After my post on TMP’s Recruitment fair on Second Life I received a Press Release from Tania with a heads up on their launch, as it is quite detailed I have posted it below FYI.

What did catch my eye, was while I was commentating on the fight between Monster and Michele, it also kicked off at Digital Recruiting with one of their commentator’s, you can follow it here!

Basically John wrote an article on the Second life’s recruitment fair and David Coombs of TMP UK didn’t like it, and so it kicked of with some name calling as below.

For me this post reflects a lot of the arrogance and ignorance that exists within this particular blogging community. I must say I find the approach quite disappointing from a group of individuals that all claim to be experts in this field. I do also find it entertaining that throughout all of the plagiarism and attempts to show off it actually boils down to one of the most basic of all human traits. If I don’t understand it I will attack it!

Obviously I want to add my 10 pence worth, by saying that David Cooms obviously doesn’t read these blogs, “written by a group of individuals”. If he did he would know how much valuable information is shared to recruiters for free.

I will stop short and leave it the rest of the community to carry on the discussion over at digital recruiting….

So back to Second Life:

Press Release                                                                                        

16 October 2007
Finding real talent through a virtual world
Imagine a world where you can interview a multitude of job seekers from around the world without having to ‘go’ anywhere; they’ll be teleported to you.
Imagine a world where you can have private conversations with forward-thinking and creative prospective employees in a lush, sophisticated and futuristic environment.
Imagine a world where you can be ‘present’ at a job fair and enjoy fantastic brand exposure without having to worry about logistics such as setting up or packing away stands and collateral.
Well there is no need to imagine anymore. That world is here now thanks to virtual reality!

The UK’s first ever ‘virtual world’ careers fair will be held in Second Life® from 16 to 18 October 2007. The event, hosted by recruitment and communications specialists TMP Worldwide, will allow leading employers to tap into new talent from around the world without anyone having to leave the comfort of their own office or home.
KPMG, The Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Yell will use this innovative new channel to connect with job seekers in a relaxed and neutral environment. While both recruiters and job seekers alike can be anywhere in the world, their avatars (computer generated images of themselves) will be attending an online interview.

Candidates will be requested to register for the companies they are interested in at the event website http://www.i-jobsforreal.co.uk
Each company will carry out some initial screening of candidates and then invite them to an interview in Second Life.

The 3-day ‘virtual world’ job fair will take place on TMP’s UK Island in Second Life from 4-8pm on the 16-18 October 2007. Once candidates enter the 3-D online virtual world, they will be greeted by virtual concierges and escorted to TMP’s virtual office where they will be given basic training on how to interact inside Second Life. They will then be teleported to the employer’s offices on the island where avatar recruiters will greet them and discussions can begin via live chat and instant messaging.

Phil Owers, deputy managing director at TMP Worldwide comments:
“We constantly strive to find new ways to reach talent for our customers. By hosting the job fair on Second Life we dissolve all geographical boundaries enabling job seekers from around the UK and the world to connect easily and cost-effectively in a friendly and impartial environment. The targeted marketing approach is consistent with more traditional routes but the experience for the candidate and customer is enhanced”

Nigel Bastow, head of resourcing from The Royal Bank of Scotland Group adds:
“The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is firmly committed to innovation. We believe in exploring all channels through which we can attract the best quality candidates to the group.”

For further information please contact Tania Menegatti at CHA on 0207 622 8252 or tania.menegatti@chapr.co.uk