Alternate Life Interviewing?

The New York Times’s Matt Villano recently reported that some companies are offering job interviews and career fairs in Multi-User Virtual Environments, or MUVEs, such as Second Life:

Much of the recruitment is done through job fairs. TMP Worldwide Advertising & Communications, an advertising firm in New York, held two virtual job fairs last year, events that included employers like Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Verizon Communicationsand Sodexho, a food and facilities management services company. Bain & Company, the global management consultants in Boston, has sponsored virtual job fairs in Second Life, as well.

Obviously, it makes sense that Linden Lab, the owner and operator of Second Life, would offer interviews in their alternate world. Certainly any employer that seeks tech-savvy (most likely younger) employees could benefit by this type of recruiting.

It is an interesting trend. Call me old fashioned, but I would tend to think that someone who has created an elaborate alternate world for themselves may have too much time on their hands.

I better run now. I want to update my avatar in Second Life