Can You Find a Virtual Job?

Laura Shannon, a VP with Bernard Hodes Group, is looking for talent in an unusual place - the virtual world of Second Life.

Or rather, she's using the virtual world an another place to establish an employment brand, with the aim of persuading good candidates to contact her in real life.

Second Life is a virtual world with 3.3 million registered users, and many companies have jumped on the bandwagon, using the world as a means to promote their brands in much the same way as they would in the real world.

But Laura's post caught my eye, because she's using Second Life for her employment brand rather than to sell products or services.

What is really exciting about SL, is the opportunity to offer a truly immersive, unexpected, and unique employer brand experience. Even the most engaging corporate career site cannot offer the candidate the ability to walk inside and be part of your corporate world. Developing a destination in SL for your employer brand will provide a way for SL residents to learn a great deal about your company. You can offer audio, video, games, events, presentations, concerts, simulations of your headquarters/labs/stores/hotels/restaurants/products/etc, recruiters to chat with, and more. You can give away t-shirts, cups, computers, custom animations, content, etc. What you have to be comfortable with, is, that the candidates are there to learn about you, not the other way around. The goal is to get the avatars you interact with to apply in RL.

Which means that as a job seeker, you have another avenue to explore potential employers and to make connections. I think Laura is probably ahead of the curve on this one, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to see others jump on board quickly. Sign-up is free, so why not check it out? (But don't blame me if you get addicted!)

Comments

[Laura Shanon]

Hi Louise,

Thanks so much mentioning my post! I just wanted to clarify that I consult with clients to figure out how to use tools, like Second Life, but my company is not currently recruiting in Second Life. Many employers will be starting to use it as a recruiting source within the next year and it will be a really cool tool for candidates to learn about an organization.

Thanks,
Laura