People have been conducting business in the virtual world Second Life for some time. Now, they’ve begun hiring employees there, too.
A recent Wall Street Journal article by Anjali Athavaley explains how Microsoft, Verizon, Hewlett-Packard and Sodexho Alliance, among others, took part in a recent virtual job fair to learn how to recruit new talent through Second Life.
“The phenomenon of recruiting on Second Life began with smaller, more progressive companies that already used the site to market their products,” Athavaley writes. “These companies occasionally recruited Second Life users who visited their buildings. Now, other employers are inviting prospective hires who have never used Second Life to show up in their virtual world and meet with their avatar recruiters.”
The process isn’t without its problems. Topping the list is learning to how navigate your way through a virtual interview — teaching your virtual self how to sit and finding appropriate clothes for your avatar to wear, for example — without “shooting yourself in your virtual feet,” as Athavaley puts it.
Still, it’s just one more example of how the business world and virtual world are colliding in remarkably innovative ways.
Have you experimented with Second Life yet? Tell us about your virtual experiences.