Assistance From An Algorithm
The listings for Berger were selected from the state job bank by a computer running a complex mathematical formula, or algorithm. These kinds of equations are also the key element behind Google's Internet search results, and the movie recommendations made by Netflix.
Matt Sigelman, the chief executive officer of Burning Glass a Boston company that developed the job search formula that Berger tested, says the beauty of algorithms is that they see patterns.
"It's actually studying how real people - by the tens of millions - get the jobs that they move into," Sigelman says. "The technology is designed to learn from past patterns of placement."
For the user, it's different from a keyword job search on Monster.com or CareerBuilder.com, because the algorithm actually registers whole sentences from resumes. Sigelman says this program mimics the human activity of reading and digesting information. Coca-Cola, Accenture, and Google are some of Burning Glass' clients - a list that now includes the state of New York.
But in the case of New York, the program is being used on behalf of job seekers - people like Berger.
Mixed Results
She isn't overly impressed with the jobs the algorithm recommends. Only one opportunity really interests her - the director of strategic planning at a sports public relations company. The