BRIDGING SKILLS GAP

• US 20170213179A1
• Filed: 01/26/2016
• Published: 07/27/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Candogan, Utku Ozan, Drakopoulos, Kimon, Schissel, Jason
• Granted Patent: US 10,462,255 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9024 Graphs; Linked lists G06F16/9027 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/134 Hyperlinking
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 20/10 using kernel methods, e.g. support vector machines [SVM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/01 Dynamic search techniques; Heuristics; Dynamic trees; Branch-and-bound
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 7/01 Probabilistic graphical models, e.g. probabilistic networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063112 Skill-based matching of a person or a group to a task
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

This disclosure provides for a social networking server that helps a member of a social networking service find a bridge between his or her current skill set and skills associated with a job listed on the social networking service. The social networking server forms a skills graph for the members of the social networking service, where nodes of the skills graph correspond to skills possessed by the members. The nodes are collected into pairs, where an edge between a selected pair is established based on a confidence measure that a given member possesses each skill of the selected pair. By traversing a path through the nodes of the skills graph, the social networking service helps a member identify intermediary skills that the member could learn to help bridge a gap between his or her current skill set and skills associated with a job opening.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a machine-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions; and

at least one hardware processor communicatively coupled to the machine-readable medium that, when the computer-executable instructions are executed, is configured to;

define a plurality of skill nodes, where at least one skill node corresponds to a skill associated with a first member profile of a social networking service, the first member profile identifying a first member of the social networking service;

establish a plurality of skill node pairings, where at least one skill node pairing includes a first skill node selected from the plurality of skill nodes and a second skill node selected from the plurality of skill nodes;

determine a plurality of graph edge values for the plurality of skill nodes pairings, where;

at least one graph edge value is determined based on the skill associated with the first member profile; and

the at least one graph edge value is associated with the at least one skill node pairing;

determine a path from a starting skill node selected from the plurality of skill nodes to a target skill node selected from the plurality of nodes using at least one graph edge value selected from the plurality of graph edge values, the starting skill node corresponding to a skill associated with a second member profile and the target skill node corresponding to a skill associated with a job profile; and

communicate one or more portions of the determined path to a second member corresponding to the second member profile.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of skill nodes are defined from a plurality of skills associated with a plurality of member profiles maintained by the social networking service.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of skill node pairings include at least one skill node pairing determined from a plurality of skills associated with the first member profile.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one graph edge value is further determined from a plurality of member profiles being associated with the skill associated with the first member profile.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one graph edge value is further determined from a plurality of member profiles being associated with each skill of a skill node pairing.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the determined path is a minimum distance value path starting at the starting skill node and ending at the target skill node.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more portions of the determined path communicated to the second member include at least one intermediary skill corresponding to an intermediary skill node, the intermediary skill node being on the determined path and between the starting skill node and the target skill node.

8. A method comprising:

defining, by at least one hardware processor, a plurality of skill nodes, where at least one skill node corresponds to a skill associated with a first member profile of a social networking service, the first member profile identifying a first member of the social networking service;

establishing, by the at least one hardware processor, a plurality of skill node pairings, where at least one skill node pairing includes a first skill node selected from the plurality of skill nodes and a second skill node selected from the plurality of skill nodes;

determining, by the at least one hardware processor, a plurality of graph edge values for the plurality of skill nodes pairings, where;

at least one graph edge value is determined based on the skill associated with the first member profile; and

the at least one graph edge value is associated with the at least one skill node pairing;

determining, by the at least one hardware processor, a path from a starting skill node selected from the plurality of skill nodes to a target skill node selected from the plurality of nodes using at least one graph edge value selected from the plurality of graph edge values, the starting skill node corresponding to a skill associated with a second member profile and the target skill node corresponding to a skill associated with a job profile; and

communicating, by the at least one hardware processor, one or more portions of the determined path to a second member corresponding to the second member profile.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the plurality of skill nodes are defined from a plurality of skills associated with a plurality of member profiles maintained by the social networking service.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the plurality of skill node pairings include at least one skill node pairing determined from a plurality of skills associated with the first member profile.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the at least one graph edge value is further determined from a plurality of member profiles being associated with the skill associated with the first member profile.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the at least one graph edge value is further determined from a plurality of member profiles being associated with each skill of a skill node pairing.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the determined path is a minimum distance value path starting at the starting skill node and ending at the target skill node.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the one or more portions of the determined path communicated to the second member include at least one intermediary skill corresponding to an intermediary skill node, the intermediary skill node being on the determined path and between the starting skill node and the target skill node.

15. A machine-readable medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by at least one hardware processor, cause the at least one hardware processor to perform a plurality of operations, the operations comprising:

defining a plurality of skill nodes, where at least one skill node corresponds to a skill associated with a first member profile of a social networking service, the first member profile identifying a first member of the social networking service;

establishing a plurality of skill node pairings, where at least one skill node pairing includes a first skill node selected from the plurality of skill nodes and a second skill node selected from the plurality of skill nodes;

determining a plurality of graph edge values for the plurality of skill node pairings, where;

at least one graph edge value is determined based on the skill associated with the first member profile; and

the at least one graph edge value is associated with the at least one skill node pairing;

determining a path from a starting skill node selected from the plurality of skill nodes to a target skill node selected from the plurality of nodes using at least one graph edge value selected from the plurality of graph edge values, the starting skill node corresponding to a skill associated with a second member profile and the target skill node corresponding to a skill associated with a job profile; and

communicating one or more portions of the determined path to a second member corresponding to the second member profile.

16. The machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the plurality of skill nodes are defined from a plurality of skills associated with a plurality of member profiles maintained by the social networking service.

17. The machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the plurality of skill node pairings include at least one skill node pairing determined from a plurality of skills associated with the first member profile.

18. The machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the at least one graph edge value is further determined from a plurality of member profiles being associated with the skill associated with the first member profile.

19. The machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the at least one graph edge value is further determined from a plurality of member profiles being associated with each skill of a skill node pairing.

20. The machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the determined path is a minimum distance value path starting at the starting skill node and ending at the target skill node.