More than 70% of employees say a gamified hiring process would make a company more appealing.¹ That says a lot about where recruitment is headed. Games aren’t just for fun anymore. They’re now being used to screen candidates, assess fit, and create a more engaging hiring experience.
What Is Gamification in Recruitment?
At its core, gamified recruitment turns parts of the hiring process into interactive experiences. This might mean:
- Asking candidates to solve a real-world challenge in a timed environment
- Using role-play simulations to see how someone would handle a customer
- Setting up coding puzzles that score candidates based on how well and how fast they solve problems
And yes, sometimes it involves actual games—just not how you’d expect. These are structured tasks, designed to test particular skills, in a way that’s engaging and more reflective of how someone works.
It’s often used early in the hiring process to screen many candidates, but it can also be part of more profound assessments later on. The point is, you’re not just reading about their skills—you’re watching them in action.
Why Use Gamification in Hiring?
Implementing gamification can add significant value for both employers and candidates. Here are just a few benefits and reasons to consider a gamified recruitment approach:
It Adds Objectivity to the Process
Gamified assessments generate measurable results. Every choice, click, or response can be tracked, which means less guesswork and less bias. Tools like HackerRank, for example, use blind coding challenges to focus only on skill—no resumes, no assumptions. This makes hiring fairer and often more inclusive.
It Speeds Things Up
A well-designed game can sort strong candidates from weak ones in 20 to 30 minutes. Compare that to weeks of interviews or screening calls. In high-volume hiring, this kind of efficiency makes a huge difference.
It Strengthens Your Employer Branding
Gamified assessments help your company stand out as modern and innovative, and candidates notice. Aon found that 94% of applicants found gamified assessments just as engaging, or even more so, than traditional recruitment processes.² Even better, 90% said the experience reflected the company’s brand just as well—or better—than conventional methods. In short, adding gamification can help your hiring process rise above a sea of generic job ads.
Types of Gamification in Recruitment
No single type of game works for every role, so it’s important to choose the approach that fits what you’re looking for. Here are some common recruitment game ideas and how they’re used:
Skill Challenges and Puzzles
These are short games or tasks that test job-related skills. For example, a company hiring developers might use coding puzzles where candidates solve problems to move to the next level. Other challenges might include logic puzzles or brain teasers that test how well someone solves problems. These games are handy for roles that require critical thinking and attention to detail.
Job Simulations
Simulations put candidates in situations that feel like the actual job. They might be asked to handle a customer complaint, manage a small project, or make decisions under pressure. Marriott Hotel once used a simulation game where players ran a virtual restaurant to test multitasking skills.³ These games show how someone might perform in real-life work scenarios.
Quizzes and Trivia
Turning assessments into quiz-style games can make the experience more fun. For example, a marketing team might give candidates a timed quiz on branding or social media. Candidates earn points for correct answers, and sometimes, there’s a leaderboard to show the top performers. These quizzes can also test personality or problem-solving skills in a more relaxed way.
Hackathons and Competitions
Hackathons are common for hiring in tech and design roles. Candidates (sometimes in teams) are asked to solve a real problem within a set time, often 24 hours. Case competitions are similar but are used in fields like business or marketing. Companies watch how participants think, create, and present their ideas, and sometimes hire the top performers directly from these events.
Points, Badges, and Leaderboards
These simple game elements can be added to any part of the process. Candidates might earn points for completing steps like submitting an application or finishing a test. Badges can mark achievements, like “Problem-Solver” or “Top Scorer.” Leaderboards can show how candidates rank (privately or publicly), which adds a sense of competition. Some companies also use these elements to gamify referral programs for employees.
How to Implement Gamification in Your Recruitment Process
Incorporating gamification requires careful planning. Here’s a step-by-step approach with best practices to help HR professionals get started:
1. Set Clear Objectives
Before introducing gamification, define what you want to achieve. Are you hoping to attract more applicants, improve how you screen for specific hard or soft skills, or make your hiring process more engaging? A clear goal will help ensure that your time and investment focus on outcomes that genuinely support your hiring needs.
2. Identify the Skills You Want to Assess
Once your goals are clear, consider the specific skills or traits you want to evaluate.
- For a data analyst, you might want to test for logic, attention to detail, or pattern recognition.
- For a customer service role, you may be looking for empathy, communication, and patience.
The skills you need will help determine the kind of game or challenge that makes the most sense. This step ensures that you’re not just adding a game for fun but using it to gather useful insights about each candidate.
3. Choose the Right Game Format
Different types of games are better suited to various goals.
- Quizzes work well when you want to test technical knowledge or job-related facts.
- Puzzles and problem-solving tasks are ideal for evaluating critical thinking and decision-making.
- Simulations or role-playing scenarios are the best way to observe how someone would behave in real job situations.
You can also use creative storytelling games to assess imagination and innovation for roles in marketing or design. Just make sure the difficulty level and tone of the game match the role and seniority of the candidates.
4. Decide Whether to Build or Buy
You don’t have to build your game from scratch—many platforms offer ready-made game-based assessments.
For example, Pymetrics and Arctic Shores offer neuroscience-based games to measure traits like memory, risk-taking, and emotional intelligence. HackerRank, Codility, and CodeSignal provide coding tests designed as interactive challenges. Gamification tools like HR Avatar simulate day-to-day tasks in customer service or management roles.
You can also use DIY tools like Google Forms to create simple branching quizzes or Kahoot! to host live challenges. The right option depends on your budget, hiring volume, and how tailored you want the candidate experience to be.
5. Pilot Test the Game
Before using gamification with real candidates, test it with a small group, such as current employees or a sample of candidates. A pilot can help you find technical issues, confusing instructions, or scoring problems that you might miss on your own.
You’ll also see whether high scorers in the game match the kind of talent you’re hoping to hire. Based on feedback, you can tweak the game, improve candidate experience, and make sure it’s working the way you intended.
6. Train Your Hiring Team
Everyone involved in the recruitment process—especially recruiters and hiring managers—should understand how the gamified tool works and why it’s being used. They should be able to explain it to candidates who have questions and interpret the results.
For example, if the game measures several traits, make sure your team knows which ones are most relevant to the role. Internal buy-in is essential. If the team doesn’t trust the data or sees the game as a gimmick, they won’t use it effectively.
7. Decide When to Use It
Gamification can fit into different stages of your recruitment process. Some companies use it right at the beginning—candidates play a game instead of submitting a cover letter. Others prefer to use it after an initial resume screen, when they’re narrowing down the shortlist.
You can also introduce gamified tasks during later stages, such as final interviews or group assessments. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach, but wherever you place the game, ensure it adds value and doesn’t overwhelm candidates with too many steps.
8. Make It Fair and Accessible
Not every candidate will approach the game similarly, so fairness and accessibility should be top priorities. Offer alternatives for candidates who cannot play in a standard way—for example, people with visual impairments or learning disabilities. Make sure the design is screen-reader friendly, uses readable fonts, and doesn’t rely too heavily on color alone.
Also, avoid culture-specific references or puzzles that favor one background over another. And let candidates know what you’re evaluating—this builds trust and helps them take the process seriously.
Read more: 9 IT Staffing Talent Trends that Will Dominate this Year
Make your hiring process smarter and faster with C4 Technical Services.
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Come talk to us today. Let’s make hiring work better for you and the people you bring on board.
References:
- Apostolopoulos, Aris. “The 2019 Gamification at Work Survey.” TalentLMS Blog, 19 Aug. 2019, www.talentlms.com/blog/gamification-survey-results/.
- “7 Components of a Successful Campus Recruitment Process.” Aon Assessment Solutions, assessment.aon.com/en-us/blog/7-components-of-a-successful-campus-recruitment-process. Accessed 22 April 2025
- “Beyond Resumes: Marriott Using Gamification to Recruit Top Talent in Hospitality.” ICMR, 2015, www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/human%20resource%20and%20organization%20behavior/Beyond%20Resumes%20Marriott%20Using%20Gamification%20to%20Recruit%20Top%20Talent%20in%20Hospitality-Case.htm
