6 Aug, 2010
Welcome to our weekly Community Q!
Once a week we flip the tables and listen to what you guys have to say . . . rather than sitting back and make you listen to us!
Community Q: “I don’t put that I’m a gamer on my CV. I’m scared it’ll give prospective employers the wrong impression1.”
Discuss!
Do you agree? Disagree? If so, why? Do you share your gamer IDs with colleagues/bosses?
Got an idea for a future Community Q question? Drop us a line and tell us about it!
1 No, I didn’t say this. Obviously. It’s just a hypothetical question!
Really interesting question.
As little as two years ago I would have said no, I’d probably leave out specifically saying that I’m a gamer as I feel it wouldn’t help my chances in getting a job. I don’t think it would particularly ‘hurt’ my chances but it’s not relevant.
However more recently, I may think twice about it. The boom in social media and connectivity has spread to consoles and gamers and is becoming something more accepted in society.
I suppose it boils down to the job I was getting which is fairly obvious but it may be included in my hobbies/likes from now on.
I agree with Jason in that whether you put gaming on your CV can come down to the job you’re applying for, but I think on the whole I would avoid it. When I applied for a job as a games tester, that was suitable to put games as a hobby as they expressly wanted gamers. However, for other jobs I may not see the benifit in mentioning it on my CV, even though I wouldn’t lie about it in an interview.
Also, when I recently did my UCAS personal statement, I was again advised not to mention gaming because it didn’t seem like a productive or benificial hobby, while things like reading where more acceptable.
I remember reading and hearing that after the Blizzard real names policy was announced, part of the reason people didn’t want their real name on forums was because they didn’t want their employer to find out they where a gamer because they didn’t want their employer to think they where slacking off and spending time on these forums while at work, as well as wanting to keep that part of their public life secret.