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Should I poach jobseekers from recruitment agencies in Second Life? An ethical dilemma

A funny thing happened to me today. I went to check out a recruitment agency on SL and no one from the agency was around – a couple of minutes later a jobseeker turned up and we got chatting. The jobseeker was from Australia and looking for a job in NZ – their background and technical skills sounded fantastic and I’m sure some of my NZ clients would snap them up quickly. It posed an ethical dilemma for me. It was a bit like sitting in the reception area of a recruitment agency in First Life and approaching their jobseekers as they’re heading into an interview with a consultant.

I’m really interested to know what others would have done in this situation.

Paul Jacobs
Engage

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 19th, 2007 at 12:19 pm You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

4 Responses to “Should I poach jobseekers from recruitment agencies in Second Life? An ethical dilemma”

  1. Stacey Boyer Says:
    July 22nd, 2007 at 3:55 am

    I see no ethical dilema at all. I am a recruiter, if I were to set up shop in Secondlife and have my own island I would make sure its staffed and covered as much as possible. I liken this to having a large skyscraper in NYC, building up interest, traffic, and a solid reputation, then closign the office for lunch. Can I egt upset with another recruiter that is hanging out on the outside talking to candidates that happen by?

    Seems fine to me. I would make sure someone is available to talk to canddiates as much as possible if I were to invest in a SL island

  2. Kyle Says:
    July 24th, 2007 at 11:48 am

    I agree with Stacey. I’m in the job market and can appreciate the competitive environment that it is. If someone approached me, as opposed to me applying for jobs - I’d be stoked. That’s the loss of the unstaffed desk.

  3. Steven Kempton Says:
    July 25th, 2007 at 4:09 pm

    I don’t see how it can be unethical. Recruiters are paid to approach people while they are currently employed. It’s pretty funny though Paul! Nice work.

  4. Brian Regan Says:
    July 30th, 2007 at 6:53 am

    There is no issue at all. Second Life is all about community. If you are hanging out and spend the time chatting with folks then you are A-OK. Recruiting firms that simply rely on traffc to their island as their recruitment tool are way behind the curve anyway. that is simply a small % of the actual recruitment that happens.

    At Semper we find more people going out into the world and not simply hoping talent stops by our location.

    Brian Regan
    Semper International

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