There was a time when virtual and augmented reality were mostly associated with video games. After going through the usual pitfalls with technology limitations and a limited (yet curious) audience, the technology is more mainstream than ever.
Let’s talk about how your company could take advantage of AR and VR for recruiting.
Tours are the most common uses of virtual reality for recruiting. Imagine you’re at an event alongside a bunch of other companies. Everyone’s goal is to attract the most candidates. You need to have something to stand out from the crowd (especially if you’re going after younger generations). While others can tell you what it’s like to work at their company, you can actually show them.
You could showcase your workplace as an interactive, 360-degree space. It doesn’t necessarily have be an experience that mimics a video game; it can be an experience that’s more akin to something you’d see on Google Street View.
Potential candidates can tour the office at their own pace, see where they could potentially sit one day, check out the outside view, and more. This can help build a lasting impression. There’s no way they won’t remember you after that session is over!
When you’re outside of the event space, you can use virtual and augmented reality as part of the hiring process as well. Experiences can be used to help you determine a person’s natural inclinations. Are they a team player or a lone wolf? Do they harbor a healthy or potentially troublesome competitive spirit? How do they approach general problem solving? These questions can be answered with simple games.
When most people are being interviewed for a job in the “normal” way, we tend to have our guard up. We want to be as perfect as possible. We are inclined to not get too comfortable out of fear we won’t be taken seriously. Those inhibitions melt away in the virtual world. While in VR, we can’t read expressions or body language. The signs that would usually tell us how to respond to those around us erodes. What we’re left with is our raw selves. This is especially true if the VR experience happens to be fun. You could use that moment to decide if the candidate is a good culture fit as well.
Augmented reality works a bit differently. Since the candidate is interacting with virtual objects that have been projected into the real world, they’re still aware of their surroundings. You probably won’t get as pure of a reaction like you would in VR, but AR can still provide insight into problem solving skills and teamwork tendencies.
VR and AR are more accessible than ever before. You don’t need to worry about dragging around wires or mounting cameras on the ceiling. For a relatively small investment, you can gain more insight into the type of candidates you attract than ever before.
And hey, if it doesn’t work out, you’ve got a cool gadget to pass around the office.