Companies such as HP that venture deeper into the world of Web 2.0 technologies to find new hires may find themselves disappointed, at least initially. Despite the low turnout the company’s Second Life recruitment trial balloon yielded, however, HP’s Betty Smith is not deterred. She says she sees a lot of potential for using Second Life for recruiting.
In mid-May, Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) 
participated in a virtual job fair using Second Life tools from Linden Lab in San Francisco. HP had been invited by one of its external recruiters, TMP Worldwide Advertising & Communications in New York. During the virtual event, recruiters and job applicants alike created avatars, or personas to represent themselves in the virtual world.
Standing Out
HP’s willingness to step into the Web 2.0 world for recruiting differentiates the company. In Computerworld‘s latest Vital Signs survey, none of the 233 IT professionals responding reported using Second Life for recruiting.
A scant 4 percent said they used blogs or social networking sites like Facebook to engage potential IT job candidates. Only 15 percent reported using professional networking sites such as LinkedIn. Moreover, 52 percent of the respondents said they don’t use any Web 2.0 tools for recruiting.
It seems that most IT organizations are missing out on a huge opportunity to connect — particularly with the talented twentysomethings who inhabit the virtual world. These Gen Yers are “tribal” and accustomed to the “very collaborative relationships” that Web 2.0 tools enable, says Tom Casey, senior vice president and workforce transformation leader at Kingwood, Texas-based consultancy BSG Concours.
By Thomas Hoffman
Computerworld
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