut the time it takes to find the right employees for our jobs.”