Sodexo Hosts First Virtual Career Fair in Second Life

For three days, beginning on May 15, 2007, Sodexo participated in the first virtual career fair in Second Life. Since this was the company’s first foray into this type of media, Sodexo had no idea how it would turn out. According to Arie Ball, Vice-President of Sourcing and Talent Acquisition for Sodexo , the event was a huge success, and the results far exceeded any expectations. Ball indicated that the company will forward several candidates to the next step in the hiring process. There are still more candidates to be interviewed "in-world".

As a progressive hospitality company, Sodexo is serious about creating a competitive advantage through their highly talented people. Sodexo ’s recruiting arm, the Talent Acquisition Group, is always looking for the best ways to identify, reach and recruit potential candidates for the company. The Second Life virtual career fair afforded them the opportunity to utilize an interactive virtual environment to meet and engage in lively discussion surrounding career opportunities with Sodexo .

In addition to the benefit of identifying quality candidates, this career fair had the added bonus of highlighting Sodexo as an innovative company and pioneer in recruiting top talent. Sodexo was the only hospitality or non-tech oriented company to venture into this new media. Other participating companies included Microsoft, eBay, T-Mobile, Verizon, and HP.

To learn more about this amazing event, click on the following links.

Fox 5 News - Brooke Baldwin

Channel 9 News - Derek McGinty

Baltimore Sun - article by Hannah Cho

Washington Post - article by Amy Joyce

ERE.net