Hiring in the metaverse – is this the future?

There’s been a lot of talk about the Metaverse. But how will it affect hiring? And is it the future?

If you could interview under the guise of an avatar, would you? If so, do you think it would be to your advantage?

These are the kinds of questions you might need to give some real thought to real soon as the metaverse establishes itself in the world of business.

I was surprised to hear that over a third (38%) of HRs already think the tech is suitable for business, and that they’re excited to use it. I think it still feels a bit Black Mirror at the moment if I’m honest!

Within “two or three years”, the metaverse will host most of our office meetings, reckons Bill Gates. But in this experimentation phase, we have to work out the pros and cons of the tech.

Any shiny, new tech looks great on the surface. It’s only later down the line do the nasties come out of the woodwork (social media, we’re looking at you 👀).

What do we know so far?

Some businesses are already using the metaverse as part of their recruitment efforts.

PwC says it’s using a metaverse platform called Virtual Park to interview job candidates and offer them the ability to meet potential colleagues and find out more about the company’s culture and values.

“We’ve seen great success in using this platform to connect with high school leavers and graduates and have welcomed over 17,000 students to PwC’s Virtual Park,” says Jeremy Dalton, head of extended reality (XR) for PwC UK in an interview with HR Magazine.

During the conversation, Dalton touched on some of the ways the tech is benefiting hiring teams and candidates alike.

Employers can:

• Reach a wider (global) talent pool
• Make an event more accessible
• See candidates tackle live scenarios or test situations

While candidates can:

• Present themselves through a digital avatar
• Perform to their true potential (minus any nerves)
• Avoid having to attend in person and travelling to interviews
• Take a (virtual) tour of the company offices and get a feel of what it would be like to work there

So is this goodbye to in-person interviews?

Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves now. At the moment, the metaverse appears to be a natural evolution from Zoom interviews.

Pop on the VR headset and candidates will be able to see if the employer brand stacks up with reality; showcase their competencies to full effect; cover up any nervous tendencies.

But the biggest hurdle is the cost of the technology. Would you be prepared to fork out up to £1,000 for a VR headset? As a techie, you might already have one – but who’s to say it’ll be compatible with the employer’s platform?

Nearly half of HR pros believe the metaverse is unsuitable for business, seeing it as too impractical or too costly.

The metaverse is held up as potentially breaking barriers on inclusion. But, at the moment at least, the costs are only going to exclude people.

It’s hardly fair game if only certain candidates are able to interview in the metaverse – the rest have to take a more traditional route.

Look, we love it that companies are starting to think out of the box for recruitment. But we believe all candidates should be able to compete on a level playing field.

To avoid any exclusion, maybe we’ll see employers blend the metaverse with face to face? That way, they get the best of both worlds… literally.

As a remote working tool? Sure.

Personally, I think the metaverse will have far more of an impact on remote working than it will in the hiring process.

Meta (previously Facebook) has already been trialling a VR remote work app – Horizons Workrooms – which lets employees collaborate on shared whiteboards or documents.

That makes a lot of sense to me. For remote workers, the metaverse has the potential for them to feel much more part of the company and its culture, building more collaborative working relationships. Plus, it means that employers can assume the costs for the VR headsets!

Let’s see what the future brings. But for now, when did you last brush up on your interview technique? We’ve got loads of tips on how best to present yourself whether it’s on Zoom or face to face. Chat with one of our consultants today.