Jan 30, 2023

Recruiting Agencies in Japan Are Turning to the Metaverse The metaverse is making inroads in job recruiting fronts in Japan. According to local reports, a mega metaverse job fair was organized on Jan. 27, with more than 2,000 students taking part in the experience. The students used avatars to communicate and review the job previews available in different booths controlled by several companies. Japan Embraces the Metaverse for Recruiting Metaverse tech is starting to change the landscape of job hunting and recruiting in Japan. More than 2,000 students attended a metaverse job fair, that allowed them to use digital avatars to communicate with recruiters and examine the possibilities of each job offer available. Due to the anonymity in the metaverse, participants were allowed to ask questions on delicate matters concerning these job offerings, according to reports of the Asahi Shimbun. 179 companies participated in this effort, which was organized by Neo Career Co., which took care of the job-related activities, and X Inc., which carried the metaverse-related tasks. The companies stated that this was likely one of the biggest events of this kind in Japan, and also reinforced the advantages that the metaverse brings for these recruiting processes. Taiki Nishino of Neo Career stated: The metaverse allows for both taking advantage of online meetings in which students from distant areas can take part as well as maintaining the spontaneity of meeting and conversing that occurs in face-to-face job fairs. The Future of Metaverse: Digital Presence While some have been pessimistic about the use of metaverse tools in meetings, others have signaled in favor of the impact that this tech might have on the sector. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, the software company, praised the technology in these initiatives. In a recent meeting with Klaus Schwab, chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), he explained he believed the sense of presence that metaverse apps brought to the table was ‘game-changing.’ The company has been working with the WEF to build an initiative called the Global Collaboration Village, which aims to make the Davos meetings perennial using metaverse tech for leaders to communicate all year long. Other institutions in Japan are already using metaverse tech to allow people to establish their digital presence. For example, in October Toda City reported it was using metaverse tools to allow students to receive classes from home as a way of battling school absenteeism. In July, the University of Tokyo announced it would use metaverse tools to offer engineering courses and to instruct students about the metaverse and its functions. Tags in this story