Executive recruitment in France arrives on Second Life, as the virtual world attracts more real businesses
June 10, 2008
Headhunters in France now look for real candidates in the virtual world to solve the needs of HR in France.
Second Life started as 64 acres of virtual real estate in cyberspace. Today, Second Life’s 3D digital world is now the “size” of a small city, where the alter egos of its more than 3 million members, called avatars, interact, socialize at parties, buy and sell virtual goods and run businesses. Members of Second Life, as the name suggests, design a whole parallel universe for themselves where they can have the homes, lifestyles– and especially the careers — that they have always wanted.
But now, the virtual world of Second Life is overlapping and interacting more and more with real life. In France, all of the candidates for President of France had virtual headquarters in Second Life, generating support and some protests for real-world French voters as well as their avatars. Now, the real world of business in France is getting into the act. Companies involved in executive search in France are used to always looking for new places and ways to attract the best candidates. So it’s only natural that GBO, a firm specializing in executive recruiting in France, has just opened up an “office” in Second Life. They’re hoping that candidates looking for employment opportunities in France (the real France, not the virtual one! Confused yet?) as well as those concerned with HR in France and executive search in France will use GBO’s presence on Second Life as yet another way of connecting with GBO. Beyond simple headhunting in France, GBO’s services include executive search in France for iterim employees during a merger or transition, support for buyers of companies in France or for companies opening new offices in France, and just generally helping companies with a French presence manage their HR in France.
But why would a company looking for real flesh-and-blood employees do executive search in France in the virtual world of Second Life? For one thing, having a real business on Second Life means that GBO’s executive recruiters in France can “meet” people when they are having fun and not necessarily looking for work, so they are more relaxed. Second Life is also a place where people design their dream jobs, and what better dream job than to be recruited for an executive position in France? Also, a good deal can be learned about Second Life members’ real skills and interests by looking at their success in the virtual world of Second Life. Businesses in Second Life are big undertakings, exactly mirroring the steps and processes of business in the real world, with manufacturing, distribition, shipping, sales, etc. Being a successful entrepreneur in Second Life might indicate that the candidate could be good at running a company in France. And since Second Life is international, with over 3 million members worldwide and growing, companies like GBO doing executive search in France and companies that manage their HR in France can recruit candidates for executive positions in France from all over the world. And certainly, it doesn’t hurt GBO’s image in France that the executive search firm is current enough with today’s trends to have such a virtual presence.
So if you’re a company looking to recruit executives in France, or are considering working in France, you might just enter the virtual world of Second Life and walk your avatar into their office with your company’s employment roster or your resume. Or, if you prefer doing it the old fashioned way, you could always visit their office in the 8th arrondissement of Paris.
That’s the REAL Paris. In France.
GBO Human Resources35 rue de la Boetie
75008 Paris
Tel : + 33 1 45 63 08 64
Fax : + 33 1 45 63 04 28
Contact : http://www.gbo-humanresources.com/contact.html
Web : http://www.gbo-humanresources.com
Second Life : Visit GBO in Second Life
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