B-School Grads Recruited in Virtual Open House

Management consultancy Bain & Co. has opened a recruiting center in the Second Life virtual environment. Earlier this month the firm held an open house in Second Life, at which students attended from Harvard Business School, MIT's Sloan School of Business, the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, and the Kellog School of Management at Northwestern University.

All students who attended the invitation-only career-planning event received summer internship offers in either Bain's Chicago or New York office, Bain said.

"We view this pilot project in Second Life as a way to carefully evaluate the networking opportunity, enhanced access to Bain employees and content, and convenience and cost-savings benefits that the 3D virtual world seems to bring to the recruitment process," said Julie Coffman, head of recruiting for Bain in North America and a Chicago-based partner in Bain's global financial services practice.

Bill Neuenfeldt, head of Bain's global schools recruiting program also touted the development. "The three-dimensional Internet clearly presents great potential," he said. "But the true test of success or failure for the virtual world will be whether it can help to create new markets or, in this specific case, to advance a key business process such as talent recruiting."

Read More:

About the Author

Paul McCloskey is contributing editor of Syllabus.

Featured

  • student reading a book with a brain, a protective hand, a computer monitor showing education icons, gears, and leaves

    4 Steps to Responsible AI Implementation

    Researchers at the University of Kansas Center for Innovation, Design & Digital Learning (CIDDL) have published a new framework for the responsible implementation of artificial intelligence at all levels of education.

  • Red alert symbols and email icons floating in a dark digital space

    Google Cloud Report: Cyber Attackers Are Fully Embracing AI

    According to Google Cloud's 2026 Cybersecurity Forecast, AI will become standard for both attackers and defenders, with threats expanding to virtualization systems, blockchain networks, and nation-state operations.

  • Graduation cap resting on electronic circuit board

    Preparing Workplace-Ready Graduates in the Age of AI

    Artificial intelligence is transforming workplaces and emerging as an essential tool for employees across industries. The dilemma: Universities must ensure graduates are prepared to use AI in their daily lives without diluting the interpersonal, problem-solving, and decision-making skills that businesses rely on.

  • Analyst or Scientist uses a computer and dashboard for analysis of information on complex data sets on computer.

    Anthropic Study Tracks AI Adoption Across Countries, Industries

    Adoption of AI tools is growing quickly but remains uneven across countries and industries, with higher-income economies using them far more per person and companies favoring automated deployments over collaborative ones, according to a recent study released by Anthropic.