Anyone successfully used SL experience on RL resume?

I'm on a RL job search, and it's been suggested to me that the skills i've learned in SL would enhance my resume, for example, marketing and management skills. I fear, however, that I'll receive a negative response, because most people dismiss me when I tell them that I am a DJ and own a successful club in a virtual environment. I've worked hard in SL, and feel like I've learned a great deal from this experience. Have any of you been able to market yourselves with your SL experience? Dare I even mention it to a potential employer?

Unless the employer is someone who knows what SL is and can appreciate it, I wouldn't. I imagine that most people would associate SL with something like WoW, ie. a game and nothing more.

I think it would depends a lot on what sort of job you are applying for and how successful you were in SL.

Not to disparage anyone, but most clubs in SL aren't that impressive. I wouldn't consider it much of an accomplishment unless you were one of the really well known clubs.

If you ran a successful business and actually started to make some decent money. Maybe. Depends on how successful you were.

If you are applying for a marketing position at a web company, I'd consider that a job where it would be more relevant.

I appreciate your advice - that was my inclination as well.

Just to clarify - my club holds a music event in a different sim each month, so there is a lot of dealing with logistics, negotiating with sim owners, coordinating djs, graphics work, and promotion - not just a build where i'm hoping people will show up. Unfortunately, I can't convey to a potential employer that it's an accomplishment to hold an event at Immersiva or Forest Feast - lol.

anyway, thanks again

With me, being in telecommunications, I don't think my SL career in mens undies, would look too impressive on the resume

Yes, I am a successful ceo now for GE.

I don't doubt that you have gained managerial skills in SL. My problem, and I suspect those of potential employers, is that they can't (or won't) appeciate such skills.

Put Second Life on anything in real life and it will ruin your reputation. Second Life needs to be renamed to Secret Life.

In my direct experience anyway. But you go try it and see what happens. Who knows? You might not be talking to a company full of idiots.

The reality is nothing in Second Life has any material value in the job sector. If you have photoshop skills they mean little unless they are the sort of skills associated with print graphics. The general "learned photoshop for SL" skills don't translate to anything worthwhile and knowing how to build with legos (prims) is sure not worth anything in the real world.

Now when mesh import arrives then the 3D modeling skills people will be developing will have value for a very limited range of companies. 3D modeling will take a good year to seriously learn all the little tricks and pitfalls that would be brought up in an interview with an expert. This will be the only skill associated with Second Life that will have serious market value. Problem is the market will be small.

I don't agree with ann in that it needs to be secret. I've successfully used Second Life in Real Life to gain jobs. Most employers were significantly impressed by what I had to tell them. It does make an impact on some situations.
Of course, I'm not in the club business..I do 3D work and have taught myself because of Second Life. I think they find this most impressive.

If my virtual worlds biz keeps growing as it has been, I might need to hire somebody with SL experience on their resume.

Does that count?

not sure how much it worked for me but as designer in the field of road railroad and airfield constructions landscaping in a virtual 3d enviroment is relivant experiance, truth be told I did avoid using the name secondlife in my resume, but did use the name in the job interview when explaining what it ment.
I did get the job so I guess it was not negative.

In the original question, substitute 'World of Warcraft' or "Grand Theft Auto" for 'Second Life' and then think what a potential employer might think - that will answer the question!!

SL does teach some useful skills, but that fact would be lost on most employers.

If it's somebody in the graphic arts business, I can see putting SL builds in a portfolio.

For somebody who's run a club or small (< 5 region) estate, I don't think there's a whole lot of crossover between SL and RL.

Scripting is definitely something that could go onto a resume. I spent almost a month in opensim a few months ago, prototyping for my RL work. It's quite cool & unique stuff and it's going on my resume. If somebody read my resume and asked what the heck SL was, I could definitely talk to this work and turn it into a plus.

As somebody who's interviewed a lot of people over the years, seeing a bullet that you don't understand isn't that big of a deal as long as the ones you're looking for are there too. Seeing one you might frown on (like some do of SL) isn't as big of a deal as long as it's not their main skill..

Has Phil Rosedale been able to find a decent job with SL on his resume?

thanks, great advice everybody

I hadn't considered scripting. I'm not sure if I'd put LSL, though I might have a bullet point like this:
> Various scripting languages (Unreal Script, LSL, etc.)

If asked about it, I'd be able to talk a bit about the various ones I've used. I think the point is not that they care if you know it, but that you've demonstrated an aptitude for quickly learning new technology.

Really? Where, exactly, is LSL used outside of Second Life.

Listing LSL is as good as listing Informix 4GL I guess. Both would turn up the same list devoid of results on dice.com.

However this will change when C# is delivered. So in the next 2 years two very valuable skill sets (3D Modeling and c#) will become part of Second Life and it becomes resume fodder.

C# is one of my least favorite keys to play in on the piano.

Here, at my RL work. Maybe.

It was less a comment that I knew LSL and would put that on my resume and more a comment that scripting in virtual worlds and understanding what they can bring to the table may turn out to be an interesting resume tidbit.


I write C# for a RL living and it accounts for 99% of the RL-job code I've written in the last 5-6 years. Again, it was more of a platform statement than a language one.

Unless it is a directly applicable skill, I'd put anything done here in the context of 'hobby' on your resume. Most employers will look at you sideways if you try to list virtual business experience.

Now, if you can put that in small mention underneath demonstrable photoshop, 3d modeling, or other such skills - or if you can show them something you built for a client perhaps, or spreadsheets from your virtual business, showing profits in the black - they might pay attention to that.

If it's less tangible then I'd omit it or put it in the category of personal anecdote, or hobby. Along the lines of "I found a lot out about myself when I joined 4H and won the pie baking contest."

Unless it's another virtual computer job, fun and friends in SL doesn't really translate does it?

One might list their SL DJ experience as "Acoustics manager for Linden Lab synthetic environment".

well, again, thanks for your comments, both helpful and snarky btw, i would never consider putting djing on a resume - it was more if i applied for a job as an events manager, which is what i'm doing here. just wanted to know if anyone had done it - now i know - thanks