VR: The Newest Tool in Hiring & The Toughest Tech Talent to Hire

by Riia O’Donnell

As technology hires continue to dominate the recruitment marketplace, a new tool for recruiters as well as a burgeoning career is also making waves, Virtual reality.

Virtual reality and VR Engineers are no longer future careers – they’re in demand careers and tech today. VR is no longer just for the gaming industry. Tech-savvy businesses are well aware of the value of VR and the industry is poised to generate $30 billion dollars in sales annually by the year 2020.

Not just a toy

Beyond gaming, big players like Samsung, Google, IBM, Apple and Intel are hiring VR Engineers and using them to build platforms. Some are there looking to develop technology for in-house use, others looking to commercialize the tech at scalable levels.

VR Professionals, and there are few of them, will continue to be in high demand as more and more companies and startups realize that not being involved with the tech will leave them behind in the marketplace.

Using VR to Hire

For recruiters, VR is an outstanding tool to attract top talent. Want a candidate to know your company is cutting edge? Use VR to hire. A virtual look at the company for candidates, who have the ability to walk the premises and see work, tech, production, machinery, and more being used and performed is an excellent sales tool. Why just tell someone what you do, when you can show them?

For onboarding, the VR experience can take a new hire beyond the bounds of their cubicle. They can walk the plant floor that might otherwise be inaccessible to them for a greater understanding of what the company produces. They can see something built from the ground up. They can access remote locations outside of their workplace, around the country or the globe. They can tour the office of the CEO and hear a welcoming speech from them and others. The possibilities to engage a new hire with VR are endless.

VR for training will likely be another step employers take. With the ability to give employees hands on experiential learning opportunities that mitigate risk, employees can try new protocols, procedures and more in VR before they do so IRL. Imagine being able to train an employee to work with hazardous materials competently in VR before subjecting them to the dangers of the materials on the job. The potential threat of loss of lives or property could be substantively reduced. Additionally, experiential training provides a deeper learning experience.

The Future of VR

In the future, we may even see companies assess candidates with VR. The potential is to provide them scenarios and see how they would manage the encounter. Depending on the response or actions, a company could evaluate whether the applicant meets their criteria. Because only the candidate’s actions are revealed, the process could even reduce bias in hiring.

The market for VR Engineers and the use of VR by companies will continue to grow. Unfortunately, CS degree programs are slow in keeping up with demand. As tech bootcamps continue to pop up across the country, employers are seeing more value in skills than sheepskin. That’s where we come in. Rankdone can help you find developers in VR and more. Contact us today.