I went to a metaverse recruitment fair with 30 companies and 200 attendees. The avatars were creepy but I liked it — take a look around.

Job seekers could walk around the event, much like they would in real life.

Screen grab / Venu

• The recruitment firm Hirect hosted a metaverse jobs fair for Y-combinator backed startups.
• There was a lobby, an exhibitor's hall, and auditorium, which participants could walk freely between.
• The tech was clunky but it was easy to meet people and to contact them. 

I'll admit to being slightly skeptical when I was invited to spend three hours in a virtual conference hall atop a mythical mountain range, attending a metaverse recruitment fair. 

Since Meta, formerly Facebook, revived the concept of the Metaverse, it's been promoted as the future of everything from concerts to meetings — and now recruitment. 

I've always found recruitment to be about building personal connections so was keen to know whether this could be recreated virtually. I was pleasantly surprised. 

The event, Hired in the Metaverse: The New Frontier of Recruiting, was hosted by the recruitment app Hirect, in conjunction with tech startup Venu, who designed the events portal.

Attendees could wear an Oculus Quest 2 headset — which Hirect sent out to job seekers in the US — if they wanted to attend in VR but they could access it through their web-browser.  I ran out of time to set up my quest so attended via the latter. 

 

The event hall was quite impressive.

The lobby at Hirect's Metaverse jobs fair.

Screen grab / Venu

After logging in attendees found themselves in a lobby. I was glad I didn't have to climb what appear to be mountains to get to the hall. 

 

 

Hirect worked with the tech startup Venu to create the event hall.

The lobby of the auditorium.

Screen grab / Venue

Attendees accessed the exhibitor's area via a staircase and could walk freely around the hall and auditorium. 

 

I initially thought that the avatars were quite impersonal and a bit creepy.

Avatars had their name and email address written above their head, which made it easy to connect.

Screen grab / Venu

A lot of them had the same outfit and, other than their mouth moving, there was no facial or body language cues.

Sometimes the avatar would randomly sit down, which isn't the best look if you're trying to impress a potential employer. 

I controlled my avatar using the direction arrows on my keyboard. It felt a bit like playing an early video game.

It wasn't quite as immersive as virtual reality and meant I couldn't postulate with my hands, but it still felt like I was at an event. 

 

There were 30 recruiters — from Y-Combinator backed startups — and 200 attendees.

Avatars were able to watch speakers on the stage.

Screen grab / Venu

The first half of the fair featured live presentations in the auditorium. Guests appeared as avatars on stage as part of panel or Q&A sessions. 

Attendees were muted while they were in the auditorium but you could ask a question by standing in a line at the side of the stage. And you could clap by holding the number one on the keyboard.

A shot of the hall. You could adjust the graphics settings to ensure that you could see every avatar.

Screen grab / Venu

It was a format similar to in-person events but felt quite strange. It didn't really work and would have been better as a Zoom presentation.

Usually, this would be a great time to network with the people around you but it was impossible in the auditorium so I didn't really feel like I was gaining anything by replicating the experience of standing in a room. 

The venue had lots of different areas, including seating for individual chats,

Screen grab / Venu

I left the auditorium to find my Insider colleague Rachel DuRose — who was tuning in from the US — to talk about the event. 

 

Job seekers could walk around the event, much like they would in real life.

Screen grab / Venu

The tech was quite clunky and you couldn't hear what the other person was saying if you weren't at the right angle.

But once you got it right, it was possible to have a proper conversation. It felt quite personable and got more natural as the event went on.

 

The employer displays in the exhibitor's hall were very interactive.

You could watch videos to find out more about the companies recruiting and get in touch by clicking on links.

Screen grab / Venu

A video started playing when you got close enough. Clickable links enabled you to email the recruiter or go to the company's website. You could walk up to anyone in the exhibitor's hall and start a conversation like you would in person.

The avatars were quite clunky.

Screen grab / Venu

Once I mastered the tech I found it quite easy to meet people. Their username and email were displayed above their head, which was helpful.

You could click directly on their email address to send them a message.

I actually quite liked it.

You were able to walk up to people and start talking to them, much like a normal job fair.

Screen grab / Venu

All in all, I think the metaverse could work quite well as a recruitment platform in specific contexts.

Hirect's event was aimed at startups and job seekers looking for remote, techy roles. Other than the odd clunky conversation, it was quite easy to meet people and ended up feeling quite natural.

Whether it would quite so well for other industries or for in-person roles is difficult to say. 

Novelty certainly played a big role in how much I enjoyed it.

It was the first time I'd ever experienced anything quite like this. If it became the norm of recruitment  — as some, including Hirect, say it could be — I imagine it would quickly become a bit tiring and boring.

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