Interviewing in virtual worlds: A phenomenological study exploring the success factors of job applicants utilizing Second Life to gain employment

This study explored the phenomenon of success factors of job applicants utilizing Second Life to gain employment. The study focused on identifying the perception of what qualified as a successful interview through the lived common experiences of 16 employment recruiters. The research problem was that a gap existed in scholarly research on recruiters' perspectives about hiring decisions and interviewee characteristics when interviews were conducted in a virtual world. The primary research question was to explore the experiences of job recruiters who have hired job applicants after conducting a virtual interview through the environment of Second Life. The study identified the experiences and perceptions that enhanced or detracted from the interview experience. The identification of success factors will enable the creation of more effective strategies for creating successful interview experiences for job applicants. The qualitative phenomenological study was based on Clark Moustakas's approach to define the meanings and essences of the lived experiences of virtual world recruiting. Amedeo Giorgi's five methods of analysis model was used for data analysis in order to understand the true meaning of the participant's experience. Data collection consisted of a real-time online interview conducted either in Second Life, Adobe Connect, or Skype. Text chat logs were obtained from the interviews in Second Life and Adobe Connect. Additionally, screenshots of the interviewee's Avatar were obtained from the interviews in Second Life.