Alex
07-02-2007, 02:10 AM
Did you know that T-Mobile interviews some of its job candidates through Second Life? Strange...:eek:
"With telephone job screening more popular, it was only a matter of time before someone tried the virtual job interview. In May, Hewlett-Packard Co., Microsoft Corp., and T-Mobile USA Inc. were among the companies recruiting at a job fair hosted by recruitment-advertising firm TMP Worldwide Advertising & Communications. The event took place on Second Life, the online virtual community, with both job seekers and company recruiters interviewing via instant-message-like exchanges and "avatars," or cartoon-like figures that people dress and move in the online world.
The event was certainly different. A few of the 234 job seekers who interviewed during the three-day event came as creatures -- including a troll and a mermaid, says Russell Miyaki, national interactive creative director for New York's TMP. Many applicants and recruiters alike were new to the technology. T-Mobile recruiter Melissa Tucker, who did 15 interviews during the fair, met one applicant at the entrance to the TMP virtual building because the job seeker couldn't make her avatar walk.
"I ended up calling her," says Tucker. "It was a little bit comical. It helped break the ice." Still, Tucker says such exchanges lack body language, so she wouldn't make a hire virtually. Says Miyaki: "This is never going to replace a face-to-face exchange. It's more likely the start of a relationship." Miyaki's parting advice echoes that of other veteran interviewers: look for the real applicant, in other words, the guy beneath the troll. "There may be someone who shows up in an armored suit but their resume is impressive," says Miyaki. "Expect the unexpected."
"With telephone job screening more popular, it was only a matter of time before someone tried the virtual job interview. In May, Hewlett-Packard Co., Microsoft Corp., and T-Mobile USA Inc. were among the companies recruiting at a job fair hosted by recruitment-advertising firm TMP Worldwide Advertising & Communications. The event took place on Second Life, the online virtual community, with both job seekers and company recruiters interviewing via instant-message-like exchanges and "avatars," or cartoon-like figures that people dress and move in the online world.
The event was certainly different. A few of the 234 job seekers who interviewed during the three-day event came as creatures -- including a troll and a mermaid, says Russell Miyaki, national interactive creative director for New York's TMP. Many applicants and recruiters alike were new to the technology. T-Mobile recruiter Melissa Tucker, who did 15 interviews during the fair, met one applicant at the entrance to the TMP virtual building because the job seeker couldn't make her avatar walk.
"I ended up calling her," says Tucker. "It was a little bit comical. It helped break the ice." Still, Tucker says such exchanges lack body language, so she wouldn't make a hire virtually. Says Miyaki: "This is never going to replace a face-to-face exchange. It's more likely the start of a relationship." Miyaki's parting advice echoes that of other veteran interviewers: look for the real applicant, in other words, the guy beneath the troll. "There may be someone who shows up in an armored suit but their resume is impressive," says Miyaki. "Expect the unexpected."