In a panel discussion at the SEEK Better Career Fair on Sunday, August 20, Lionel Chok, Chief Metaverse Officer at WorldX, explains how Extended Realities (XR) can change the way we recruit employees.

“The idea was that people wanted to understand and see the use case beyond the flat screen,” he said.

He further explained that as human beings, we tend to interact in a spatial manner, but this is something that is missing from the 2D online experience. The good thing is that, as technology progresses, we begin to see platforms enabling this more natural interaction.

“Some of these things become more understandable, easier to use, and more importantly, more cost-effective. So, with Experiential Technologies, or Immersive Technologies, we try to bring all these things closer to a natural consumption of how we experience several industries,” he explained.

The COVID-19 pandemic was also noted to have driven the willingness to explore new technologies for businesses. This was pointed out by e27 co-founder and Head of Programme Thaddeus Koh, who pointed out that this drive was seen across all industries.

“Since COVID-19, people and companies are exploring deeper ways of representing their products or services and trying to use that to launch products and services,” he said.

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This was something that NXT Interactive Co-Founder Charina Widjaja agreed to. During the pandemic, her company took over a project that allowed them to experiment with the use of technology to support a hybrid event.

“Interestingly, many of the ministries and education institutions utilise these Experiential Technologies and virtual spaces to educate and share with their target audience. This applies to everything from banking to the education industry,” she said.

For professionals in various industries, the advancement of technologies sometimes can feel like something that happens way in the future.

They might wonder if this is worth investing in today, but for this matter, Chok shares his thoughts: “If you’re going to wait for it to come before you decide to embrace it, the company might hire somebody else for it. But if you openly embrace it, post about it, let your peers know that you are interested in it … When that time comes in your respective companies, I think the first person they would approach to fill that position is you.”

Empowering jobseekers to a better career

Another highlight of the SEEK Better Career Fair is a showcase of seekMAX, the latest JobStreet released to support jobseekers in Southeast Asia on their career development journey.

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seekMAX is an in-app learning content platform designed to empower professionals to upskill and advance their careers. It allows users to easily access over 1,100+ educational videos for free via the JobStreet mobile app.

The platform also offers seekMAX Community, where users can connect and network with industry leaders, engage with fellow professionals on career threads and keep track of industry trends.

JobStreet said that since its launch, nearly one in three monthly active users of the JobStreet platform have already started using seekMAX as a tool to learn new skills and share insights amongst the community.

The development of seekMAX was based on recent research by JobStreet, which revealed that 39 per cent of working Singaporeans spend one to three hours a week on learning and development, indicating a strong desire to upskill for professional purposes.

To publish content for this platform, JobStreet collaborates with leading companies such as Microsoft, Complexly, TED, and Deutsche Welle, local influencers such as Annette Lee, Dr Jay Kay, Janus Chan and Jason Ho and international media such as Bloomberg, The New York Times and Tech In Asia.

First launched in Indonesia in 2022, followed by Malaysia and Singapore this year, over 2.5 million users have watched over 6.5 million minutes of videos on the platform, with the most popular content categories being job search advice, career advice, salary advice and self-development.

JobStreet is currently working to launch a certification programme to help job seekers take upskilling to the next level.

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The SEEK Better Career Fair was held to address demands from jobseekers in Singapore, who prefer face-to-face interviews or chats with future employers. Based on JobStreet’s data, there has been a significant 49 per cent increase in job applications in the country.

Apart from the seekMAX showcase, the SEEK Better Career Fair also enabled visitors to explore new job opportunities and have insightful conversations with employers. The event included segments such as résumé clinics, free CV photoshoots, career advisory booths and career insight talks with experts from Ogilvy, GovTech, and NCS.

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Image Credit: JobStreet

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