First run of 'working worlds' virtual job fair on Second Life is big success

On Wednesday 28 November 2007, ëWorking Worlds', the first virtual job fair for Luxembourg, was held on Second Life. Organised by GAX Technologies, the fair was a significant success, bringing together professionals from 45 countries world-wide who were vying for jobs from Amazon EU, Dexia, Hays, Interfiduciaire, Kaupthing Bank, Lombard International Assurance, Manpower, Openfield, Randstad and Vistra.

During the fair, the ëWorking Worldsí islands of Second Life, which played host to the event, welcomed 2,000 visitors and saw more than 300 job interviews, while 50 candidates are being invited to Luxembourg for face to face interviews. All participating companies had their own virtual recruitment booth and the fair also provided a press centre and conference room.

The next ëWorking Worldsí event will be held for Benelux on Second Life in May 2008.

Cornelia den Hartog of GAX Technologies says: ìThe results show that thereís a market for recruitment within Second Life, and that new methods of finding high calibre employers are well supported in this thriving online community. Amazon EU identified, without having to travel from the US, 10 suitable candidates for Luxembourg at ëWorking Worldsí and Dexia was recruiting for both its Luxembourg and Paris operations. The participating companies were satisfied with the outcome.î

GAX Technologies designed the concept and recruitment software for ëWorking Worldsí, so it could be deployed successfully for Second Lifeís biggest ever job fair. The companyís IT and e-marketing competence meant that participating companies could quickly search candidateís resumes from a database of 1,500, add pertinent comments, make an informed selection and create their own categories and agenda in the database.

Cornelia den Hartog adds: ìLuxembourg has significant recruitment difficulties, as there are insufficient fresh candidates to meet demand. So, it makes sense to open the countryís recruitment market internationally using Second Life, which offers global reach, candidates who are savvy with the IT and business worlds, no travel expenses and low running costs.î