Till a decade ago, hiring used to be simple and in a way, predictable. Most of the companies used a similar routine and procedures to find out the right talent for themselves. People would attend classes and read books on how to crack interviews and get the job they desired. And funnily enough, thanks to the predictability of hiring process back in the day, those books and classes actually worked.

But as time passed, those books became obsolete because the hiring processes that the books used to revolve around became less relevant. Courtesy the ever-increasing demand and competition for jobs, companies had to resort to newer methods to find best out of the whole. Also, the startup and I.T. culture contributed heavily to bringing about these changes.

Over the course of years, the definition of job and how one is supposed to do it has also changed. And since the way millennial work has changed, so has the hiring process. Today companies go beyond simple interviews and assessments to hire prospective employees. From competitive hackathons to advanced psychometric tests to games, yes you heard it right, companies are using gaming methods that a decade ago would have been called unconventional. Here are some of the unconventional methods being used for hiring today.

1) Startup Acquisitions

Imagine getting a new employee for whom you will not need to spend a huge amount of time or capital on training. An employee who is a self-starter and is equipped with a good amount of practical knowledge required for the job, and most likely, has experience doing multiple roles. That is what you get when you do startup acquisition with the aim of making founders and the employees of the startup work for your company as the end result. More specifically, ‘Acquiring’ a term used for acquisition where the main startup being acquired is shut down and the startup employees joining the acquiring company is becoming very common nowadays. Acquire is a win-win situation for both the parties involved. Struggling startups are able to find a decent exit and companies get to onboard a talented set of people who have work that experience which most of the new employees often lack.

Sure, this often comes with a set of its own challenges. Differences in culture, as well as working styles, might make the acquisition leading to unproductive outcomes but if handled well, such acquisitions can do wonders.

Also, if you are planning to start a new division or target a new market, acquiring a startup in the same domain can turn out to be the best solution. Why? Because the startup has already spend a good amount of time in terms of understanding, addressing the market as well as the associated challenges along with it. What the startup might have lacked - capital or ability to scale their solution, you as a firm can provide that and execute the solution more successfully.

2) Simulations and Games

When talking about simulations and games, one thing that needs to be highlighted is the fact that it is highly effective in terms of training and has been used for the same for a long time now. But simulations and significant games are becoming increasingly useful in the field of hiring. They try to simulate real-world experiences and situations in a digital format. For example, for training customer service reps, companies can create games where they have to deal with various types of customers and their problems.

The same thing can be used for hiring. Want to get an idea about how your employees will perform at the job? Simply let them go through a digital simulation or gamification  of what their actual job will look like. Most of these simulations come with in-built analytics and assessments to give you an idea about their performance.

You can use these games as the main basis for your hiring process or use them for specific purposes like psychometric testing. Also, if you are planning to automate a big chunk of hiring process, these systems can be very useful..

3) Cobranded courses leading to jobs

There is huge divide between what employees want in terms of skills in prospective employees versus what education system currently teaches. This has been well reflected in the fact that more than 90% of our current graduates are not employable because they lack the skills required for jobs. From unemployment to extensive training period as well as costs, parties on both the ends are losing out. What can be done in a situation like this?

This is where cobranded courses come into play. What are cobranded courses? Let’s try to understand with a mock example.

You are a company that deals in bitcoins, everything from mining to trading to developing new application around the blockchain technology (which some people call the next big innovation after internet itself). To hire people to work for your company, you need people who understand this technology and are well equipped to work in the field. One thing that can be done and is usually done is: You hire a regular graduate and then provide him/her extensive training.

Given the pace of advancement in the field of technology, you will definitely lag behind others if so much amount of your time will be utilized in training rather than actual execution.

Now imagine getting new employees who have extensive knowledge about the field right out of college. This can be made possible through cobranded courses. As a firm, you tie up with institutions (for example - financial and engineering institutes) and create new courses (preferably of short durations) that not only equips the students with skills required for the job, but also comes with job guarantees for good performers. 

Students get education that is up to the market requirements and companies get new employees who are job ready, once again, a win-win situation for all.

Hiring as a process is changing everyday and the innovations in the hiring process are not limited to a specific set of companies. From Fortune 500 companies to small startups, diverse set of firms now employ a diverse set of methods that were previously unheard of. From hackathons to letting prospective hires spend a day working with the team doing actual work, hiring is getting more hands on and more skills oriented than what it used to be.