Are you embarrassed to put "Online Gamer" on your CV ?
- Thread starter rumple9
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To be fair I did work at a trading firm in the late 00s that valued both poker and online gaming.
Though that comes with some qualifications... like playing quake with friends is kinda irrelevant, semi-pro gamer, especially something like starcraft with some accomplishments/tournament wins or whatever is interesting.
Likewise with the poker thing, likes poker is meh... is actually good at it, has some results to go with it and has a good intuitive grasp of probability, EV, basic game theory etc.. and that's useful.
Of course, it's kinda moot these days save for a few options market makers as a human being hyper-focused on a load of data and rapidly clicking on a price ladder has been largely replaced by algos.
Though that comes with some qualifications... like playing quake with friends is kinda irrelevant, semi-pro gamer, especially something like starcraft with some accomplishments/tournament wins or whatever is interesting.
Likewise with the poker thing, likes poker is meh... is actually good at it, has some results to go with it and has a good intuitive grasp of probability, EV, basic game theory etc.. and that's useful.
Of course, it's kinda moot these days save for a few options market makers as a human being hyper-focused on a load of data and rapidly clicking on a price ladder has been largely replaced by algos.
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Soldato
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It entirely depends on context though to be fair.
If you say you play an hour or two of COD a day people will look over it. If you say you do 6 hours of WOW raids a night your got a rather different reaction. (rightly or wrongly)
If you say you play an hour or two of COD a day people will look over it. If you say you do 6 hours of WOW raids a night your got a rather different reaction. (rightly or wrongly)
It's interesting that you bring up poker. When I was doing my CV a few years ago I deliberated whether to state poker as I was in a few clubs, went to casinos regularly and of course played online. I thought better of it as it's gambling, but some people see it as willing to take calculated risks.
Well just stating that doesn't really tell anyone anything, just playing poker doesn't necessarily add much value A guy showing that he's made 200k in his final year of uni and that he's familiar with the theory is demonstrating something useful. He'll probably answer the quick mental arithmetic questions or basic EV calculations very rapidly. + If he's happy staring at 4+ online poker tables simultaneously then he can just as easily focus on multiple price ladders while trading.
You'll probably find that you'll be more competent at using them within a very short period of time than most of the people who use them every day.
Qualifying stuff can be useful, casually playing computer games is probably not worth mentioning, running/organising a team that plays in tournaments etc.. perhpas has some sponsorship or has won cash prizes etc.. is worth noting, not just to show that it's a serious hobby but also to demonstrate some additional skills/responsibility.
I think any sort of hobby or volunteer positon where you have some level of responsibility and take up your spare time to organise stuff is worth mentioning, whether it's gaming or running a 5-a-side football team or helping to lead your kid's cub scout group.
For general interests, I've always tended to leave a line or two at most though I think adding some detail or context is useful, like I had scuba diving listed at one point (I've taken it off now as it's been years), at one interview the guy who ended up hiring me mentioned it:
"Oh, you're a scuba diver too, BSAC or PADI?"
"BSAC, I trained through the scuba club at uni"
"Right answer
"Now I doubt that was the deciding factor or anything but it did occur to me after that perhaps some people who've simply gone on holiday and tried it/bagged a basic PADI open water qualification might list the same thing under interests but simply trying it once or twice on holiday is rather different to being an active club member (elected to the committee in my final year, so actively organising stuff too) and taking a few qualifications, going on several trips, learning about boat handling (and spending time helping to fix/maintain them) etc..
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Unless its a job that requires fast reactions and good hand/eye coordination then what would be the point?
Despite gaming and recreational computer use being more widespread these days I think there is still a negative image of it in wider society.
If you put that you're an online gamer, the person might think "so you sit on your backside all day playing games".
Despite gaming and recreational computer use being more widespread these days I think there is still a negative image of it in wider society.
If you put that you're an online gamer, the person might think "so you sit on your backside all day playing games".
I think deservedly so if anyone identifies as an online gamer to the point where they put it on their CV
Soldato
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Thanks for your support.
Yeah I'm not pretending playing bass is going to get me a job, but it least it shows you're interested in something!
I wouldn't say that, many adults see gaming as a negative.
I think it shows a massive oversight of social awareness
Fun fact:
Many, many years ago my wife went for an interview (must've been 24ish at the time), she was hungover and didn't prepare at all, when asked what her strengths were, her first response was "I am friendly".
15 years later and she still hasn't lived it down
It could be said that stupidity is caring or judging what others do with their own time.
I don't care that they watch Love Island, that would be considered a socially acceptable activity, playing PC games on an evening isn't
Looking at it from the other side, if someone has 9 mundane CVs from "identical" candidates to sift through, along with 1 which has an interesting hobby (not saying it specifically needs to be gaming), then which do you think is going to stick in their mind?
I think it also potentially depends on the size - or more importantly "culture" of the employer. If it's a smaller (e.g. family run) business which values social interaction etc. then listing some social hobbies might be a bonus, as it shows you will likely "fit in" better.
A big corporate entity where you're another faceless drone isn't going to care.
Soldato
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If you're a competitive gamer i.e. you win competitions or attend tournaments or whatever maybe but casual? No, its like saying you sit on a sofa and watch TV no-one cares and its certainly not anything that puts a positive spin on you.
I think for junior or grad level roles if you have something interesting or did something at a high level it's worth putting on there.
For example when I was a fresh grad. I played rugby at university level so put that in there and unsurprisingly was commented on quite a few times when going for finance jobs in the city as a large number also played rugby in their youth
Now I don't bother with hobbies as the roles I'm going for won't have a dozen similar CVs. What will stick out in their mind is I'm the guy that led project y and saved company x $mm and an expert in systems xyz
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