Michael Ang, CEO and Founder of JobElephant.com, Inc., brings over two decades of expertise in recruitment advertising, propelling the agency to become a trusted industry leader. Starting as a graphic designer in 1994, he founded JobElephant in 2000, growing it from his garage into a nationally recognized leader in recruitment advertising. Michael oversees hundreds of client accounts, with many remaining loyal for over a decade due to his dedication to excellence and client satisfaction.
Hello Michael! We are happy to offer you an opportunity like an interview to tell a wider audience more about you and your experience.
You have an impressive background, and first, our readers and I would like to know more about how you started your career and got into this field?
I started my career in recruitment advertising back in 1994, entering the field as a graphic designer. In 2000, I took the leap and founded JobElephant right out of my garage. Over the years, under my leadership, JobElephant has grown into one of the most reliable and successful agencies in recruitment advertising, with a strong focus on outstanding service. Personally, I manage several hundred accounts, many of which have been valuable clients for more than ten years.
What trends can you spot in the HR Tech industry? What do you think will be popular in six months? And what trend has not caught on in the field?
In HR Tech, we are seeing a rise in new tech like job bots. However, they raise some concerns about data ownership, leading to the need for solid ways to check information, possibly using blockchain. We’re also seeing that AI is changing ads by personalizing job searches and better understanding customers.
Are you using AI in your work? What are the benefits of AI in HR that you can highlight?
Yes, we have our own data sets, some of the largest in job advertising for higher education, and we complement that with some of the machine learning we’ve already been using for quite some time now. AI speeds up processes significantly, automating about 90% of our advertising tasks, which means fewer manual interventions. For example, our AI-enhanced automated processes can generate up to 500 ads in 5 minutes. One of the key benefits of AI in HR Tech is its ability to standardize and streamline tasks like parsing job descriptions to identify and categorize compensation details accurately, which helps ensure compliance and consistency across platforms and enhances efficiency and accuracy in job postings.
How can AI help recruitment professionals?
AI saves time and money and can help recruitment professionals optimize their processes by improving ad creation targeting and personalizing job ads. It also offers the ability to gain unique insights into ad performance and optimize ad placements and budget allocations.
Are there any downsides to AI in HR?
There are potential downsides to AI in HR Tech, particularly concerning data privacy. As regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) evolve to give people more control over their data, there’s a growing need to ensure transparency and accountability in how AI systems handle and use personal information. Questions about data ownership and security, especially with emerging technologies like job application bots, raise the importance of implementing powerful privacy measures, possibly including blockchain, to maintain trust and compliance within the industry.
What is the corporate culture in your company? Do you have any traditions?
While JobElephant is technically a corporation, we try very hard to cultivate a culture that isn’t stuffy like a traditional corporation. We are a 100% all-remote, work-from-home enterprise, so our company culture is developed through company chat channels. We enjoy exchanging lots of internet memes and make it a point to send birthday wishes. We’re intentional about planning Zoom gatherings for silly nonwork related events. In the past we’ve done drag queen bingo, a trivia night, and a favorite was the time we invited a barista to teach everyone how to brew the best cup of coffee. Traditionally, we abhor meetings. We have ad hoc meetings that are intentional and focused so no one has to say afterward “that meeting could have been an email.”
What do you think is happening to the hiring market right now? What trends are dominating?
The job market acts like a pendulum, responding to the demand for talent, the supply of jobseekers, and the number of job openings. Sometimes it swings in favor of employers, meaning there are more jobseekers than positions available, so employers get their pick of the top talent. Sometimes it favors jobseekers, with many places hiring, so candidates have more options and can be more selective about where they chose to work.
No matter what, it is always a challenge for HR leaders to find top talent. Especially today, the hiring market is impacted by many jobs requiring specialized skills. HR leaders turn to recruitment strategies that allow them to be highly targeted in their candidate outreach, including posting job ads on niche job boards. HR leaders are also prioritizing DEI in their organizations, and this means recruiting diverse candidates using job boards that target diverse groups.
Now let’s move on to other questions that will help our readers learn something new about you. If not HR Tech, what other field would you choose to develop your career in?
I actually started out as a graphic designer, laying out newspaper and magazine job ads for colleges and universities recruiting faculty and staff. If I didn’t start JobElephant, and we didn’t leverage technology to solve recruitment challenges, I’d probably still be doing advertising.
What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs?
My advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is always be looking for solutions. The most successful entrepreneurs are the ones who don’t see a challenge as a threat and don’t dwell on how hard it is to overcome a barrier. The ones who can innovate and think creatively to turn a challenge into an opportunity are the ones who build something great.
What small things make you happy?
I get great satisfaction when things work as expected. For example, I rarely work with paper, but when I need to staple something, I love it when the stapler has staples loaded and doesn’t jam when I use it.
What is the longest and shortest period you have spent on vacation? How do you usually try to relax on vacation?
My longest vacation was 3 weeks in Italy. I travel for work and pleasure regularly, so there are numerous short trips to off-the-beaten-path locations that I enjoy for a day or two. I believe that every place in the world offers something unique. Yes, even Bakersfield.
Do you have a dream?
I have a vivid imagination and an open mind to explore. I don’t have a singular focus, but more of a passion for making things a little better than I found them.
Thank you for answering the questions!
