leadership-skills
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Breakfast Topic: Would you list WoW experience on your resume?
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to our pages. I was updating my resumé recently, and when it came to including my volunteer experience, I instantly thought about the time and effort I put into playing WoW. I'm a relatively new WoW gamer, having only played for less than a year. (I have played other mostly free RPGs for a few years and numerous console games.) I have three level 80 characters who have played each aspect of a raid group, DPS, tank and heals. I wish I could include my WoW accomplishments in my skill set on my resume. No, I don't mean listing Champion of the Frozen Wastes on my work titles, but I mean naming the skills I've gained by playing RPGs. Leading a raid, assembling a PUG, organizing an arena team, even tanking a random heroic require strong leadership skills that are beneficial when applied in the real world. Think about the financial savvy it takes to play the auction house and to successfully navigate the economy. What about being a good guild master? The GM sets the tone of the guild and leads members either to implosive destruction or to Lich-King-downing success (or somewhere in between). GMs are confidantes, mediators, presidents, friends, leaders -- or they can be ineffective, stale and stoic dictators. It may be an unspoken observation, but if a guild has a poor GM or a raid has a bad leader, it will fail. Playing a game with live people on the other end of the avatars can enhance your communication and interpersonal skills. These traits are ones that employers would readily seek in qualified applicants. Can these be learned and developed in game? Too bad we can't actually list those achievements on a real-life resumé ... or can we? What traits and qualifications have you gained playing WoW that you'd list on a real-life resumé?
