It was only a while ago no one could imagine google would compete with the major car makers, Waze would disrupt other major traffic management businesses, Uber would partner with NASA for the soon to appear flying cars and so on…

With so many fascinating changes around, I cannot stop wondering how will recruitment and even career management look like in 5-10 years…

Despite the fact that I am not yet where I would like to be in interpreting technology advancement and its exponential growth (Big data, machine learning, block chain, IoUT, etc) I am sure they will soon significantly impact the way we will find the right people for both our clients and for ourselves and the recruitment processes will look fundamentally different. Rather sooner than later despite our brain being used more to linear thinking.

Here are some of the questions I put myself and the reader who can contribute for a more articulate vision, is more than welcome:

1. How will AI and big data impact research work in our profession? Or research for talent for any employer? They impacted already the legal profession and so will do with all the others… Here is what started to happen in the law profession.

2. How likely is that assessment centers/case studies, etc to be happening in VR? Robots, AI may be part of the interviews and replace most of the time of the consultants involved being able to draw much more reliable conclusions…(at least for some part of the recruitment process)

3. Will most interviews be held via Facetime, Skype or similar while smartphone installed software will analyze micro expressions, body language and speech structure of the other person, providing a detailed report on the consistency between what was said and what the person thought?

4. As most of our information is already online and with a much stricter GDPR (at least in US, Europe and Australia), will be still needed for the references to be checked in the way they are done now?  An interesting read in this respect.

Imagine that… 

When relocating, instead of visiting several locations and reach a shortlist, what about seeing (together with your family members) the longlist of locations in VR first and then visit just the shortlist for the energy feel? Needless to say that the Real Estate profession will be fundamentally changed as well…

When choosing a job, seeing your future office in VR will be part of a standard (if it is not already happening)… Before being hired and password based one may visualize/access information about each area of interest in her future company: culture, climate, Comp&Ben, offices, org charts- information accessible based on levels of security for that respective role.

5. What would happen if Google merges with Facebook or one acquires the other or even more, if one develops in other directions the other company is now in the lead?

Imagine google in around 20 years knowing exactly what job fits you based on all the information gathered about you (health, preferences, loved ones, passions, etc) and can recommend many other things including what to study/follow and why.

The human touch may be important in the final stage of a recruitment some may think. In assessing the character or culture fit yet at the pace of tech evolution, in 5-10 years most probably we will assist to a totally different way of the way recruitment and any other professional services are happening.

What do you think? Readers would be thrilled to learn your thoughts from other industries (i.e – retail, pharma, banking, etc).