California's top officials launched a new artificial intelligence tool to match job seekers with state positions based on their skills and experience. Governor Gavin Newsom announced the Skills Matching prototype, developed by the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) and the Office of Data and Innovation (ODI), which accepts uploaded resumes and recommends matching state job classifications to applicants.
The tool uses automated resume analysis to suggest appropriate state job classifications. Information from resumes and conversations is not stored or saved on the website — each use of the tool begins a new session. Since the soft launch, approximately 21,500 people have clicked to explore the tool and nearly 8,000 have submitted resumes for classification recommendations.
CalHR Director Monica Erickson said the tool "will help hundreds of thousands of applicants understand where to begin their search and cut through the specialized terminology of state classifications." The initiative is part of a broader modernization effort, including streamlined hiring for roles requiring professional licensure and an Accelerated Hiring Guide estimated to save state staff more than 500,000 hours annually by reducing applicant screening times by 80% to 85%.
CalHR also completed a pilot of a pooled hiring model that consolidates multiple departmental vacancies into shared job announcements and coordinated hiring processes. The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration subsequently launched its own NextGen Program, with the first hiring event resulting in 23 student hires.