SEEK has successfully merged its APAC employment marketplaces – SEEK, Jobsdb and Jobstreet – which will operate under a single system powered by SEEK’s world-class AI technology, while retaining their individual brands.
This integration brings together millions of talent and employers across the APAC region to connect more of the right people with the right work.
SEEK’s unification of its employment marketplaces comes 10 years after it acquired Jobsdb and Jobstreet and follows three years of development and an estimated AUD$180 million (approximately HKD 900 million) investment.
“At SEEK, everything we do revolves around our customers. One unified platform means we can now offer our product to millions of people across APAC in an entirely new way, so that our customers can find jobs and talent more easily,” says Peter Bithos, Chief Executive Officer, Asia, SEEK.
“This puts us in a stronger position, more than ever before, to realise our ambition of helping 500 million people develop their careers with five million companies in the region,” he said.
Providing access to more talent and jobs across APAC
With the successful completion of the integration, Hong Kong’s employers can benefit from greater access to a larger talent pool across the APAC region, including the Greater Bay Area (GBA).
This development comes at a crucial time when Hong Kong’s enterprises are grappling with talent shortages and an increasing need to hire non-local professionals.
According to Jobsdb’s Hiring, Compensation, and Benefits Report 2024, Hong Kong enterprises have actively expressed their interest in seeking non-local talent.
The report indicates that 63% of these enterprises are considering hiring Mainland professionals, while 60% are open to recruiting overseas talents.
Jobsdb’s latest annual employment platform data also reveals a growing desire for cross-regional job opportunities among job seekers.
The data highlights a 37% increase in the number of overseas applicants with qualified working visas compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2018.
This surge demonstrates heightened interest among foreign talents in working in Hong Kong. Simultaneously, local workers are also displaying a greater inclination towards overseas work opportunities, such as business travel and international exchanges.
This is evident from the substantial 54% year-on-year increase in average job applications related to relevant keywords.
To address these evolving market dynamics, the unified platform now allows Hong Kong’s employers to tap into a wider talent pool of over 40 million people across eight APAC markets and enables local talent to access more job opportunities from over 2.5 million employers – including more remote working opportunities.
This aligns with a survey finding which revealed that 68% of talent are willing to work remotely for an employer that lacks a physical presence in their country[4]. The features on the new platform are particularly helpful for those recruiting talent based in other markets.
“Based on Jobsdb Hong Kong’s latest employment platform data, we have observed a growing trend of cross-border talent mobility. The unification of SEEK, Jobsdb, Jobstreet, consolidates millions more of talent profiles and job opportunities across eight APAC markets, positioning the new platform strongly to address this trend,” said Bill Lee, Managing Director, Hong Kong, Jobsdb by SEEK.
“Furthermore, our strategic partnership with Zhaopin serving the GBA region brings additional value to our offerings.”
Lee also added, “Through our significant investment in AI technology, the unified platform not only expands the talent pool and job access for employers and jobseekers in Hong Kong across the APAC region, but also facilitates better matches between candidates and employers, delivering valuable insights and enhanced value for the employment market.”
“This significant move lays a solid foundation for our future growth,” he concluded.
Delivering relevant matches and personalised experiences
The completion of platform integration brings forth new AI-powered advancements to Jobsdb and Jobstreet, aimed at enhancing the employment experience for both employers and job seekers throughout the region.
For employers, the new platform deploys AI models to assess talent suitability and provide highly personalised recommendations by processing data from various sources, including resumes, job ad descriptions and the employer’s past behaviours.
This allows employers to hire fast and right. Employers can also expedite the talent shortlist process by adding AI-recommended screening questions in their job ads.
To make the job-hunting process more efficient and relevant for talent, they can now effectively be matched to AI-recommended jobs they are most qualified for based on their experience and skills.
Using AI, SEEK also evaluates when a person is likely a strong candidate for a role by showing a top applicant badge on the job vacancy page they are browsing, so talent can make more informed decisions about whether to apply for a role.
To further enhance the job-seeking experience, the new platform offers valuable insights and guidance.
Through features like “Explore careers” and “Explore salaries”, jobseekers gain access to data-backed career advice and salary information.
This empowers individuals to make informed decisions about their professional paths and navigate wage discussions with confidence.
Following the unification programme, SEEK can now harness a larger dataset across APAC, which will empower its AI algorithms to provide even more precise and relevant matches between employers and talent.
Ultimately, this translates into an elevated user experience and expedites the hiring process on its Jobsdb and Jobstreet platforms.
Enabling customer-centric innovation at pace
In moving to a unified marketplace platform, SEEK can now scale its use of data-driven insight, product testing and innovation at pace.
SEEK has introduced a new natural language search feature on its Jobstreet platform in the Philippines.
This innovation allows talent to submit job queries using simple phrases or complete sentences on the platform, so they do not need to rely solely on keyword phrases (e.g. “Business analyst”).
Powered by a large language model (LLM), the feature enables a search experience that is more organic and appealing to jobseekers.
SEEK is going to roll it out across the rest of SEEK’s APAC markets in 2024.
SEEK has also made significant progress in launching seekMAX, an online learning platform designed to help individuals advance their careers.
Currently available in Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia, seekMAX has garnered positive feedback from users.
SEEK has plans to extend the reach of seekMAX to the Hong Kong market, empowering even more individuals’ careers.
