Deliverables
Thinking in solutions
While looking for a new job I got into contact with a lot of recruiters and I started to see a pattern. They all wanted to get on the phone with me.
After taking a couple of calls I noticed that the questions the recruiters were asking were mostly the same. While I like making acquaintances I felt like the process was becoming repetitive and I asked myself: Isn't there a way this process could be simplified for both parties involved?
At the beginning of 2017 I bought a Google Home device to control my lighting and entertainment system at home. Although there was a small learning curve I got so used to using this Google Assistant enabled device on a day to day basis. That's when I saw conversation UI* could be the solution to my problem.
Conversational interfaces are platforms that mimic a conversation with a real human.
Development
Wondering how much work it would be to develop a Google Assistant app I started doing some research. It only took me a couple of days to figure out the technical aspect of creating the app. Designing the conversation itself turned out to be a bigger task. What would users be able to ask the virtual assistant?
Seeing the target audience would mostly consist out of recruiters I programmed the app to answer the 35 most asked questions by recruiters. Now the virtual assistant is able to tell you about my work experience, my skillset and even can discuss salary requirements.
Because I wanted to keep the experience as genuine as possible I created a persona for the virtual assistant. This persona includes a lot of my personal traits.
The Landscape
Although Google Assistant has been around for a while it's mostly big corporations creating their own virtual assistants. Companies like McDonald's and KLM have released Google Assistant apps enabling users to for example ask how many calories there are in a Big Mac or if their flight is on schedule.
Few individuals have created a Google Assistant app to solve a personal need. Especially with the recruitment process in mind.
If you want to make a chat with the virtual assistant it should become available soon. When it's available you'll just need to following sentence to reach out:
"Okay Google, talk to Christian Gravemaker"
