Software QA Virtual Career Fair : November 18th

The Discover The Virtual World blog has announced a Linden Lab Virtual Career Fair for Software QA Engineers.  The virtual career fair will take place on November 18, 2009 between 10:00am to 12:00pm PDT.  Candidates are asked to RSVP at Linden Lab .  There is more information on this Career Fair on a Seattle Craigslist page:
DETAILS:
What: QA Virtual Career Fair
When: Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
Time:10:00am to 12:00pm PDT
Where: Linden Lab Recruiting Center
RSVP: http://lindenlab.hrmdirect.com/employment/view.php?req=44680

Or email resume to: 44680-CJB-0@lindenlab.hrmdirect.com

Thanks to metalog.in for passing this messaging on.

Emerging Workforce & Social Media

I recently had the opportunity to review a Spherion 2009 Emerging Workforce Study that including some interesting social media statistics.  It states 44% of all organizations are using social media. It provides an interesting breakdown showing:

Corporate Blog - 16%
Company Facebook Profile - 14%
Viral Video Marketing / Recruitment - 7%
Corporate MySpace Profile - 6%
Second Life Presence - 1%

The Study also states that for those organizations that leverage social media only 22% use it to recruit new talent.  The Study holds a wealth of information and is certainly worth reviewing.

The Office When it's in Second Life

This post will not focus on recruiting but nevertheless discusses the virtual realities of working in SL which some recruiters experience.  CNN Executive Education posted an article today titled "Virtual businesses: Going to the office in Second Life" by Mark Tutton.

The article discusses the convenience of collaboration in SL during an economy where travel budgets are under stress.  The ability to have communication options other than video conferencing and being able to prototype in a virtual world are a few of the advantages listed.  The article looks at the nuances of virtual collaboration and discusses areas where a lack of human interaction hinders communication.  The article is well worth reading.  Kudos to CNN for giving SL some well deserved press in their Executive Education section.

SL Corporate Revival?

Ann All, a blogger at ITBUSINESSEDGE, recently drafted an interesting post on SL's comeback  I’m not certain SL is indeed in a revival but rather more individuals may be finding the value of a virtual world.  Ann notes in her post of having knowledge of Amazon's last job fair but admits she considered SL to be fading in the shadows of Facebook and Twitter as quoted by MercuryNews's Chris O'Brien.  Ann does however point out that SL has a business model that is generating revenue.  This is an issue that Facebook and Twitter have struggled with.

Mr. O'Brien is also referenced noting "Second Life user hours grew 33 percent year over year to an all-time high of 126 million in 2009's second quarter."  What I found most compelling in the post is that Linden Labs notes "250 companies, including IBM, Intel and Northrop Grumman" are using SL for collaboration, simulation and training. Ann discusses a behind the firewall version of SL as well as mobile version that will certainly make SL more accessible to future users.

Virtual College Recruiting

Dennis Shiao, the blogger for "It's All Virtual, recently blogged on the potential for virtual college recruiting.  This post should be mandatory for college admissions officers. Dennis references  an article in the New York Times titled “M.I.T. Taking Student Blogs to Nth Degree“, desribing how M.I.T and other universities utilize student blogs for recruitment.  Dennis notes, "Universities who created 3D replicas of their campus (in Second Life, for example) could leverage the existing island(s) as a recruiting tool."  He discusses how virtual campus tour and student blogs as 3D virtual dorm rooms can facilitate recruitment.  The rest of his post is just as rich in ideas and is well worth reading.

Human Capital Institute Conference

On Monday, September 12, 2009, I delivered a presentation at a Human Capital Institute conference with a colleague on Social Networking in HR. Recruiting in Second Life was discussed and I specifically discussed the IRS Career Island, Amazon's Job Fair, and the Ontario Government's efforts in SL.

Linda Cureton, the CIO at NASA, mentioned SL during her presentation and showed a space station looking down at earth in SL. She described her journey in learning the nuances of SL and encouraged others to follow her lead in trying new technologies to improve their organizations.

Training & Recruiting at Queen’s University

Exchange or exchangemagazine.com recently posted an article detailing how the Faculty of Education at Queen’s University is a leader in preparing teachers for the virtual learning.

SL recruiting is also being assessed. “We’re looking at using Second Life as a recruiting tool too,” says Stephanie Beauregard, Manager of e-learning Services. “Students from all over the world can attend designated orientation sessions on our virtual campus and ask questions in real time to our staff members without having to incur the cost of travel. Just think how that reduces carbon footprints.”

IRS Career Island in SL

I recently ventured to the IRS Career Island during off hours in SL after reading about their recruiting efforts in SL in an article by Steve Rothberg, one of the owners of CollegeRecruiter.com.

Steve discusses the Internal Revenue Service as a client and as a leader in leveraging SL to recruit talent. When Steve learned about the IRS's efforts in SL he asked Frank Stipe,Virtual Worlds & Social Networking Project Manager, for the details suggesting it would be blogworthy. In Frank's words:

"In 2008, the IRS project team established a presence in the Second Life virtual world with the goal of exploring the potential use of this environment for recruitment and training purposes. The team has created the IRS Careers Island and constructed a sky platform with an IRS Careers Center and an IRS Education Center. A number of building design configurations have been tested. A number of education and entertainment features have also been built to attract residents to the simulation (sim). All basic construction has been completed and the sim has been opened to the general population in Second Life since February 2009.

Nearly identical to brand marketing in the physical world marketplace, brand marketing in the SL virtual world involves placing brand messaging in high traffic venues. Unlike the physical world, the IRS has actually built its own venue that provides excellent marketing opportunities.

In the physical world, we could spend hundreds of thousands, if not millions, on sponsoring a race car that displays our brand in a field of thirty or more other cars. In the SL virtual world, we have spent a few thousand dollars to build complete entertainment and communications venue that includes a race course. IRS branding throughout the venue not only displays our messaging, but it also instantly dispenses marketing collateral and links to our Careers web site.

We are now entering the relationship building phase where we are reaching out to universities that operate virtual campuses in Second Life to market directly to their students by sponsoring student projects in Second Life."

During my visit to the SL Career Island I received the text below in the form of a note card that a potential job candidate would receive. It gives a visitor more than adequate information on potential career opportunities with the IRS.

Note Card:

The IRS is hiring hundreds of Internal Revenue Agents – It’s a great time to join the agency!

The IRS has begun a major hiring effort to fill hundreds of critical jobs nationwide. Most of these jobs are for internal revenue agent positions (look for series number 0512). At least 30 hours of college-level accounting coursework is required for revenue agent jobs.

When you join the IRS family, you can enjoy federal health benefits, job-skills training and flexible work schedules. You also get the satisfaction of serving your country. Because the IRS is a large agency – with more than 100,000 across the nation -- there are many opportunities for career growth.

Revenue agent positions range from entry level (GS-5) to more senior positions (GS-13). GS-5 salaries cover a range from about $30,000 to $45,000 per year; GS-13 salaries range from about $85,000 to $115,000. Your salary depends on your location and how long you’ve served at that level.

Revenue agents are proactive decision makers, working with individual taxpayers, businesses, and the legal and financial communities. They conduct examinations in the field environment, requiring them to travel. They work regularly with taxpayers, their representatives, certified public accountants and tax attorneys. To apply for vacancies, visit USAJOBS, the government-wide job posting site. Find the IRS page by clicking http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/a9trirs.asp. All applicants must undergo a background investigation. Find out even more at www.jobs.irs.gov/SL

Podcast - Ontario Government

Tavia Grant, from the Canadian news source, The Globe And Mail, posted a podcast on Ontario's experience in recruiting in SL. This is a nice follow up to my prior post on the Ontario government's venture into SL to recruit public service employees.

Tavia details the Ontario government initially rented an island for a virtual job fair for 12 weeks. The island provided self guided tours for the various positions that were being recruited. Five staff members were dedicated to this effort. What is really amazing is that the island had 9,000 visitors. This led the Ontario government to eventually purchase the island.

Tavia details some of IBM's experience in SL as well as Xerox. Those who have followed this blog will enjoy the video of the Vancouver police department's SL recruiting initiative.

Pictures from the Amazon Job Fair

Preview - Amazon Job Fair - July 14, 2009

Preparing for Amazon SL Job Fair

GeekMBA360 posted some great advice for the Amazon job fair in SL.

It's a good checklist for anyone new to SL or a virtual world. The blog also spotlights some interesting career survival tips so check it out.