New selection trends – escape rooms and “speed dating”

Is ‘professional speed dating’ recruitment’s next big trend?

For many of your clients, recruitment is probably a fairly simple process. You send them a CV, they decide who they want to interview, and they take their pick out of those they meet face to face.

However, some candidates are getting a little bored with traditional methods. Research from The Knowledge Academy has found that the majority (82%) of job hunters would be interested in somewhat unorthodox ways of demonstrating their skill sets.

Professional Speed Dating Sessions

What is it? Some companies have taken their recruitment process offline by facilitating professional speed dating sessions. Candidates talk to different senior and junior employees for a defined amount of time about what they can bring to a role in terms of experience, qualifications and skills.

Thereafter, key decision makers decide amongst themselves who to bring back for the next round, or even make a job offer then and there. 70% of UK job seekers said this could be of interest to them.

What is it good for? 62% of UK companies like this method, and that could be because it’s great at seeing which candidates do well under pressure. It’s a quick way to get a good all-round picture of a candidate without the formality of a one-on-one interview.

Escape rooms

What is it? More than three quarters (76%) of UK job seekers said they would like to be tested by being challenged to complete an ‘escape room’. These puzzles involve a small team being shut into a room and having to complete various tasks in order to complete an objective.

For example, ClueQuest in London features a mission where you must save the building from a (fictional!) explosion, while Code to Exit in Altrincham asks players to fix a time machine.

What it’s good for? Potential employers get the chance to see potential hires using their lateral thinking skills and their natural problem-solving abilities – things which might be difficult to judge in a traditional sit-down interview. As a result, 68% of UK companies would be interested in using these fun puzzles to assess applicants.


Capture the flag

What is it? In this exciting outdoor game, a team of candidates need to steal a flag from the opposing team’s base and return it to their own – before the opposing team does it first. However, if they get caught by an enemy player, then they may have to stay frozen in place, or they could switch teams, depending on the rules. Over half (54%) of Brits said they would be interested in being assessed through this game.

What’s it good for? To be successful, a team needs to work together and communicate well. Hiring managers will see if people are natural leaders, or good at sticking to tasks they have been assigned. That is why 30% of UK companies would be interested in using this game in their recruitment processes.

Full article on Recruitment Grapevine

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