Participating in Virtual Job Fair Can Lead to Real Career Opportunities at Verizon

NEW YORK - During the next three days, job seekers interested in career opportunities at Verizon will be able to meet, interact and interview with company recruiters by entering a virtual world. Verizon is one of six companies participating in Network in World, an online job fair May 15 through May 17. 

The job fair will be held  at Second Life (www.secondlife.com),  a popular online community in which millions of people around the world, through virtual representations of themselves called "avatars," communicate with one another via instant messenger,  buy property, build homes and businesses and interact with their environment -- without the constraints of reality. 

Verizon recruiters will meet online with job seekers who have submitted their resumes in advance and have been invited to interview. These virtual encounters could lead to a follow-up phone call or an in-person interview.  Job seekers who have not submitted their resumes in advance can submit them online at the job fair.

"As a high-tech company, we're always looking for new avenues to discover talent from a rich and diverse pool of candidates who can grow with the company," said John M. Bell, senior vice president for human resources at Verizon Domestic Telecom. "That kind of outreach is vital to the company's strategy of delivering the newest in broadband and entertainment to our customers. This is as much a career opportunity for the applicants as it is an opportunity for Verizon to tap into a world of new candidates." 

Spurred by significant growth in deployment and consumer demand for its fiber-optic-based Verizon FiOS Internet and FiOS TV services, Verizon is currently qualifying candidates interested in positions across the country. Job seekers participating in the Network in World event can apply for a variety of jobs at Verizon, including:

• Video hub and network engineer
• Project manager
• Network designer
• User interface/human computer interaction designers
• Finance and Business Internships
• Retail and Consumer Sales Consultants
• Fiber Customer Support Analysts

Verizon is building the nation's most advanced all-fiber network straight to customers' homes and businesses. Only Verizon's FiOS network has earned the certification of the independent Fiber to the Home Council for providing fiber all the way to customers' homes and businesses.

Verizon is deploying its fiber network in 16 states, more than half the states where it provides landline phone service. The new technology uses fiber-optic connections – instead of copper wire – all the way from Verizon network centers directly into homes or businesses. With fiber optics it is possible to provide a broad array of voice, data and video services with greater reliability, quality and capacity than any other technology.

People who are interested in careers at Verizon but who are unable to attend the online job fair can go to verizon.com/careers to apply and learn more about potential opportunities.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving 60.7 million customers nationwide.  Verizon's Wireline operations include Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world, and Verizon Telecom, which brings customers the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services over the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network.  A Dow 30 company, Verizon has a diverse workforce of more than 238,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $88 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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