Mixed Signals On The Value Of World Of Warcraft In Moving Up The Corporate Ladder
from the depends-on-who-you-talk-to dept
Just a few weeks ago, the NY Times had a blog post talking about how some recruiters were telling World of Warcraft players to avoid mentioning their gaming on resumes, as many employers were telling recruiters to avoid gamers, on the theory they "cannot give 100 percent because their focus is elsewhere [and] their sleeping patterns are often not great..." Of course, in different companies, you get very different views on that same subject -- and CIO magazine is running a profile of Starbucks' new CIO, where they actually play up the fact that he was "one of the top guildmasters" in the online game. In fact, those who have worked with him note that his experiences in WoW have given him more leadership ability than the MBA he also happens to have. So, for the WoW gamers out there who despaired after reading the NY Times article, perhaps just go looking for a different type of company.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Filed Under: resume, world of warcraft
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E-Sports
I'd like to think that gaming does give you transferable skills, especially if your involved in society management (leadership, teamwork, recruiting, training, conflict resolution etc.), but real-world examples of these things would always sound better.
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Having said that, a diverse CV is important to anyone applying for any job. If your CV lists WoW among a number of other activities, it can be a bonus to an open-minded employer. If your CV basically states that you have no life outside of WoW, it's a negative.
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Re:
I run a FPS group of about 40 people but it's not the only way I demonstrate leadership. I think there are better alternatives than listing "FPS Leader" as a qualification for leadership.
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Re: Re:
I don't agree that you have to be a guild leader to be a leader either. Most guilds rely on a half dozen or more active leaders. Often the guild leader needs less technical/soft skills than the raid leader. I'd wager a strong guild is comprised of at least a dozen people with leadership skills that are exhibited in one way (picking people to form balanced, successful groups) or another (posting useful info/feedback/comments to the guild forum).
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Re: Idiots
I doubt that one's amusements have a place on a resume unless your hobby is developing some product related to the position.
On the other hand, the organizational and leadership qualities required to be a successful Raid Leader or Guild Master might count for something as would being the chairman of a Science Fiction Convention, yet the topic of these activities raises prejudice.
I wonder if one would be faulted for mentioning they started, organized, and ran a Scout troop, homeless shelter, service association?
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anyways blizzard is hiring here...
http://www.jobstaxi.com
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why not?
Use of online gaming on a CV can be good provided you do it for the right reasons.
Im my case i wanted to show that I am skilled with IT and capable of performing some quite complex tasks.
Just because I have mentiond it. Continuum can be downloaded from www.getcontinuum.com
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I always thought the argument was a bit silly, as the same could be said for someone with a family, especially newborn children. Or a hardcore sports fanatic (watching all those late west coast games really cuts into east coast sleeping time). Or anyone with any outside interests at all. Let's face it, anything can become an obsession, and the one thing that is probably least likely to be an obsession is work.
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Re:
Any tired cliche surrounding gamers is simply that - a tired cliche. To suggest that the 174 million gamers in the US alone (according to NPD's findings) are somehow less responsible than the other half of the population is pretty disingenuous.
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My roommate developed the inventory management system for one of his guilds and would organize and lead raids, which is impressive because a lot of morons play WOW, and it takes a good leader to make those morons useful. That skill is something any smart guy in a management position can appreciate.
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Kevin
Having them at home on a console might not be much of an improvement but you could at least join the raid.
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please!
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Re: please!
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Re: please!
I agree that you cannot ignore college (like I did) but you cannot ignore developing real world skills and achievements independent of school (like I did!)
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As a matter of interest, why would that be? It's fairly common (in Europe, anyway) to list some examples of hobbies and outside activities on your CV/resume. If I'm applying for a tech-related job, I make sure I list a few examples of things relevant to the job that I spend some of my unpaid time doing, but don't get to demonstrate in my current role (such as running Linux servers and building PCs).
If mention of the WoW guild is relevant to the role (e.g. a role that requires communication and organisation among a geographically dispersed team), and all else is equal in the interview, why would *this* particular hobby lose a person credibility in your eyes? I can understand it if a person doesn't have any other skills, or their CV lists WoW as their primary achievement, but that's not we're talking about here. We're talking about people being told that, despite having many other skills, their choice to play WoW in their spare time is a negative trait.
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Its a load of PR
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Putting it on every resume is probably going to hurt half the time and help the other half, ending in a wash.
That's why you tailor your resume/cover letter/interview to each job you're applying for. My boss is a huge comic book fan. I never thought a working knowledge of the Marvel universe would have helped me on a job interview, but here I am.
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I see where they are going with this although im not sure i agree 100% on this alone being a deal breaker.
but why single out WoW? this kind of applies to all games so gamers in general.
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WoW sucks out your soul
WoW is a bad influence and I would not put it on a resume unless the job I was applying for was directly in the gaming industry.
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Re: WoW sucks out your soul
I personally play WoW 2 or 3 nights a week for a couple of hours each time. I have no self-control problems, and I know people who spend more time cooking or drawing than I spend in-game. It's been a couple of years since I needed to use a copy of my CV, but I wouldn't have a problem mentioning WoW on there. For a start it would help root out the stupid, reactionary and biased employers from the ones I would actually consider working for. A company that would reject a candidate based on a harmless extra-curricular hobby isn't one I would want to work for.
One question for everyone who thinks differently: if a person listed Counterstrike, soap operas, playing in a band, poker or live role-playing in their list of hobbies, would you be similarly dismissive of that person? Are all time-consuming hobbies the target of your ire, or just WoW?
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WoW people
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And if you have to get your leadership chops that way, then maybe you should be focusing on other areas to get some real world experience. Spending all of your time focusing on a game that has absolutely no relevance to anyone of any real character (yes, all WoW gamers can suck it) is not going to bode well for your work ethic. I've seen it time and time and time and time again.
It never fails.
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Ugh
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Re: Ugh
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Heh
But, yeah, in a world where many computer/video games are demonised by "pop" society, it can be difficult to convey the more positive aspects of playing -- often involving teamwork, team management, strategy, adaptability, attention to detail, etc.
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who the hell mentions games on their resume?
if you ask me, running a guild qualifies you to be a leader about as much as owning a cat qualifies you to be a nurse. most guild leaders i have met are just lightning rods for the incessant whining, complaining, and needless drama that comes from groups of people with nothing better to do.
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Re: who the hell mentions games on their resume?
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Strategy games open your mind???
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lol
its not understood or proactive in the minds of the ignorant
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