Stacy Surla | 6/25/07
Second Life and Web 3D Recruitment
Shared online virtual environment
What is Second Life?
Given tools and rules, make up your own goals
Products of your work belong to you
The characteristics of SL that make it popular as a game also make it conducive to social networking
Being used by businesses, universities, libraries, nonprofits, and others
What are people saying about recruitment in SL?
Recruiters need to be where their candidates areDavid Manaster, Electronic Recruiting Exchange
To reach a new generation of employees, successful recruiters will need to employ sophisticated, innovative technologies that extend their reach and demonstrate that they are smart and tech-savvyBusiness Communicators of Second Life
The Second Life community is full of early adopters, trend setters who are the first to embrace new ideas and that's the kind of people that we want to hireAjaz Ahmed, Chairman at AKQA
Where does this fit with online recruitment?
Monster.comMySpaceLinkedInWorld of WarcraftSecond Life
Businesses doing business in SL
BUSINESSES PRODUCING…
ProductsEntertainmentConsultingHospitalityWeb ITEducationSL-only
ARE USING SECOND LIFE FOR…
MarketingRetail salesTelepresence (collaboration, meetings, events)Recruitment
Businesses recruiting in SL
COMPANIES
IBMeBayHewlett-PackardMicrosoftHyroCase Western University
STAFFING AGENCIES
Kelly ServicesTMPSemper
HOW?
Jobs FairsOngoing recruitment presence
TMP Worldwide
The island hosts a number of company recruiting centers, including TMobile, Ebay, Sodexho, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft
Ebay
Building is complete with Pez dispenser guardiansClicking signs give you notecards about the company and its benefitsCan leave a resume
TMobile
Features a skydiving pod – with parachute provided
Hewlett-Packard
Real-world branding carried throughout
Hyro (creative digital services)
Nice signage, clear instructions, lots of interesting meeting rooms
IBM Germany
The main IBM recruitment areas are invite-only
Kelly Services
Goofy, yet actually rather neat. But not much obvious information about how to get a work through Kelly
Semper
Recruiting for Second Life jobs
Pros
Cheaper than RL job fair – "[W]e didn't have to ship things and load them up, or pack and unpack boxes" (Sodexho)
Higher-ups who wouldn't normally attend a recruitment event can make an appearance
First time Second Life users do participate
Relaxing and convenient for recruiters and candidates
Success has been reportedTMP May event, 150 interviewedHyro hired ~30 Jan-Feb this year
Cons
Limit to 50 or 100 simultaneous visitors
Requires time to download client, orient, practice, and dress for success (~6 hours)
Presence of recruiters is important (though can also design the space for recruitment interaction)
Recommendations
Explore as a supplement to regular recruiting practices
Have a plan (no brochureware or unmaintainable presence)
Citations
Business Communicators of Second Lifehttp://freshtakes.typepad.com/sl_communicators/
Get Ready to Recruit in Second Lifehttp://www.ere.net/inside-recruiting/news/get-ready-to-recruit-in-second-180322.asp
I got my job through Second Lifehttp://money.cnn.com/2007/01/22/magazines/fortune/secondlife_recruit.fortune/
Sodexho Says Second Life Job Fair Caters Up Quality Candidateshttp://www.ere.net/inside-recruiting/news/sodexho-says-second-life-job-fair-180695.asp
Hyro uses Second Life for real life recruitinghttp://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/9525/50/
A Job Interview You Don't Have to Show Up Forhttp://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB118229876637841321-NkCuEAak8wFXmvmPVWkALxqNS3M_20070719.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top
Recruiting in Second Life sounds good in a press release, but what does it really mean?http://www.ere.net/blogs/Hire_Calling/AB5F703F8CFC41A79B3DABD420AAA6DD.asp
Citations
TMP Network in Worldhttp://networkinworld.jobs/default.aspx
Help Wanted in Second Lifehttp://www.workforce.com/section/00/article/24/84/26.html
Get a first life in the second onehttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/career_and_jobs/graduate_management/article1671214.ece
Bain & Company Adds New Dimension to Recruiting from Top U.S. Business Schoolshttp://www.advfn.com/news_Bain-Company-Adds-New-Dimension-to-Recruiting-from-Top-U-S-Business-Schools_19892810.html
Kelly Services Adds 'Second Life' to Its List of Global Locationshttp://www.marketwire.com/2.0/release.do?id=731567&sourceType=1
AKQA Opens Recruiting Hub in Second Lifehttp://www.lexdon.com/article/akqa_opens_recruiting_hub_in/72761.html
In-world Locations
TMP WorldwideTMobile, Ebay, Sodexho, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, and others are herehttp://slurl.com/secondlife/TMP%20Worldwide/190/81/24
Hyro Worldhttp://slurl.com/secondlife/Hyro%20World/199/197/40
Semper Internationalhttp://slurl.com/secondlife/Jacqueland/85/52/22
IBMIBM 4, invite only
Kelly Serviceshttp://slurl.com/secondlife/Kelly%20Services/79/129/24
Bain & CoInvite only