Main image of article How Blockchain Could Innovate the Recruiting Process

Recruitment processes throughout the years went from “high-touch standards” (a printed resume, one good-quality phone interview and/or a one-on-one meeting) to “high-tech solutions,” with all the hiring fundamentals the same as before, but with a tiny yet significant twist—everything became digital. 

This ongoing transition shows that, although resume screening hasn't changed much over the years, modern solutions sped up recruitment processes and made them more efficient over time. Back in the day, LinkedIn took the lead as a hiring platform, making both applicants’ and organizations’ lives easier by hiring six job seekers every minute. Now some considerably new technologies like crypto, web3, and blockchain are displaying potential for hiring.

Even with all the digital innovation, recruiting is still an arduous task. Forecasting blockchain as the one and only answer to all the hiring bottlenecks is a bold statement. Nonetheless, recruitment processes automation and computerization of database processes are inevitable.

The Future of Recruitment Processes

Recruitment is all about talent and valuing skills more than academic qualifications. And a good recruiter knows where the best and brightest minds invest their time globally. For example, 97.6 percent of remote workers recommending working remotely is a remarkable piece of evidence that tells which direction the hiring industry is heading.

Hybrid or remote working environments prove to be efficient, cost-effective, and convenient for both sides. It makes sense why so many employees and employers have already gotten used to it. However, as valuable and adaptable as it is, it also presents several obstacles for HR teams, such as applicant background checks, regulatory obligations, and arranging interviews in multiple time zones.

Here’s where blockchain could come as a solution. This technology can assist in screening applicants by checking employment history and resumes. Digitally-based ledgers open possibilities to build a network for databases, financial records, and HR documents. Moreover, it creates an opportunity window for the talent pool, saving time, money, and resources on sourcing candidates.

Is Blockchain the Next Step? 

The appearance of new technologies usually comes with many variables that, in the short term, are hard to predict, but when it comes to the blockchain, we don’t need to look so far for tangible evidence. The creator economy, the phenomenon of monetizing hobbies, and its growth in the last decade are great examples of how new technologies can be successful and profitable when applied correctly.

In hiring processes, blockchain technology ensures data security by allowing network encryption and protecting data from illegal access. This enables companies to transmit information directly while also assisting recruiters in verifying employee data, such as schooling and certificates, career accomplishments, and feedback. 

More open distribution of information stored in the blockchain allows the company to find a better match for offered positions by better connecting candidates’ skills and required expertise. In that sense, it's undoubtedly luring to predict blockchain influence in recruitment processes.

Blockchain In Recruitment – What’s Behind It?

With remote hiring and teams working globally, companies need to ensure that prospective employees are not falsifying information. And to confirm whether all the data is accurate or not, employers and hiring specialists need a unified, open, and transparent system—that's where blockchain technology comes in. 

Nowadays, it's the candidate who chooses what information to share or omit with the company's HR team. This gives the candidate complete ownership over building individual resumes, but also over the systems that globally are very much organization-based. Rather than having data stored within a company with very little flow outside, meaning that any achievement or defeat on the records will remain in the shadows, blockchain technology gives a transparent overview of all candidates' work experience, achievements, and past performance in work-related tasks. 

Once the candidate permits access to their information to certain people, such as HR managers, there’s a transparent overview of all candidates' work experience, achievements, and performance. It gives a glimpse across actual projects working with different team members who are in a better position to ratify the candidate’s contributions. Indeed, it can save job seekers’ time, resources, and energy, as they won't have to create resumes from scratch for each job they apply for.

As much as blockchain technology can work in applicants' favor, it may also have pitfalls. Co-workers' or project lead feedback can be a double-edged sword. It can either praise or neglect a former employer's contributions or even unnecessarily put someone in a bad light due to personal grievances. 

However, this has already been solved in gig-based platforms like Fiverr and Upwork, where both sides get a chance to share their views, leading to a more authentic understanding of the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses. It stands opposed to a resume or a LinkedIn profile, which tends to be a glorified, one-sided view of the candidate rather than a holistic view of their capabilities. 

HR departments are already leveraging technology such as Asynchronous Video Interviews and AI-based solutions to allow a better sense of a candidate’s abilities using structured-interview techniques than a resume could ever provide. One of the most compelling reasons why blockchain is so appealing and robust in the recruiting market is its potential to be continually adjusted and used without losing integrity and clarity.

Real estate, insurance, artist royalties, and international transfers are among plenty of areas where blockchain uses its ability to improve existing processes and establish new paths, giving us a glimpse of what the future holds for creating the future valuable assets.

Predictions are worth as much as their actual outcomes and are only measurable after their forecasting time, and it’s never sure what the future holds. Still, seeing how blockchain technology is flooding all industries and finding its application in the most unexpected markets, it's only a matter of time before it transforms the recruitment processes. 

Sunny Saurabh is Co-Founder and CEO at Interviewer.AI.

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