Facebook’s parent company made its plans for the future of the internet clear when it re-branded itself as Meta. The company headed by Mark Zuckerberg has decided to go all-in on the metaverse. It is expected that much of the modern world will go along. But what about healthcare? The industry has always been slow to adopt technology.

What about healthcare recruiting? Is it ready for the metaverse? Some would say no, given recruiters’ hesitancy to get on board with social media marketing when it first became a thing. But maybe we are in for a surprise. Perhaps recruiters are already salivating at the opportunity to take their efforts into what will undoubtedly be a brave new internet world.

The Metaverse Explained

The metaverse is, for all intents and purposes, the next iteration of the internet. It is already being referred to as Internet 3.0 in some circles. But here is the thing: there are no exact parameters defining how the metaverse will exist. The entire concept is a work in progress. What we know now as the metaverse will undoubtedly change multiple times before we settle into what we want it to be.

At the heart of the metaverse is the digital community. As things currently stand, most of us conduct business online as individual entities in isolation. We log on to one website to do our shopping. We utilize another to handle banking. We rely on separate sites to do everything from making medical appointments to scheduling the car for an oil change.

In the metaverse, all of that is done from a centralized location. You login to your internet community and then go from there. You walk down a virtual street, per se, interacting with people and organizations as you go. Everything you do online occurs within that community.

How It Could Benefit Healthcare Recruiting

How the metaverse could benefit healthcare recruiting is rooted in user data. In the metaverse, data does not exist in isolation. It travels with you throughout your internet journey. An article from MM+M contributor Sarah Mahoney likens it to how data is currently handled by Facebook.

You probably have a ton of information about yourself stored on Facebook servers. When you leave Facebook, all your posts stay there. Likewise for your pictures, contacts, etc. In the metaverse though, that’s not the case. All your Facebook data will travel with you to other sites.

This is a gold mine for recruiters. As things currently stand, recruiters purchase data sets from companies like iMedical Data. A recruiter might focus on just a physician’s database. Another might want a nurse’s database. Still another recruiter is interested in every data set iMedical Data can provide.

In the metaverse, those data sets become much broader. Their reach extends to unprecedented levels. And because everyone’s data travels with them across the internet, recruiters should have an easier time following a data trail that leads them right to the best possible candidates.

A Whole New Technology

It goes without saying that the metaverse represents a whole new technology. It is a technology that is still so early in its development that we don’t know how it will turn out. Most of us will participate because we are swept up in metaverse implementation. The healthcare industry may be an exception.

Is the industry ready for the metaverse? Are healthcare recruiters already considering new ways to recruit within the metaverse? Time will tell. If the metaverse turns out to be everything it is promised to be, healthcare recruiters would be foolish to not utilize it to its fullest potential.