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Breakfast Topic: Would you list WoW leadership on your real-life resume?
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the AOL guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages. I've been to a few resumé workshops in my time, and as a professional writing tutor, I've sometimes been the one helping people with their resumés or CVs. Beyond the listings of education and job history, the section that seems most relevant to employers is that of job skills. Most of us have a number of special skills and talents gleaned from experiences outside of our day jobs, whether in church, volunteer work, coaching a local sports team -- or in my case, in Azeroth. I run a guild in World of Warcraft, and like every leader in every type of community, be it virtual or actual, I've realized that it takes a lot of skill, attention, and balance to do it right. I have to coordinate events, scout and recruit new members, evaluate the performance of current members both individually and as a team, keep the lines of communication open, and treat everyone diplomatically and with respect. These skills, honed in the virtual world, are extremely relevant to many real-world jobs. The question is, how do I list them on my resume? Should I? Would potential employers be scared away by the knowledge that a job candidate plays World of Warcraft?
Player vs. Everything: Putting raiding on your resume
Ten years ago, the idea of putting something like being an officer in a hardcore raiding guild on your resume would have been laughable. When trying to sell yourself to a prospective employer, you want to put your best foot forward. The last thing you'd want them to know is that you spend upwards of 20 hours per week frittering your time away on something as silly as a videogame. Businesses want employees who are punctual, intelligent, analytical, and driven -- problem solvers and team players. What's funny, however, is that those are exactly the same qualities which a guild looks for in its raiders. Good luck trying to explain that to a non-gamer, though. Fortunately, gaming is slowly becoming a mainstream activity. As the generation of gamers that pioneered the online gaming craze begin to climb into their 30s and 40s, a younger generation of gamers is just starting to graduate from college and enter the mainstream workforce for the first time. Unlike their older peers, these young men and women face a business world where their boss is as likely to enjoy playing World of Warcraft in his free time as golf. For the first time, it's possible that your hiring manager might actually view your dedication to your guild as a reason to hire you, rather than a reason to dismiss you. Does that mean that it's time to start putting your MMOG experience on your resume?
