Are You Adding the Virtual World to Your Interview Process?
Have you ever heard of Second Life? It is a 3D virtual online digital world imagined, created and owned by its residents.
So how does this virtual world link to corporate recruiting?
The use of Second Life for recruiting is another way that employers are incorporating popular Web sites into their talent searches. Employers have set up pages for prospective hires on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace and on the video-sharing site, YouTube. A handful of companies are now spreading their brands to Web-based social networking communities like Second Life. According to Second Life, much of the virtual recruitment is done through online job fairs. TMP Worldwide Advertising & Communications, an advertising firm in New York, held two virtual job fairs last year, events that included Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Verizon Communication and Bain & Company.Interesting – but what value does a virtual interview really have? Conducting virtual job fairs or interviews:
- Demonstrates a candidates’ affinity for technology.
- Shows prospective candidates that the company is progressive or “cool”.
- Is more cost effective than a face-to-face interview.
While it may be cool to say to a candidate that you are holding a virtual job fair or interview process – this would certainly not be appealing or relevant to all. We think that companies should not apply a one-size fits all recruiting program to attract new talent but should continue to leverage a combination of the new and traditional methods such as; telephone, videoconferences, face-to-face meetings, interviews and social networking sites to find the best talent.
Let us know what you think.