Listing Games as a Hobby

I work for a games developer and during my interview gaming was a large part of the interview process. After My main interview i had an interview with the CEO of the firm who asked me mainly gaming related qustions. What sorts of games i like playing and what was the last game i completed.

I know its a gaming related role but this is my first games industry job and i have always had it on my cv. If someone is going to judge me on my hobbies then i probably wouldnt last long working for them,,.
 
Everyone plays games these days. It's practically the same as listing movies and music as your hobbies. Totally irrelevant as it applies to everyone and does nothing to set you above the crowd.
 
nataku17 said:
i would put it on my CV but then i am an aspiring game developer i would expect it to work in my favor in that case
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It would be a given for the role. I'd expect the CV to be tailored around the job with additional hobbies listed to show you had a life outside work and your desired career path.
 
tibbsey said:
Team games online = communication + teamwork skills.

That's my justification of putting it on anyway.
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:o

Moses said:
People are saying, "omg, I don't care... if they judge me for it I wouldn't want to work for them anyway"... but that's stupid.
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Indeed. Communication and teamwork skills are only really relevant if you are accomplishing something of noteworthy merit. I'd hardly say I developed both of those by getting the 7 chaos emeralds in sonic 2 with my friend as tails, because it's utterly pointless.
 
Remember that perception is what counts.

I'm a gamer = I touch kiddies
I love playing FPS shooter games = I'm a latent serial killer
I like playing military strategy games = Until I get around to creating the Fourth Reich

It doesn't matter if they foster teamwork, or out of the box thinking (I hate that phrase), it's how others perceive them.
 
trigger-happy said:
what about if your applying to a game development company i.e. Valve, EA or Ubisoft?
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Then you change 'gamer' to 'supporter of DRM usage'


OP you should put internet porn down as an interest, at least they'll respect your honesty.
 
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Nothing wrong with specifying it as a hobby. That's what the personal info/hobbies section is for. People are interested in varying things: If gaming is one of your hobbies, then put it down.
 
The thing that bugs me about application forms & cover letters is that awful artificial manner in which you feel compelled to describe yourself and your achievements.

I bet "good team player" and all that jazz is essentially white noise to anyone who's read a lot of applications.
 
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This Side Up said:
I wouldn't ever put "gamer" or "computer games" as a hobby on a CV or application form. You have to remember, to the masses in society, "gaming" is sad and those who actively do it are best avoided.

The only time I have ever stated an interest in video games on an app form is when I took up a part time post as an assistant store manager at Pink Planet (games exchange). Then, I'm sure, it played in my favour.

All other times... nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
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Tell that to the recent generation of consoles and 30 million plus steam accounts out there. Gaming is very much mainstream and has been for about 10 years now.
 
I actually think I might put it on there now I'm in my 30s, although obviously alongside other hobbies. Well actually I don't have room on my CV for hobbies, but for application forms etc I would. The stigma attached in terms of being spotty adolescents sitting in front of a PC all night can easily be deflected if gaming is put into context I reckon. At least if it came up in an interview I would feel like I could talk passionately about it and have vaguely 'interesting' things to talk about like travelling to overseas LANs, doing live commentary, writing for websites, running leagues etc. Unlike, "yeah, so er, the last film I saw was the new Harry Potter, I thought it was OK..."
 
The Halk said:
Remember that perception is what counts.

I'm a gamer = I touch kiddies
I love playing FPS shooter games = I'm a latent serial killer
I like playing military strategy games = Until I get around to creating the Fourth Reich

It doesn't matter if they foster teamwork, or out of the box thinking (I hate that phrase), it's how others perceive them.
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Where are you getting these "perceptions" from? :confused: Being a "gamer" is very much normal in society now.
 
Moses said:
Playing games is seen as normal... shoving ~gaming~ down as a hobby maybe less so.

Casual bit of Fifa 10 with mates vs five hours a day rotting in front of a PC playing WOW.

If an employer thinks it's the former, then fine... if the employer thinks it's the latter, that's bad. I wouldn't risk it... not that I'd consider ~gaming~ to be one of my hobbies (a little bit of Fifa just doesn't count, for me!).
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When you chose extremes as part of your example, of course it looks like that. I play a lot of games, I can't stand WoW though and don't spend 5 hours a day rotting in front of my PC playing it. When you put it the way you have, you should be worried about putting anything down because of how some one may perceive it (based on the crazy ridiculous perceptions of things I've seen people come out with).

"Don't put down strength training and power lifting, they might think you're on steroids and will be worried you'll roid-rage around the office".
 
most pewople lie about hobbies on a CV just make something up.

semi profesional crazy golfer
major league crazy golf
MMA advanced fighter

etc
 
It really depends on the job being applied for and the experience level. Last week I was interviewing grads for a large multinational bank. We were looking for a range of people but all inthe IT sector. If someone had put down gaming as a hobby then I wouldn't have seen it as a negative at all. I'd probably have asked them about it and if they had seemed passionate in talking about it then that would be a positive.

Indeed one of the interviewees did mention that he played COD a lot. I obviously corrected him by pointing out that Quake is a far superior game even though it is old skool ;)
 
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