Hey guys - I know this is obviously not something I should list as an interest on my resume, but what if during an interview I'm asked about interests that aren't on my resume? This is honestly my biggest interest outside of the stuff on my resume, but I don't want to come off as too immature.
What do you think? Can I mention this as one of my interests during an interview?
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@yarrum which game(s) specifically?
a wide range. I have a PS3 and a PC (also a 3DS, but I don't play as much on that). I prefer RPGs and strategy games, but I try out all of the highly rated games that come out in other genres. I also play online games. Right now I'm big on GW2 and Dota 2 .
Does that matter?
hey i play dota 2! I definitely don't mention it on an interview though
Fifa, Madden? Maybe.
WoW? No.
Starcraft, FPS's, etc - Meh, no. Better safe than sorry.
@yarrum
I had a few questions about Dota 2 or whatever - want to grab a quick coffee/alcoholic drink sometime this week?
could you sound more desperate -_-
Yeah, I really hate Fifa and Madden... I like FPS though , is that more popular among bankers?
Surely some analysts and associates like video games? :-(
unless you're nationally ranked or something, i wouldn't put the title of the video game(s) or video gaming in general. I think a better avenue would be to put "strategy games" or something along those lines
this. Unless you're like top 50 internationally for Call of Duty or some crap, people are just going to think that you waste your time in front of a TV
I feel that this is just a small step above adding "drinking, going to bars" as a hobby, but that's just me.
I don't think there's a lot of upside in mentioning it. If you must, mix it in with some other stuff, ie. Sports, reading, play the occasional video game. If the interviewer is at all interested they will ask you what you play, but I wouldn't just come out and say you play WoW 24 hours a day. Don't believe the BS corporations feed you about being open and part of a family at work, keep your private life private.
I'm the first to admit that I like video games. Used to play lots of Starcraft, played a little League, but mostly just NBA2k (but very little because, you know... time...). But there is no reason to mention it on a resume or in an interview unless you have VERY good reason to believe that the interviewer is interested in the same thing.
Also, not all games are equal. If your interviewer likes Madden, don't start in about how you love COD or Dota2. If you think your video game hobby can give you a leg up, use it. Otherwise (and this is a very likely otherwise) talk about other hobbies. I play enough basketball and do other interesting things enough to never have to mention video games.
Probably not. But some Stern kid did put "Roger Federer" on his CV and I put my thumbs up for that kid on that alone so you never know.
No, don't do it. Even if you are internationally ranked, it'll make you look weird to many interviewers. I play a lot of games myself, but it's not something I would ever mention in an interview or on my resume under interests.
Maybe if you -design/program- video games. Putting "playing video games" might not be a wise choice.
no way
Thanks guys for all the feedback. I wish all gamers had to wear labels... It'd make both interviewing and dating a lot easier.
I feel like I'm not allowed to talk about ANY of my hobbies. Friends have vetoed belly dancing also. It's a legitimate hobby though - we have a very serious belly dancing group at my uni! :-(
my current strategy game is to find out which universities have "serious belly dancing groups"...
In my reply above, I thought you were male. It actually might be viewed differently as a female, though I probably still wouldn't mention it. Maybe pretend liking sports (if you don't already). I think analysts/associates would appreciate a female interested in fantasy football, etc
Male gamer post a thread - no one bats an eye.
"Female" online account posts a thread - everyone loses their minds.
Blastoise/Mudkipz makes a pokemon reference - no one bats an eye.
Magneton makes a pokemon reference - everyone loses their minds.
Maybe casually mention you like playing "strategy games" if asked about your interests. But, if the interview is not going well definitely mention belly dancing if the interviewer is a male.
assuming you go to Penn, you really shouldn't have to think that hard...
Video games? Instant ding from me, whether it's on the resume, mentioned casually in the interview, etc.
Absolutely not. The fact that you're even considering it (assuming you're not joking) is baffling.
Putting game playing on your cv would be putting masturbation on the cv. I know you do it but telling me indicates that you don't know how it's perceived to make it an interview talking point ie negative. As others have pointed out, if you're female the reaction may be a little different, but likely not for the reasons that mean you'd be taken seriously as a job candidate but because you're fulfilling some guy's fantasy.
Maybe you should throw in breathing and brushing your teeth every morning while you're at it.
Instant ding for me if someone said that in an interview, doesn't matter what game or how casually you play.
Stick with some normal hobbies (sports, hiking, fishing, etc) or choose a unique one that would not make you look odd. That means don't mention competitive belly dancing either.
Are sports, hiking, and fishing meant to be normal hobbies for a girl? If I'm meant to talk about "normal" hobbies, that'd be more like "shopping" and "painting my nails", wouldn't it? I don't see how those are any better than playing video games.
I don't really understand why playing video games isn't an acceptable hobby anyway. It's a lot more intellectually stimulating than watching TV shows, fishing, etc. Don't know if I'd be at a target school right now if it weren't thanks to playing video games so often. I could give specific examples of instances when playing video games helped me get better grades / a higher SAT score. :-\
Sorry, done ranting now...
Sports, hiking, and fishing are acceptable hobbies to talk about. I think I'd find it pretty cool if a girl I was interviewing said they were interested in fantasy football, etc. Often, girls in banking get hired pretty much just because they are girls even with little competency anyway.
I don't know about sports and related physical activities.. maybe putting down something along the lines of "strategy games" (could talk about poker and maybe video games here), competitive dancing (leave the belly part out; could mention zumba or some other similar kind if brought up in interview), and one other fun one (modern art, collecting of some kind, etc.)
No one said it wasn't an acceptable hobby -- just unacceptable to put on a resume, in my opinion. Assuming you're applying for IB or any other sociable FO role, one needs to be outgoing, charismatic, and fun to be around. While playing the occasional video game is generally something shared by someone who has the above qualities, to list it as a material hobby is a little bit over the top. The read is that you're too introverted.
One option is to try and develop/code video games. Even if it is a feeble attempt, you could say that your appreciation for video games and your classroom knowledge inspired you to design video games/app games. You'd have to word it better on your resume (e.g., "video game testing/developing"), but that would be acceptable, in my opinion.
Going to chime in with a no myself. For too many people video games are considered childish still. Certainly not the case so much with the younger guys, but with the older crowd it might not go over as well.
From the perspective of someone who does interviews and reads the internets:
If a female candidate listed computer gaming as a habit, my bias/stereotype would be to think she's playing on the "girl gamer" thing that gets some guys all excited, cf memes about that sort of crap - ie akin to wearing a too short skirt or plunging neckline to the interview. It's bias, it's prejudice, it's potential unfair etc etc, but that's the bias I would have.
If I then cross-checked to your WSO posting "hey, I'm a girl and I like gaming" posts with associated selfie pic, that would reinforce my bias by about 10 - 20x and I'd assume that you trawl the internet for praise using a lowest common denominator "girl gamer" drawcard.
Again, it's unfair, prejudicial, biased, possibly misdirected etc etc, but there you go. What a bad man I am.
+1
And OP, your resume is meant to showcase your professional/personal accomplishments. It's not your Facebook page or a tell-all diary. I don't think anyone assumes it's like a comprehensive list of every single thing you've ever done in your life. For example, in my free time I occasionally enjoy jerking it to lesbo porn. I don't think that's like, a morally wrong thing. Lots of dudes like that stuff. It doesn't make me weird.
What would be weird is putting it on my fucking LinkedIn. Or resume. As though my porn habit is something that adds to my credibility in a professional setting.
I wasn't aware that there was something wrong with putting a picture of myself as my profile pic. Thanks for alerting me.
Did you actually read my original post?
For anyone else who feels the need to post on this thread telling me not to put video games on my resume, rest assured I knew that before making this thread. Feel free to read the original post if you want.
Thank you to everyone who contributed with the intent of helping and answering the question that I actually asked.
It's not about how smart and hardworking you are. You haven't got to be that smart to be an effective junior banker, and hardworking people are commonplace. It's about wanting to work with someone in a high pressure environment for 80-90hrs a week. Would you want to spend that much time with someone who thought it was ok to put 'video games' on his/her resume? Do you think your MD plays video games, or has any respect for someone who does (over the age of 18)?
@yarrum, it really comes down to your story and qualifications versus the requirements of the job. Putting video games on your resume is a "hail mary" play. It isn't going to work 99% of the time, but 1% of the time it may be exactly what gets you the job. Remember, having 10 job offers is pretty much meaningless because at the end of the day you can only work one.
For example, IF you are generally unqualified versus your competition: You have a low GPA from a non-target with mediocre job accomplishments. No relevant work experience. Odds are high that your profile is going to get rejected if you take the traditional approach and prepare a conservative resume. In this circumstance, it could be beneficial to throw a hail mary. All you need is one job offer so you put something crazy on your resume hoping that the interview latches on and gives you a chance.
However, if you're an ivy league student with relevant experience and a high GPA, it would be stupid to put video games on your resume. You've got a very good shot without it, so the conservative approach is your best move here. The last thing you want to do is introduce a wildcard that could completely turn off interviewers.
Personally, I would be in the 1% of the population that would give you credit for putting video games as an interest. However, I would certainly probe in the interview to make sure that you (1) aren't addicted, (2) play games that I deem mentally stimulating, and (3) have additional interests. Though even if you did pass all these tests, you'd face another major barrier. I'm not the only one interviewing you, so you'd still need to win over the other 10 people using the same resume. Not an easy feat whatsoever if one of those people has a major aversion to gaming.
It's pretty unfortunate that video games have such a negative stigma. Huge industry, and a lot of smaller companies are getting reasonable sums of venture funding.
@CompBanker Thank you for taking the time to write such a great response. Thought I was alone in the world in thinking that video games can be very mentally stimulating. What you said about my qualifications making a big difference on how I should write my resume makes a lot of sense. Luckily, I just got an offer at the BB I wanted to work at, so I won't have to worry about my resume for a while :-)
@HideAndSeek I completely agree with you. It's a very interesting industry, but you don't often hear about it. Do you think bankers in a TMT coverage group would be more likely to be into video games?
i actually used to have it listed on my interests. i used to play an FPS game semi-pro and would travel to tournaments with a team, etc. surprisingly, i had a lot of fun conversations with vps and mds who were curious as to what "competitive gaming" entailed. i don't see how it can hurt if you truly are passionate about something and it is somewhat unique.
Two things come to mind, in order of importance:
1) Is this kid going to skip out at 10pm even though comments are likely coming on a pitch book because they want to get in a couple hours of some MMO before bed? Or, alternatively, on the nights that this kid is lucky enough to get out at midnight is he/she going to be tired and inefficient the next day when he/she will need to be there until 4AM because they played video games until 3AM on the night they got out early? You do know that as an analyst you will literally have zero time for video games, right? Getting out of the office in time to get a solid 4-5 hours of sleep before coming back is a win for any first year analyst, and on weekends you will be sleeping in and then immediately going in to the office to make pages and/or turn comments. Remember 100 hour weeks are no joke. I probably played 3-5 hours a night of video games in college, more on weekends. Because, well, college is a joke. Here I am as a first year analyst and I just pulled a 110 hour week. Haven't touched a video game since training because I haven't been able to. Every night I went to bed thinking "well, at least I'm going to get 3 hours of sleep tonight. Could've been an all nighter."
2) Sure, everyone plays video games. Everyone likes to drink and jerk off too. Doesn't mean you need to tell everyone. If you're brought to a drafting session are you going to try and strike up a conversation with a client about your latest call of duty headshot? This is a sales job, your relationships with coworkers and clients are professional. Its not the same as being buds with dorm mates.
Very little upside, lots of downside.
I always put the kill streak in Dota in my interest section:
FIRST BLOOD, DOUBLE KILLS, KILLING SPREE, TRIPLE KILLS, ULTRA KILLS, RAMPAGE!
Many don't get it, but those who get it give me the job right away. "Cool kid with the right mentality" they say...
that's incredible hahahahahaha I hope you are serious.... I would give you the job too :-)
Without reading all the replies, I don't think that it's a terrible idea - depends on the game as someone had pointed out. It's been proven that some games actually vastly improve your multitasking skills, and if I was a employer I would value that highly. But, yeah, unless you are actually good there is no reason to mention it.
For instance I WOULD definitely mention it regardless of who's interviewing me. I was pretty much earning my pocket money for over a year by playing games and could have pursued a career as a professional gamer, but I did not find it appealing enough. Now, tell me wouldn't that be a shocker and have a positive impact? It will, I'm sure.
Edit: 'unless you are actually good there is no reason to mention it.' I want to clarify, so it isn't read in a wrong way and found offensive, that this is from a point-of-view where you wouldn't be doing yourself a favor if suddenly the interviewer asks you how good you were etc.
Going pro in video games is very subjective and akin to being a professional author. You might never get read or make a dime from it but technically if you do it every day and you get published even once you could call yourself professional.
That said, if you have hard facts ($$ earned from playing, impressive streaming viewership, contracts/sponsors) then I agree. Had a friend go pro in DOTA back in the day. No contract, no streaming, no $$. Simply was on a team that competed "professionally" and had a sponsor. Very had to spin that positively. That said, if you are a League pro, earning $55k on contract and more on streaming to millions of viewers, you could probably spin that.
The fact is that more and more people in the hiring positions grew up with video games. The world's view on video games is changing but it's not there yet.
NHL 14 and 2k14 are the only good games.
Seriously, why is this thread still going?
Unless you are one of the best in the world...don't mention it. And get some new hobbies.
I mentioned board games and card games on my resume since it fed into my story of being competitive well... in addition to having a comment about my poker winnings. My previous boss always joked about me being phil ivey.
I play dota 2 also (under this SN actually lol) and think I'm pretty good and know a lot of the good american players but that still wasn't enough for me to put it on a resume. I admit, it has definitely shaped who I am in terms of personality though. I'm really emotionally stable as a result of going through way too much dota and poker stress.
"Competitive video gaming" was on my resume at the bottom under "Other Interests." I also used a chunk of my extracurricular/leadership section to talk about my involvement in starting a competitive gaming club in college. It was BY FAR the extracurricular that interviewers (BB S&T, prop shops) were most interested in.
Just my two cents. OP, you can PM me if you want more info.
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