What do online gaming and job recruitment have in common?
Once thought as a middle school hobby, online gaming has become a recruitment strategy. Today, companies are using games to identify suitable job candidates.
This new recruitment fad is gaining popularity among businesses because it is proving itself as a reliable screening strategy and competitive tool that helps recruiters identify potential job candidates with high-performance capabilities.
While checking résumés, references, and interviewing candidates is still useful, businesses like Upstream Systems, a global mobile marketing firm, considers the conventional process nearly useless. The company searched hard to find an analytical, tech-savvy marketing manager but feared they would never find a person with a right skillset. Upstream Systems is not alone in this concern. According to a Deloitte Consulting survey, “25 per cent of corporate human resources professionals [are] worried about skilled worker shortages.”
However, Upstream Systems did not let fear inhibit them from seeking an out of the box solution. They set up an online game called, “Upstream Challenge.” In the end, the game resulted in hiring a capable candidate because it helped identify the individual’s unique skillset, something that cannot be easily identified through traditional résumé screening.
Online gaming involves critical thinking, which cannot easily be reflected on résumés or in interviews. More so, online gaming motivates job seekers to engage in the application process and display their abilities in creative ways. This approach allows a job seeker with exceptional abilities to showcase his or her skillset in action. A talented job seeker can be singled out easily through an online gaming strategy after scoring a high or required score. Since there are often strict gaming time limits, a job seeker must employ all possible tactics and skills to race the clock.
Online games not only help recruiters find ideal job candidates, they also increase awareness about company products and services. In addition, gaming technique can be one of the best methods to attract new innovations, improve personnel output, and broaden customer-business relationships.
Nowadays, many jobseekers are scrambling to work for renowned companies such as Facebook where programming puzzles have led to several people getting hired. With success stories like Facebook and Upstream Systems, it can be expected that the prevalence of online gaming will increase. Therefore, job seekers are wise to learn more about online games, since it may be their ticket to landing their next job. At the very least, job seekers need to be prepared to participate in online games that companies use to attract and screen applicants.
Online gaming as a recruitment strategy is significantly growing among businesses and more recruiters are looking forward to using it in talent acquisition.
Not long ago, online gaming seemed to contrast the process of job recruitment. Today, online games are helping recruiters find qualified job candidates who can fill specific positions.
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