Could Your Next Job Interview Include Playing a Video Game?

Could Your Next Job Interview Include Playing a Video Game?

New York Time is reporting an increase in the number of companies using video games to screen potential employees for their creativity, problem solving ability, multitasking ability, and more. Does this mean playing Double Dragon will be an key part of your next job interview?

One such game being used to screen potential candidates is Wasabi Waiter (Pictured above), a game that makes candidates figure out which sushi dishes to serve to which customers.  While this sounds like a strange scheme that a 1st grader would concoct, some big name companies have been utilizing games like Wasabi Waiter to make the hiring process more efficient, cost-saving, and unique. However, the Times’ piece raises question as to how effective and fair these methods of screening candidates are. As the author mentions, they run the risk of unfairly screening out entire classes of workers in favor of those with more affluent higher education and means. Likewise, it’s unknown how effective these games are measuring employees’ capabilities and the level of match for a certain company. As the author to the Times’ piece mentions, in this job climate many jobs’ responsibilities and skills can change over the course of one’s employment, meaning that these games may only be able to test for the skills required at hire, if those.

Before you claim vindication over your parents saying video games were a waste of time, we have to ask: should you expect to play a gimmicky video game on your next job interview? Probably not. Very few companies have adapted this means of screening candidates, and most seem to be within the sphere of the video game industry. The greater question is whether this means of screening candidates is a valuable one, and that remains to be seen. For better or worse, video games are becoming more and more apart of our social world in ways we probably didn’t foresee, and sooner or later sociologist may have to examine how their influence are effecting our daily lives.