BI Journal Interview with Michael Ang, CEO and Founder of Jobelephant.com, Inc.

Insights from JobElephant’s founder Michael Ang on data-driven, inclusive hiring in higher education recruitment.

1. Michael, you’ve had an impressive career journey, from starting as a graphic designer to founding JobElephant. Could you briefly share your professional background and what inspired you to found JobElephant?

I started my career as a graphic designer and used two parts of my brain, you could say – I had an eye both for detail and creativity. That tandem is really how JobElephant ended up being so successful — I wanted to create a platform for creative job advertising that helps people find the right talent efficiently when I started the company 25 years ago. 

2. Given your background and experience, how has your approach to recruitment advertising evolved over the years to support the changing needs of higher education institutions?

I’ve learned a great deal from the data we gather in employment advertising and marketing, and I continue to learn something new every day. We then adapt accordingly. We now have advanced analytics, which enable us to better understand the unique challenges faced by higher-education institutions. We tailor our services to meet the specific needs of these schools. If you constantly monitor data, even in real-time, you can stay on top of industry trends and reach and engage diverse candidate pools before your competitors. What works for one job at one school in one location at one time will be different if you change one of those variables, whether it’s a different job, school, location, or if it’s a year later.

3. DEI is essential for higher education institutions. How do JobElephant’s advanced analytics tools help institutions meet their DEI goals and target diverse candidates more effectively?

Whether DEI has a different name or no name at all, a lot of our customers still want to attract a diverse group of people. They need an expert in sushi for their foodservice facility, a botanist who has studied South American plants for their arboretum, and a professor on the cutting edge of AI in their business school. We have advanced analytics tools that help colleges and universities get insights into candidate demographics and engagement patterns. With the right data, you can identify and target individuals from specific groups, using our example: experts in a particular cuisine, more effectively, thereby providing a more diverse and inclusive recruitment process.

4. With constant changes in legislation affecting recruitment practices, how does JobElephant assist institutions in adapting to these shifts?

We authored a white paper, based on years of data, to help customers understand how legislative shifts impact DEI recruitment. The paper talks about using diverse candidate sourcing channels, regularly updating job descriptions to incorporate inclusive language, and implementing bias mitigation techniques during the hiring process. We’re also constantly using data to provide schools with insights into what’s working in recruitment and where challenges lie, including an evolving political and social landscape. Sources of hire or language in a job ad, for example, that worked three years ago, may be less effective today.

5. How does JobElephant’s personalized service differentiate it from other recruitment advertising platforms, and why is this level of customization crucial for institutions?

We offer the best customer service anywhere, with actual people trained to assist our customers. Behind the scenes, this means investing in communications software so that our team can provide real-time solutions and meet our customers where they are: on the phone, via email, or through web chat. We believe in providing actual support rather than AI-generated responses, ensuring our clients receive the personalized assistance they need. Now, customers are using real-time metrics via JobStats.com from the moment a potential candidate views a job ad, clicks on it, applies, interviews, and is hired. This helps continuously improve the hiring processes. Our recommendation engine, Horton, proactively recommends the highest-performing sites where customers should spend their dollars before they hit “publish,” ensuring informed advertising decisions that align with institutional goals.

6. What are the biggest challenges facing higher education recruitment today, and how do you help institutions navigate these challenges through innovative solutions?

Higher education recruitment faces challenges, including adapting to legislative changes. Another is the ongoing, long-term competition for talent. This requires you to be strategic in identifying potential candidates and nurturing them for years, and often, before they are hired. Technology can help higher education personalize its communications to a diverse group of potential candidates it is trying to court over the long term. For example, some schools just send out a monthly email to all job candidates about their careers. A potential chemistry professor may be interested in a new lab you are building, which is scheduled to open in 18 months. A potential food service worker for a summer program may be more interested in the pay, benefits, perks, workplace, and a list of available jobs now and in the coming months. One-size-fits-all communications no longer work as well.

7. How do you see the future of recruitment advertising in higher education, and how is JobElephant positioning itself to lead in this area?

Some educational institutions and nonprofits have traditionally been slow to adopt data-driven practices, often lagging behind those of the private sector. We’re changing that. Schools are getting much more data-driven. We continually enhance our technology and analytics to stay ahead of the need for sophisticated analytics. Schools can now make more informed decisions about budgeting and resource allocation, resulting in greater financial sustainability and operational efficiency. They’re using our tools to track the outcomes of budgeting decisions and adjust their strategies as needed, ensuring they remain agile and responsive to changing circumstances. Our customers don’t just use data to see how they performed in their hiring process; they also receive recommendations upfront on how to spend their limited resources wisely.

8. How do your proprietary tools streamline the recruitment advertising process for your clients?

Many people have invested significant funds in placing ads that, in some cases, generated substantial traffic but may not have yielded significant results. They’ve also wasted a lot of time doing that. We are focused not only on traffic, but also on results. We are interested not just in how many people may have seen an advertisement, but also in how many clicked on it, how many of those individuals were interviewed, and how many of those were ultimately hired. This helps you optimize your spending and make your time and money allocations more effective.

9. How do you ensure JobElephant delivers high-quality service and builds long-term relationships with higher education institutions?

This sounds counterintuitive for a company with so much data and technology, but we believe in people handling a lot of customer service. We provide real-life customer service representatives providing tailored assistance, as opposed to feeding computers answers and hoping that people’s questions to a chatbot fit in one of the Q&A categories. I kind of wish other companies did the same when I call a customer service number.

10. What advice would you give institutions to improve recruitment strategies and make data-driven DEI decisions?

You can adjust your language related to DEI, but you can still maintain a focus on diversity and ensure equitable treatment and inclusivity as core values. You need to regularly update job descriptions, use diverse candidate sourcing channels, and implement bias mitigation techniques. Of course, this isn’t just a recruitment advertising issue. You can’t have a diverse slate of candidates and then penalize someone during the screening or interview process because they had a career gap to care for their parent, child, or spouse. You can’t claim to be inclusive if some people struggle to read your job application, or if you penalize them for poor eye contact or a weak handshake during an interview. Every action you take in the hiring process must be job-related, based on data, not potential assumptions about what you think makes a good hire.

A quote or advice from the author :

JobElephant’s advanced analytics tools empower higher education institutions by providing insights into diversity hiring trends and optimizing hiring budgets. By leveraging data, institutions can navigate legislative changes and adjust strategies to remain agile and efficient. This approach supports diversity and inclusivity while enhancing financial sustainability, allowing institutions to build inclusive environments that reflect their core values.