Star... MineCraft has to come off the CV

TheMawn · 2014-06-13, 04:44

A bit of background for most of the people here who probably don't know me particularly well: I have recently graduated from Mechanical Engineering and despite all the promises made as little as a year and a half ago, finding work is difficult. This is just friction as far as entering the market is concerned; if I had even two years of experience, many doors would be open to me and I would be having little issue. For graduates, it's currently a bit difficult. The result is we're all throwing applications all over the place, and not getting much in the way of responses.

Luckily, my mother works with a lady whose husband is with Cameco, a company I would gladly join, and not just because it's some job. He was asking a bit about me and asked for my resume. He was kind enough to pass it around at work which means I've sort of skipped the computerized stage and I'm inside the loop, so to speak. He emphasized that I graduated with Great Distinction and if I apply myself to my career as much as I did to my education, which I intend to do, then I could be valuable.

He even had a bit of advice for the CV. The Professional Communication teachers at school had said that it should be kept short. We made one as part of the course, and I was recommended to cut mine down from 2 and a half pages. I always thought they were a bunch of idiots but I took their word on this one. The Cameco guy said it should be a bit longer and include more information. Hah! I plan to make these edits tomorrow as I send out another small batch of applications.

The second recommendation isn't something I can do quite so easily. The last heading on my CV is hobbies. One of them is StarCraft, a real-time strategy video game. I was even thinking of adding League of Legends, which is similar in a number of ways.

I put as much as I could without taking up too much space, to outline the fast pace of the game and the ongoing real-time decision making that goes on for twenty to thirty minutes, straight. I'm mentally exhausted after a few consecutive games, and even the people who make a living at the game need a few minutes between games, and exhaustion is a serious issue they need to deal with in best-of-sevens.

By the time Mom got the feedback to me, the phrasing was "Putting in video games makes you look like a loner," and though this is likely paraphrased, the message got through loud and clear. And I don't like it. Ironically, I've been putting more time into League of Legends because I know more people who play it, and it's fun to play with friends.

While I'm making my edits tomorrow, I'll try to make the video game entry look better. I'll add the team element of LoL and I'll emphasize more of the teamwork involved in my previous work experience. (I just think it's funny how as candidate employees we are supposed to be masters of teamwork yet independent and autonomous, and the employers are relying more on computers and less on people for the hiring process). After that, I'll put on my miserable-old-man hat and be as critical as possible about the mention of video games, and I might just scrap it entirely if I soil myself in my rocking chair.

I'm torn up about having to cut out from my resume a hobby that I grew up with.

Admittedly, I'm a bit upset about this, but I promise to be as objective as possible if anyone has feedback, regardless of your stance. That's something I'm not too bad at.

TheMawn · 2014-06-13, 04:45

[RANT]

The situation is slowly getting better, but video games are clearly still a taboo among a great many people. "Video games" still sparks the image of a fat, balding, sweaty, obese man with terrible facial hair, in a short sleeved button-shirt with a pocket protector and thick glasses sitting at his computer playing Pac-Man for hours on end.

It doesn't spark image of a 5-day broadcast that millions tuned into at some point, and raised one million dollars for cancer research. Look up AGDQ 2014.

It doesn't spark the image of a sold-out staples center live audience (and 500,000 watching through the internet) for a League of Legends tournament. Fun fact: the Staples Center sold out this event months in advance. The Los Angeles Kings play there in less than 24 hours for what will likely be the last hockey game of the season, and win the Cup in front of their home crowd. 2,000 tickets left.

But only loners like video games, right?

(I won't be sorry to see anyone who believes that left behind when the world changes around them. League of Legends is not even 5 years old and its final event sells faster than hockey's final event. How many people watched and played basketball when it was 5 years old? Hint: the year was 1896)

[/RANT]

retina · 2014-06-13, 08:17

It makes no difference how demanding or cooperative video games are. The skills used are not viewed as conducive to helping you perform well in a work environment. And since a CV is intended to show you can work then you shouldn't be putting video games and other irrelevant fluff in there. People will think all your thoughts will be occupied at work thinking about playing games. If you have never worked then perhaps you will not be aware that playing games and working for a boss to a deadline are not remotely the same thing. So your mother was correct, video games make you look bad no matter how you try to spin it. And they will make you look worse the more you try to make it look like something worthwhile to an employer.

Brian-E · 2014-06-13, 08:50

Retina gives good advice, and another way of looking at it is this:

Life for most people is compartmentalised. The compartments are all extremely important to you: your job, your hobbies, your love life and/or family, your personal friends and social life, your ideals and ambitions. While overlap between different compartments can sometimes occur, that is not the norm and when you are blindly applying for jobs you need to keep the CV concentrated on what will be relevant to the job compartment.

axn · 2014-06-13, 09:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMawn

While I'm making my edits tomorrow, I'll try to make the video game entry look better.

I'm torn up about having to cut out from my resume a hobby that I grew up with.

The entire entry for your video gaming experience should read as "Hobbies: Playing video games, ... " Make sure you have other hobbies to list there as well. Otherwise, just cut it all out.

CV is not meant for your hobbies. It is meant to highlight your qualifications, like education and work experience. The hobbies section can be used to give the impression that you are a well rounded person. Don't give a blow-by-blow of your life there.

If a potential employer had read your rant, they might well get the impression that you're not a reliable worker, prone to shirking work and going for 5-day video game tournaments (I exaggerate, of course, but you get the point).

ET_ · 2014-06-13, 09:28

My humble opinion: put in your CV what your employer wants to read, not just what you think fits.as Retina said, the "hobby" sectin will measure your capacity to relate to the real world and other people. Playing music with a group and organizing charity meetings is good, while running, gaming, reading may show your lack of sensibility towards teamwork.

Luigi

TheMawn · 2014-06-13, 19:01

Thanks, people. That is a different perspective which I had not really considered. I always found that I performed better in life in general when I could perform in the game, as it kept me sharp in general. On the other hand, I see where you're coming from.

I thought the "Hobbies" section was meant to show a bit more about who a person is, particularly outside of work. Why bother having it in the CV at all if showing what you have in your personal life is just going to make people think you can't focus on work when the time is right?

chalsall · 2014-06-13, 19:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMawn

I thought the "Hobbies" section was meant to show a bit more about who a person is, particularly outside of work.

If I may share...

In my very first company (LateNight Development Corporation; there were six of us, all young and stupid) we all got obsessed with beating each other at a video game (Boulderdash).

We ended up wasting almost six man-months of time just to get past level 99 (and, thus, win).

I haven't played a video game since...

P.S. Google for "Amoeba invaders" for amusement... How I wasted my youth....

TheMawn · 2014-06-13, 21:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by chalsall

If I may share...

In my very first company (LateNight Development Corporation; there were six of us, all young and stupid) we all got obsessed with beating each other at a video game (Boulderdash).

We ended up wasting almost six man-months of time just to get past level 99 (and, thus, win).

I haven't played a video game since...

I feel this relates to the Facebook creeping that some employers have been doing. I don't like Facebook. I only use it to communicate with people who won't use anything else to stay in touch. Sadly the same cannot be said for a few of my friends. If you look at pictures of (read: not posted by me) me, you'll find some (from a long time ago) of people posing with my unconscious body or carrying it around the house. I've been that drunk exactly once in my life.

Plays video games =/= will waste hours on end at work playing video games.

Passed out at a party =/= is an unprofessional party drunk.

I understand that it is in the best interest of my professional career to hand out as little "bad" information as possible, but I also feel like we're being unfairly judged on any "bad" information that does get out.

Anyway, it's definitely a good example of why that might be something worth leaving out. I've gone and made the edits, so my resume is a bit longer, more focused on the teamwork aspects and I've translated my hobbies into skills and then cut out the entire hobby chunk.

Education.
Work experience.
Volunteer Work.
Skills.

Batalov · 2014-06-13, 21:15

This will help you with the job interview:

...not

chalsall · 2014-06-13, 21:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMawn

Passed out at a party =/= is an unprofessional party drunk.

Here's a trick I learnt from my current (long-term) girlfriend...

When in a social situation which involves alchohal, ask for the wine of your choice mixed with soda-water (50-50) and much ice (it's called a "Spritzer").

You'll be able to drink them all under the table....

2014-06-13, 04:44	#1
TheMawn May 2013 East. Always East. 6BF₁₆ Posts	Star... MineCraft has to come off the CV A bit of background for most of the people here who probably don't know me particularly well: I have recently graduated from Mechanical Engineering and despite all the promises made as little as a year and a half ago, finding work is difficult. This is just friction as far as entering the market is concerned; if I had even two years of experience, many doors would be open to me and I would be having little issue. For graduates, it's currently a bit difficult. The result is we're all throwing applications all over the place, and not getting much in the way of responses. Luckily, my mother works with a lady whose husband is with Cameco, a company I would gladly join, and not just because it's some job. He was asking a bit about me and asked for my resume. He was kind enough to pass it around at work which means I've sort of skipped the computerized stage and I'm inside the loop, so to speak. He emphasized that I graduated with Great Distinction and if I apply myself to my career as much as I did to my education, which I intend to do, then I could be valuable. He even had a bit of advice for the CV. The Professional Communication teachers at school had said that it should be kept short. We made one as part of the course, and I was recommended to cut mine down from 2 and a half pages. I always thought they were a bunch of idiots but I took their word on this one. The Cameco guy said it should be a bit longer and include more information. Hah! I plan to make these edits tomorrow as I send out another small batch of applications. The second recommendation isn't something I can do quite so easily. The last heading on my CV is hobbies. One of them is StarCraft, a real-time strategy video game. I was even thinking of adding League of Legends, which is similar in a number of ways. I put as much as I could without taking up too much space, to outline the fast pace of the game and the ongoing real-time decision making that goes on for twenty to thirty minutes, straight. I'm mentally exhausted after a few consecutive games, and even the people who make a living at the game need a few minutes between games, and exhaustion is a serious issue they need to deal with in best-of-sevens. By the time Mom got the feedback to me, the phrasing was "Putting in video games makes you look like a loner," and though this is likely paraphrased, the message got through loud and clear. And I don't like it. Ironically, I've been putting more time into League of Legends because I know more people who play it, and it's fun to play with friends. While I'm making my edits tomorrow, I'll try to make the video game entry look better. I'll add the team element of LoL and I'll emphasize more of the teamwork involved in my previous work experience. (I just think it's funny how as candidate employees we are supposed to be masters of teamwork yet independent and autonomous, and the employers are relying more on computers and less on people for the hiring process). After that, I'll put on my miserable-old-man hat and be as critical as possible about the mention of video games, and I might just scrap it entirely if I soil myself in my rocking chair. I'm torn up about having to cut out from my resume a hobby that I grew up with. Admittedly, I'm a bit upset about this, but I promise to be as objective as possible if anyone has feedback, regardless of your stance. That's something I'm not too bad at. Last fiddled with by TheMawn on 2014-06-13 at 04:45

2014-06-13, 21:15	#10
Batalov "Serge" Mar 2008 San Diego, Calif. 10269₁₀ Posts	Warning: NSFW! (Well, ...duh!) This will help you with the job interview: ...not

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Star Wars day	xilman	Lounge	41	2021-07-31 00:49
Tabby's star	xilman	Astronomy	2	2017-06-18 06:48
Neutron Star going BH	a1call	Science & Technology	8	2017-01-25 07:36
Star Wars (SPOILERS!)	Xyzzy	Lounge	17	2015-12-21 11:39
What does the star mean?	Mike	PrimeNet	2	2005-07-17 03:42

2014-06-13, 04:45	#2
TheMawn May 2013 East. Always East. 11×157 Posts	[RANT] The situation is slowly getting better, but video games are clearly still a taboo among a great many people. "Video games" still sparks the image of a fat, balding, sweaty, obese man with terrible facial hair, in a short sleeved button-shirt with a pocket protector and thick glasses sitting at his computer playing Pac-Man for hours on end. It doesn't spark image of a 5-day broadcast that millions tuned into at some point, and raised one million dollars for cancer research. Look up AGDQ 2014. It doesn't spark the image of a sold-out staples center live audience (and 500,000 watching through the internet) for a League of Legends tournament. Fun fact: the Staples Center sold out this event months in advance. The Los Angeles Kings play there in less than 24 hours for what will likely be the last hockey game of the season, and win the Cup in front of their home crowd. 2,000 tickets left. But only loners like video games, right? (I won't be sorry to see anyone who believes that left behind when the world changes around them. League of Legends is not even 5 years old and its final event sells faster than hockey's final event. How many people watched and played basketball when it was 5 years old? Hint: the year was 1896) [/RANT]

2014-06-13, 08:17	#3
retina Undefined "The unspeakable one" Jun 2006 My evil lair 6,793 Posts	It makes no difference how demanding or cooperative video games are. The skills used are not viewed as conducive to helping you perform well in a work environment. And since a CV is intended to show you can work then you shouldn't be putting video games and other irrelevant fluff in there. People will think all your thoughts will be occupied at work thinking about playing games. If you have never worked then perhaps you will not be aware that playing games and working for a boss to a deadline are not remotely the same thing. So your mother was correct, video games make you look bad no matter how you try to spin it. And they will make you look worse the more you try to make it look like something worthwhile to an employer.

2014-06-13, 08:50	#4
Brian-E "Brian" Jul 2007 The Netherlands 2×11×149 Posts	Retina gives good advice, and another way of looking at it is this: Life for most people is compartmentalised. The compartments are all extremely important to you: your job, your hobbies, your love life and/or family, your personal friends and social life, your ideals and ambitions. While overlap between different compartments can sometimes occur, that is not the norm and when you are blindly applying for jobs you need to keep the CV concentrated on what will be relevant to the job compartment.

2014-06-13, 09:28	#6
ET_ Banned "Luigi" Aug 2002 Team Italia 5×7×139 Posts	My humble opinion: put in your CV what your employer wants to read, not just what you think fits.as Retina said, the "hobby" sectin will measure your capacity to relate to the real world and other people. Playing music with a group and organizing charity meetings is good, while running, gaming, reading may show your lack of sensibility towards teamwork. Luigi

2014-06-13, 19:01	#7
TheMawn May 2013 East. Always East. 11010111111₂ Posts	Thanks, people. That is a different perspective which I had not really considered. I always found that I performed better in life in general when I could perform in the game, as it kept me sharp in general. On the other hand, I see where you're coming from. I thought the "Hobbies" section was meant to show a bit more about who a person is, particularly outside of work. Why bother having it in the CV at all if showing what you have in your personal life is just going to make people think you can't focus on work when the time is right?