How the Metaverse will transform hiring
The “Metaverse” is one of the most talked-about topics in the current technology and business landscape. Imagined as the future of digital experiences, the Metaverse promises an environment where people can connect, interact, and grow in a virtual world. Even in its early stages, this concept has captured the attention of business leaders around the globe.
Through the Metaverse, organizations have new opportunities to empower creative product development, enhance collaboration, and create new customer experiences. However, there’s also scope for this landscape to become a critical tool for HR processes.
For instance, the evolving recruitment landscape is a valuable area for Metaverse explorers. After all, this space will allow business leaders to explore the potential of hybrid and remote work to connect with candidates wherever they are and pave the way for new types of onboarding.
Let’s look at some major ways the Metaverse could transform recruitment.
The Rise of Job Discovery in the Metaverse
Many tech leaders have already begun discussing new career opportunities the Metaverse could create. The digital landscape will pave the way for new “Metaverse planners“, research scientists, blockchain engineers, and cyber security experts. However, this environment isn’t just creating new jobs; it’s also introducing new ways to find the ideal career opportunity.
The rise of the digital age has already prompted significant changes to how most professionals look for and apply to critical roles. Countless recruiters and hiring managers now find the talent they need through online forums, job boards, and even social media sites.
The communities created in the Metaverse will provide a new avenue for job seekers and hiring experts to interact. We could see the arrival of new “hiring hubs” specially designed for experts in certain industries, where professionals can show off their portfolios in virtual or augmented reality. There have already been examples of metaverse recruitment fairs where candidates can load their avatars into a network and interact with employers.
Job discovery opportunities in the Metaverse could be particularly helpful in the graduate landscape. Newly certified specialists and students can join various digital environments to learn more about a company’s opportunities, culture, and environments first-hand. interviews and Candidate Meetings in the Metaverse
Interviews and Candidate Meetings in the Metaverse
Aside from giving candidates and employers a new environment where they can find each other, the Metaverse also creates a space where people can meet and conduct interviews. Virtual interviewing isn’t a new concept since the rise of the pandemic. In the last couple of years, professionals have grown increasingly used to answering questions and interacting with hiring managers over video conferencing tools.
The Metaverse could make the digital interviewing landscape even more immersive. Through tools like virtual reality and cloud networks, specialists can connect in a 3D space with the people who might become their future bosses or supervisors. They can also demonstrate their skills and knowledge through gamified virtual experiences.
During the interview, a metaverse environment created in virtual reality could allow business leaders to take their would-be employees on a tour of a digital twin of their office. During onboarding sessions, this could allow for meaningful interactions with some of the professionals a new candidate might be working with within the years to come.
The Metaverse also provides a useful environment for developing and training new hires. Rather than having to bring a new employee into the office to talk them through various HR processes, it’s possible to do it all virtually. The blockchain can even secure the sharing of important hiring documents and signatures.
Improving Diversity and Inclusion in Hiring
In today’s hiring environment, influenced by the “Great Resignation” and major talent shortages in virtually every industry, hiring managers need to ensure they’re diverse with their recruitment strategies. Traditional hiring methods can make this difficult, allowing business leaders to access only a handful of local applicants rather than global talent.
The Metaverse and the digital world surrounding it could make it easier for business leaders to seek out more diverse talent worldwide. Companies can use the Metaverse to seek out passive candidates to add to their talent pool from locations around the globe. The Metaverse could even help reduce unconscious hiring biases that can damage DEI initiatives.
For instance, companies could create specialized hiring environments where candidates use pre-set and non-descript avatars when interacting in virtual reality. This could make it easier to focus on employees’ abilities rather than what they might look like.
Organisations could also create comprehensive “test” environments designed to narrow down their candidates based on their ability to thrive in certain virtual situations. This could reduce the focus on the resume as a tool for filtering candidates and bring the focus back to skills, personality, and experience.
Technology is Changing the Recruitment Space
Digital transformation and the rise of new technology significantly impact how companies find, interview, and onboard new talent. The Metaverse plays an important role in defining what the future of hiring might look like. This is particularly true as more job opportunities emerge in the virtual world and the decentralized future of the internet.
There are also various existing technologies which can enhance the experience of recruitment in the Metaverse. For instance, in a decentralized future, candidates can upload their resumes to a
blockchain and complete crucial documents safely using smart contracts.
Artificial intelligence systems in the Metaverse will help to filter through applications, test candidates, and reduce the risk of unconscious bias in hiring. Technology like Virtual, Augmented, Mixed, Reality, combined with increased connectivity solutions like 5G and Wifi 7, should strengthen the interactions hiring professionals and candidates can have in the digital realm.
Any company with its eye on the future of technology and a desire to attract the latest talent from the digital generation should invest in the Metaverse as part of its recruitment strategy.
