I competed in esports “semi-professionally”* and wondering whether I should put it on my cv as an extracurricular? My overall earnings probably hit the very early 5 figures but only actually took home in the 4 figures. I was thinking of adding it as it is something different and esports is a rapidly growing industry, including in finance?
Would it be relevant?
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I would say no, unless you're interviewing for a electronic gaming/multimedia equity research gig. It's been nothing more than a fun fact that I bring up if guys in the office start talking about gaming or something. That's just me though..
Makes sense, guess I will leave it out then, was just trying to think of a different extracurricular not many had done. Will take the point about applying for a related industry though, thanks.
Leave it out, it's still very much seen as trivial / waste of time in banking. I loved playing e-sports at uni but you're not going to make friends at interviews. That said it can be useful to connect around a Friday beer if someone else brings it up.
Yeah I was under the same impression, I was only considering as I’d actually had some decent success with it which many people can’t say. Like you said I usually have only talked about in casual chat.
I think Kh3ats nailed it. Good for casual conversation, not the best for CV/resumes.
While esports is getting bigger and bigger, there's still quite a few people who think, "it's just a bunch of pimply faced virgins sitting around a TV eating Doritos and drinking Mountain Dew." Space on a resume is already hard enough to come by, probably a better use of space to include other accolades. If you're applying to an entertainment/gaming company, that's different of course.
Congrats on the winnings btw, what game?
Depends what else is on your CV. Just one opinion but all other things being equal I'd hire someone who gets to the gym / goes for a run / rides their bike 3x a week over the esports world champion of the world.
What a weird thing to say, I guess you are one of the ones that keep the stigma attached to it alive. Doing exercise and playing esports aren’t mutually exclusive. Also, how is going to the gym equal to being the best in the world of a nearly billion dollar industry? Think they would be looked at abit differently.
I realize they're not mutually exclusive, hence my initial note that it would depend on what else is on your CV. But the size of the industry isn't particularly relevant - Kris Kardashian sits at the top of a billion dollar empire too - and fairly or unfairly, most people are in on the joke that "esports" is a euphemism for "video games."
I was in a similar situation and I left it off. Wouldn't bring it up in behaviorals either, would only talk about it if it was tangentially relevant to the conversation.
The fact that so many have competed themselves on here shows me it maybe isn’t as rare as I thought. Clearly we are all little gamers at heart.
I'd put it on your resume. I think it's an interesting activity that provides differentiation from the other candidates, and also involves relevant skills (e.g. solving problems efficiently, communication) - something that an activity like "jogging" doesn't provide.
Even if an interviewer doesn't understand what "esports" is, they're bound to ask and it'll allow you to speak about something you're passionate about.
If you've made decent money out of it (on an hourly basis, 10k over 2,000 hours isn't impressive or a good use of your time...) I would certainly include it
If you were actually good, why not? It’d peak my interest...especially if you competed in games that I like playing.
Some of the older guys that don’t game might not be as interested but I doubt it would work against you.
And I wouldn't refer to playing computer games as "e sports" if you do decide to include it
I wouldn't do it unless you're applying somewhere very modern. VCs would love it for example because esports are very trendy ATM in the space...but some old recruiter at an ibank will just think it means you're good at space Invaders.
Video gaming is NOT a sport
You're right, it's an esport.
I'll let it slide just this once... be careful next time
Hey OP, I had a similar dilemma regarding poker as I paid most of my tuition playing cards. I just added a line at the bottom of my resume below "Languages" that read "Interests" and put in several hobbies that included Live Tournament Poker.
Surprisingly enough it came up several times during interview where someone would ask me about it. Most of the time it was people who also played so would be able to start a conversation about it.
I would omit this. The vast majority of decision makers in their 40-50's are going to think e-sports are a silly children's game and judge you. Big cultural difference to make up with explanation. Go take a modeling certification course, pass it, and put that on there instead.
I would leave it off, but it's something you can bring up in a list of other activities when you get asked, "What do you do for fun?"
Most of the younger guys in my office play CoD together a few hours per week, so I get where you are coming from.
I'm actively involved in competitive street dancing and it definitely helped me get into BB ER and my current role in VC. I'd leave it on as it's a point of differentiation in an increasingly commoditized candidate pool, especially if other parts of your CV are pretty generic.
How did you get to that level? How did you get to a point where you were paid for it? What's your view on where the competitive environment is going? What's most important is to have interesting and engaging stories as well as thought processes to back it up.
Tough call. It definitely shows that you know how to prepare and execute, but it could also be viewed as a time waster. I know you have winnings, but if you can include a title you've won, that might be best. At the end of the day, I would say included it because you need to be who you are. Would you want to work for a job where the boss trashes video games/esports everyday?
LMAO at all the comments like "it shows you're good at something, go for it!" We're talking about winning $10,000 playing video games. "It's so unique!" "It shows execution and focus!" LOL. Amazing.
Nothing against gaming, I'm a fan myself. But relevant for banking? Honestly, I'd knock you for including it. Not for playing competitively, but for thinking that I'm supposed to care.
He needs to bring in a 3D printed model of his world of warcraft character to seal the deal. Simply mentioning it is not adequate to show his passion for his first love in life.
Maybe in SF IB. It won't help the nerdy awkward kid stereotype unless you're a jacked Polish 1.6 player.
Keep it for the future. I have a friend who used to be a manager at a consulting firm and loved playing games. He landed a C-level job at one of the world's largest egaming companies as in order to interview for those companies you need to have a passion for gaming.
Playing video games is to a sport what masturbating to computer porn is to dating women.
legit lol
My call would be to leave it out, unless you did it full time and you need to mention it to explain a "gap" in your resume. Otherwise, the risk/reward isn't there for including it, I think.
Its not about relevance to banking, it’s something different from every other candidate. I would recommend you add it to the interest section of your resume (if you don’t have this sections make sure you add it now) as “Esports (semi-pro)”
It will stir conversation about your interests in the non technical interviews and make you memorable. In my superdays and group placement process at my BB, 40% of the discussion was around the more interesting hobbies in my interest section believe it or not
It will only make him memorable because the activity is unique. It doesn't make him more personable, or more likeable, or anything like that. I don't see it helping him get hired, which is the point.
For me when I recruited, interests from my interest section always came up. From my experience I would include it in there. I wouldn’t make it a part of experience or anything. To each their own, I personally would knock someone who only had finance related experiences, seems boring
I would say that it's a lil strange. However, to be a real pro in E-sports I guess it's necessary to train the mind and reaction in the gaming process, each day.. This process is especially difficult when u train for the CS: GO since this game requires a tactical mind that can help to understand how the enemy team is working. However, sometimes it's pretty difficult to raise the profile rank because it requires a lot of personal time for it, that's why a lot of people choose to buy cs:go rank boost service that can raise the profile rank quick, and actually require not a big price for the service. I guess it's a great chance for the people who don't want to spend a lot of personal time for ranking..
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