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3 Comments

  1. virtual@ieee.org'

    "make sure you know how to get there and how much time the trick takes." — LOL.. I thought you guys didn't do that type of hiring. 😛

  2. enerhax@yahoo.com'

    interesting post and something i often think about and beyond virtual worlds. however, let me not go off on a tangent about real photos in LinkedIn and the prejudice of having photos attached to resumes in the '60s and '70s . . .

    so what to wear – i think the answer for me is probably obvious to someone like Maria and anyone else that knows me – pink parasol (i might detach when we meet so as not to poke you in the eye), my bikurri collar, Totoro tee, striped stockings, and motocross boots (oh and face piercings)

    i would want to be judged on what i have done and what i can bring to you. what i can bring to you is not based on what i look like, unless it is to be an avatar and clothing designer, neither of which i would interview for! =)

    the CV i present at the interview should form the basis upon which you can affirm if i am the right person for your job and not my pink hair. naive as my view is, it is nice to see that things like tattoos and piercings in real life are becoming less of an issue in job searching

    i think the depth and breadth of what a person has as online collateral to their stated skills and talents should weigh more than what they look like. this is somewhat specific to this post – some of us in our real lives may have paper and ink publications, real world print graphics, and other "tangible" things that speak as loudly as online materials

    but even those people can have an online presence (dare i say "brand") with a blog (or maybe several!) and other online material

    for example, let's say that you are a corporate social responsibility person (a "green" corporate title). you should be in LinkedIn and have an up-to-date resume but why not take an extra step and show your passion with a blog? and flickr pics and perhaps even videos? a video blog? with tips that can be implemented and affect ROI

    the power of this "online collateral" is evident and i would use Maria as an example

    who is Maria Korolov? i don't care if she is a blonde female, i care about her passion and abilities

    i don't even care what her name is, she could have this site as "Virtual Goddess" because the only thing "i know" about Maria is gleaned from this blog (and having met her twice in-world). maybe Maria is not her name (maybe she is a boy!) and maybe that's not even her picture! (imagine posting a fake picture online – inconceivable!) =p

    i know that Maria, the virtual Goddess, IS passionate and knowledgeable about virtual worlds. not because she says she is, but because she provides me with information that teaches me and allows me to make informed decisions. a lot of information! =)

    that is where the value in Maria as a possible employee (or partner) lies and not with her photo, name, or even avatar (she is way taller than me in-world, but i am shrimpy)

    this is a great post and if you don't have anything to back up what you are on paper, then i guess you better dress the part at the very least!

    lol, on another note, as often happens, i am going to take this comment to a post on my site to relay an incident from LinkedIn!

    great provocative post! thank you Virtual Goddess, err, i mean Maria! =)

  3. Author

    IEEE — LOL! Thanks for the correction! No, we definitely do not do that kind of hiring!

    Ener — Our employees, spend only a small percentage of their time in our virtual environment. The rest of the time, they do face-to-face meetings, attend conferences, etc… They also do telephone interviews, and work at home on their computers. Many of our new hires are fresh out of college, and dressing appropriately for the workplace is actually a crucial skill that they need to learn. You get a lot more respect at a financial conference — and better quotes — if you dress appropriately to the venue.

    For a business journalist, a suit projects an impression of reliability, responsibility, respect. I’m sure that the same is true in many other professions — but not all, of course.

    If I walk into an art studio, or a tatoo parlor or a funky startup ad agency, I would expect the employees there to be much more creative with their appearance than a bank, insurance company, or pension fund.

    Clothing is a language. It sends a message. It says, “I’m a pilot. I know what I’m doing. It’s safe to get on this plane.” Or, “I’m a doctor. I’ve done this before. You can trust me.” Or, “Yes, I’m a car mechanic. I know what’s making the knocking noise.”

    It’s a subconscious message, for the most part, but still powerful. I wouldn’t want to get a tatoo from someone in a clown outfit — or hire someone in a car mechanic’s overalls to entertain at my kids’ birthday party. Maybe their resumes can overcome that initial impression, but it will be a hard sell for them. We tend to put a lot of faith in what we see (not that this faith is always warranted!)

    Last year, my son was diagnosed with a mild case of Asperger syndrome. In retrospect, my ex probably has it, too. Both have a hard time understanding why clothes matter — they have difficulties decoding the unspoken language of clothing, just as they have difficulties decoding facial expressions.

    In the virtual environments, I’ve met quite a few people with Aspergers, who share the same sentiment — but who would make excellent employees (as long as their jobs don’t involve, say, frequent sales calls). And there are millions more who are used to the virtual worlds as places for play, so are more expressive with their outfits than they would be in real life. As a result of these two forces, I think over time we’ll be seeing a much more casual approach to dressing in virtual offices, even on the part of traditional companies.

    Until then, however, if someone is interviewing virtually for a job, I’d say that it’s best to err on the side of caution. The interviewer might be completely new to virtual worlds, and think that you dress the same way in real life, and make instant judgments because of that. In this economy, you want to have as few strikes against you as possible going in!

    — Maria

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