[Journalism Internship] Companies use metaverse to close the gap

Journalism Internship

Published: 04 Feb. 2022, 14:27

[Journalism Internship] Companies use metaverse to close the gap

A screen shows an SK Telecom-organized internship event in this file photo dated Sept. 2, 2021. [SK TELECOM]

Meet the MZ Generation in Korea, exposed to the metaverse for career fairs and web surfing.

“Although the metaverse cannot be a replacement, it is a good alternative for video interviews,” said a graduate surnamed Kim in Seoul, who recently went to a recruiting event in the metaverse.

South Korean companies are incorporating the metaverse into their marketing and recruitment processes, in an effort to appear more approachable to customers and job applicants classified as the MZ Generation — people born between 1980 to 2012.

As digital natives exposed to new technologies, these “MZ-ers” have already experienced events and games in the metaverse. The generational gap between MZ-ers entering the workforce populated by older generations has been highlighted numerous times. How, then, are Korean companies using the metaverse to narrow the generational gaps?

Kim went to the metaverse career fair themed “The Kingdom of Employment’’ in August 2021 hosted by Nexon, a Japanese-Korean video game publisher specializing in online PC and mobile games.

The fair, designed after Nexon’s RPG game “The Kingdom of the Winds,” impressed Kim as he could feel the company’s witty culture as a gaming company.

“I liked how they tried to address our curiosity by making the virtual space look the same as the headquarters,” he said.

Big Korean companies including Samsung Group, SK Telecom, Nexon and LG Group have already announced plans to implement the metaverse in their business operations. Korean companies’ preference to recruit through the metaverse has increased by 41.6 percent, according to data released by Saramin, a Korean online HR database platform.

Marketing-wise, the switch to virtual advertisements was a direct result of the dominant influence of the metaverse within the digital marketing field.

Zepeto, a social media metaverse platform founded by Naver Z, is an example of just how much advertising within the metaverse has expanded, as it offers fashion items and home appliances within its game. By personalizing users’ own 3-D avatars and background images with the items available, consumers naturally gain brand awareness.

Some experts said the transition was not surprising given the speed with which the country has experienced technological developments, especially in recent years.

“The metaverse is accessable from anywhere around the world and it’s easy to meet up with recruiting managers through the online platform,” said Sung Eun-oh, an expert advisor at Seoul National University’s Career Development Center who took charge of Seoul National University’s “2021 Dream On Metaverse Job Search Forum,” on the use of metaverse platforms as a recruitment tool.

“Considering the fact that the MZ Generation is accustomed to communicating through online platforms and is currently demonstrating those types of practices, recruitment through the metaverse will support and allow the recruiting managers to discover human resources that suit the position and be used for candidate evaluation,” he said. “The advantages of the metaverse — being able to connect with international conglomerates located in different countries regardless of geographical limits — will allow the virtual platforms to prosper in the future even after the pandemic ends.”

Even though many companies are trying out recruitments in the metaverse, not all have seen success.

Kim said that despite being in a virtual platform with the recruiters, he still felt a barrier distancing him from truly feeling the company vibe.

“For now, my preferences for the hiring processes would be Zoom, the metaverse, and in-person — from best to worst,” he said.