At Hays, we study trends and look at the practices and technologies that organisations are adopting, as well as those that employees seek when searching for a new role or employer. The signs all point toward the Metaverse playing a part in the world of work sooner rather than later.
Given that we recruit for the future of technology, it makes sense that we have our own space there.
As such, Hays has become the first recruiter to enter the Metaverse.
In short, the Metaverse is a virtual world where people can be present through individual avatars.
Though the term has only recently become widely used, the idea of the Metaverse has existed in some form or another for years. It’s been particularly prevalent in gaming, where MMO (massively multiplayer online) games have been popular for decades. Similarly, the increased use of VR (virtual reality) headsets for entertainment purposes in recent years has meant that more people have become accustomed to acting and interacting in a virtual world. Due to restrictions on live events, some artists have even hosted live shows in the Metaverse, with the audience attending as avatars.
In October 2021, the concept of the Metaverse and its future became global news when Mark Zuckerberg announced that the Facebook brand was changing its name to Meta. As part of the launch, Zuckerberg released a video in which he met up with friends in an augmented reality.
It remains to be seen how feasible it will be to create an authentic, complete experience in the Metaverse. However, we only have to look at the way in which the world’s biggest organisations are committing to it in order to see its potential role in our lives.
The worlds shown by Zuckerberg in his videos were unlike anything in reality, with space stations and floating fish, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
As the world has already adapted to remote working, the days of working face-to-face throughout the week are over for many people who were based in offices. Instead, we have become accustomed to hosting meetings over camera, an experience which has actually bridged the gap with those working in other locations.
As you can see in my video below, the Metaverse can bring back the possibility of sitting shoulder to shoulder with your colleagues, but from the comfort of your remote location. It will also be possible to conduct meetings, including interviews, within the Metaverse.
I look forward to meeting you there!
Alfie Whattam UK&I National Lead – Hays
With seven years of technology recruitment experience, Alfie currently leads a practise of 50+ dedicated dev recruiters, who each individually specialise across technologies such as: C#, Java, PHP, Python, React, Angular, JavaScript, and so on.
